Debating on Re-Recruiting for SA 2026 or Try FT When the Time Comes

Hello everyone,

I'm currently a rising junior at a non-target school (think Utah, Baylor, Arizona) and interning in growth. I recruited for IB SA 2025 but, unfortunately, had no luck. I won't go into details, but I'm really lost about what to do for recruiting. What are people's thoughts on re-recruiting and possibly extending my graduation by a semester? Or, is it worth aiming for a lower-tier tech IB firm? My long-term goal is to end up at a middle-market PE / GE firm in Chicago or LA (heavy emphasis on Chicago).

Any advice would be appreciated. With Chicago being pretty fierce competition for growth/PE roles, it seems I need some banking experience. Thanks!

7 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Why did you strike out for SA 2025? How many interviews/superdays did you get?

Extending grad makes the most sense for people who missed recruiting entirely... if you were on time, networked a ton and didn't get anything, that becomes challenging and you're risking the exact same thing happening again. Most alums are not going to push your resume for a second SA process if you already tried last year and clearly didn't land.

Are you open to smaller growth firms? I would almost just try and land those directly for 2025. The small ones don't recruit their interns 2 years out like big banks/MF PE do. 

 

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