Constant rejections, broken career - paths forward?
I turned 28 today and received the news that I was rejected from my dream job. To say I’m disappointed is an understatement - not to mention horrible timing. I’m looking for some advice from this community on how to move forward.
For background, I've spent the last 2 years stuck in a really bad corporate development role. I could rant extensively about how terrible this experience has been, but I'll just say this: over the last year, our team hasn't reviewed a single CIM. I spend most of my time working on random strategy projects like sizing product initiatives and creating board decks. The company itself is a mess and there's constant turnover within my team.
Before I got stuck in this shitty position, I started my career in private equity (non-traditional analyst program) before moving to IB for better training; spent ~8 months at a MM shop until I was unfortunately laid off during the 2023 market downturn. I moved to corporate to keep something on my resume, and I’ve really struggled to get back on track since.
Since I hate my current job, I've been dual tracking two escape paths: constant job applications and MBA apps. On the job apps front, I've sent my resume to hundreds of places but have barely received any positive responses. I finally got into the interview process with a big tech company (think Microsoft, NVIDIA, etc.) and was thrilled, but got dinged after the case round. It was my second time interviewing with this team - last time, I was turned down after the super day, and this time I didn’t even make it past the case study. Completely devastated by the result and no feedback to make matters worse.
Regarding MBA apps, the outlook is bleak. I felt like I wasn’t making any progress cold applying or talking to head hunters, so I decided to try going back to school in the hopes that on-campus recruiting could help me. I applied R2 to CBS, Wharton, and NYU but was rejected from Wharton, and waitlisted at CBS and NYU. I went to a USC/Notre Dame-type school and had a 3.9 GPA and a 328 GRE score so I thought I was a decent candidate stats from a stats perspective. Pretty tough result but it is what it is.
At this point I’m drained from all the rejections and am not sure what to do. It feels like I’m getting rejection after rejection with very little feedback on what I could improve. I’m stuck in this cycle of doing the same things over and over again, expecting different results, and it’s starting to feel demoralizing.
How do I move forward from here and actually get a decent CD job? Do I need to try to go back to IB to get back into the recruiting pipeline to get looks for good corp dev roles? Is business school helpful for me or should I focus on CD job with actual deal flow first, and then go to school to try to move to a brand name corp dev group?
Would appreciate any candid feedback to help me move forward. Thanks all.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s a structured approach to help you move forward:
1. Reassess and Refocus Your Strategy
2. Consider a Return to IB or a Lateral Move
3. Reevaluate the MBA Path
4. Targeted Job Search
5. Mindset and Long-Term Planning
6. Practical Next Steps
By focusing on these actionable steps, you can break out of the cycle of rejections and position yourself for success in your career. Keep pushing forward—your prior experience and determination will pay off.
Sources: corporate development regrets?, Failed to "Break In" at my MBA Program - Next Steps?, Corporate Development Manager - Q&A, Corporate Development Manager - Q&A, Breakdown of Post-IB Exit Opportunities
It really depends on what you want to accomplish with your career; I'd get into a BB or consulting firm as an associate. Best way to do that is get into NYU.
Have you taken the GMAT? Try to hold down your job, improve your apps and stats, and reapply to NYU
Thanks, I think this is fair. From LinkedIn research it seems like it's really hard to get into a decent corporate role unless you're jumping from a top bank or consulting firm to begin with. Or you just attend a top target and get into a good rotational program early on and move internally.
I really don't want to retake the GRE since I already have a 328 and a ~3.9 GPA from a strong undergrad. I know several people who received offers from HSW with GRE scores under 325 and much lower GPAs. I almost feel like my time is better spent by a) trying to secure a promotion to senior associate by Q2 and b) crafting very strong essays with the help of a consultant - thoughts?
GRE is meaningless because it doesn’t boost their statistics. Take the GMAT. Write better essays.
Your title doesn’t really matter (as long as it isn’t trash. Throwing a little ‘sr’ on there doesn’t do much)
I’m gonna give another perspective here. You clearly were able to place a good job jobs. Your stats are fine, your work experience is good and you were able to get invited to good job processes. I think your issues are a little bit deeper and you have an obsession with focussing on your stats or resume, which clearly don’t seem to be the problem. I personally think it’s something to do with either your story, the way you’ve been networking, or how you’ve been interviewing with the teams. From what it sounds like in your situation, you may be coming off as too intense and that can happen when you feel like you’re in a dire situation. With the MBA apps as well, like I don’t think you’re actually communicating why the MBA would be helpful for you. You have great work experience, and I don’t think adcoms are seeing the value add because you may be just highlighting h the fact that you’re solid add for the school due to your resume. There are people with shitty GPAs and GRE scores getting into these schools over you so again it tells me it has to be something in her personal.
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Just FYI, recruiting is very weak rn across the board for all the schools, even M7's. IB was probably one of the least adversely affected industries for MBA recruiting, and even then, headcount has been considerably reduced based on what current students have told me at M7s. Tech and consulting were absolutely devastated, MBBs still pushing back start dates (apparently some of them are doing a "lottery system" for people who want to start this year?). Amazon is basically the only tech company that will reliably hire MBAs now, but everyone knows how awful it is to work there so there's not a lot of great options out there rn unless you're at GSB or something.
It won't let me edit my comment above, but I don't think now is a good time to be getting an MBA rn if you're strictly going for career prospects. Even if the economy looks better 2 years out when you graduate, your ability to secure a good summer internship the year prior will make or break your full-time recruiting opportunities. So even if everything rebounds by May of 2027, if you couldn't get a decent internship in 2026 because there were hiring freezes and internship headcount has continued to reduce, you're basically screwed. In my peers' experience, it was actually a lot harder to find MBA summer internships as opposed to full-time roles because there are way fewer summer programs dedicated towards MBAs being offered as opposed to full-time roles where you can just apply for the appropriate level on your own timeline anytime between the summer of your internship and after graduation.
OP here - thanks for the input.
You make fair points about the MBA hiring market. My goal was to attend an M7 program for that specific reason. I think that the value of the MBA has become significantly diluted, and the good opportunities are really only going to the top schools. I also agree that timing is an important consideration - a 2028 graduation timeline will hopefully coincide with a better labor market than 2026/2027 graduates experienced (imo we enter a recession this year driven by tariff stupidity, next year is a mess, and 2027 we start to recover as Trump tries to salvage his legacy).
The reason why I applied for R2 this year instead of of waiting for R1 next cycle is that I am wary of wasting time in my current role. It's hard to explain clearly on this forum without either doxing myself or writing a very long post, but my current situation is pretty bizarre. The team is fully remote and seems completely content to just collect paychecks while doing the least amount of work possible. That's all well and good if you're 35 with a family, but I feel like I'm way too early in my career to be learning nothing. My comp is not crazy either ($160k all in, VHCOL) so it's not like I'm so well paid that it makes sense to sit around like some of the more senior folks.
To illustrate, my boss (ex BB banker) logs off most days at 430pm, and I rarely work more than 40 hrs a week. I haven't been involved in anything remotely deal-related for over a year. Any interview I have, I'm forced to draw on examples from deals that I closed 2+ years ago in PE or IB, with the exception of one early stage M&A process that my team was involved in during my first year in my current role.
That's why I'd ideally like to find a lateral opportunity pre business school. If I lateraled this summer to a better corp dev role, I could spend 2 years there and enroll at 30 - a bit on the older side but not outrageous.
The challenge is that I've not been getting much lateral traction and have been having a really hard time getting interviews. When I do get interviews, I'm struggling to get offers. My story is basically "I'm not working on m&a and I'm trying to go back to that environment at a stable company," which I think doesn't sit well with groups that are actually active who have a deep pool of current bankers that they can hire instead.
Corp Dev is a shit, fake function.
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