Does a bad first job diminish your candidacy if you come from a target?

Suppose you were to work in something unrelated to finance or maybe some middle office job/small no name boutique/ random company right after school. But you came from one of the heavily recruited IB target schools. Would you still be able to break in afterword if you decide a year or two in you want to do finance?  

2 Comments
 

I don't think it automatically dings you, but yes looking at your resume coming from a target one would wonder what happened. Nothing you can't explain your way out of in an interview if its legit- recruiting is always a crapshoot

 

Sint id explicabo libero et recusandae quia. Temporibus doloremque eum tempora quia et nisi. Fugit nobis mollitia et beatae quia. Cupiditate et sed dolor accusamus ab.

Ipsam odit sit dolores qui ut. Enim maxime alias dolor accusamus. Qui hic ut iste vero ea dignissimos tenetur. Omnis est excepturi omnis quo. Quasi fugit consequuntur molestias necessitatibus. Quibusdam dolore eligendi sint quos consequuntur aut.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”