Not posting for pity or sympathy just need a place to vent with people that might understand where I’m coming from. Graduated from a non-target in 2017, took a back office job at an asset manager because I didn’t know the ins and outs of the industry but knew that i ultimately wanted to get into IB. Found this forum and learned all I could learn about the industry and realized I was screwed if i stayed in back office. I started applying to IB jobs after a year and a half and eventually was lucky enough to land a valuations analyst role at a consulting firm. Paid entry level pay but the work is interesting and I figured that I could leverage the skills and experience I gained there into an IB analyst role. Now almost 2 years in and I’ve been applying to IB and even middle-office positions at PE and AM firms for about 6mos. Not a single interview for an IB position, I even got turned down for a middle-office role at a PE firm after the case study round. Now I don’t have any leads and feel utterly hopeless. I feel like I’ve applied to any and all positions that I might be a fit for.
I don’t know what to do, I think my only chance might be to try to go back to school for an MBA but the costs just seem out of my reach.
The only direction to go is forward. I believe in you op; keep pushing forward.
Get on linkedin and network network network. tons of threads detailing how to craft intro networking emails / linkedin messages. Grind your dick off on technicals until you know that shit like your nutsack. may take hundreds and hundreds of messages but trust me people are willing to get on the phone for 15 minutes, its a numbers game and you really just need to get one good opportunity. Keep grinding man, bonus's are around the corner and general consensus is there will be a lot of departures at the analyst level so hiring and recruiting will pick up. But that shit is not going to come to you, you need to go after it yourself and treat recruiting like another full time job.
You're right. I didn't even think about the effect of upcoming bonuses. Thanks for the fresh perspective.
Well you actually already made the hardest jump in that gap which is getting out of back office into a role that is more relevant for IB. You may have exhausted your leads for now, but IB seats rotate so frequently that more chances will come up. Take a small break, re-evaluate your game plan and network with IB folks who have similar backgrounds as yourself. I'm confident you should be at least able to break in a seat at a boutique or middle-market shop with the right connection
Network till you physically can’t. Like above said already, you already accomplished one hurdle, you got a more relevant job in valuations. Target cities outside of the main hubs of NYC, LA, SF, and I say Chicago but they had a mass exodus and have lots of roles need filling. Charlotte, Baltimore, Denver, and other second tier cities are hiring (lots of the LMM boutiques lost guys that lateraled upstream from the layoffs in Covid and needed bodies in MM ASAP). Bang a year in LMM and again network like crazy and go upstream. Hustlers more often than not can bridge the gap, the few stories of success arise from the no-quit mentality type (pretty sure Socrates said that). As a hustler who did this myself a few years back, stay humble, stay hungry. People will laugh, ignore, and just be dildos, but just pretend they’re still fucking a flesh light in their couch cushion ;). Anyway I have a hot date with my couch, she’s acting like a real baddy, Godspeed.
you didn't make sense.
You are overcomplicating the crap out of this. Just spend the next year ripping the GMAT --> 720/730 should be good enough to get you into a top 15 program. At the T15's, you may not get into Evercore or Centerview, but you will get OCR from most MM's and a handful of BB's for IB ASO roles. I think you are insane for not seriously going for this. There are plenty of people with BO, Audit, Accounting backgrounds who struck out UG --> MBA --> BB IB. That could be you.
Yeah, I'll definitely start doing my research and preparing for the GMAT. Thanks
I came from extreme non target, did 2 years as credit analyst at BB, 1 year in loan syndication and moved into IB. Submitted over 300 applications for my first job, ~60-70 application on my second job and submitted 10 application on my third job. Did 4.5 years of analyst combined. Let me tell you that you will have bigger challenge in life, but this isn’t one of them. Trying to bring your parents back from death is impossible, not getting a IB job. FYI, I interviewed over 50 times at 30 firms before landing a IB job.
Why do you want to be in IB anyway? Isn’t being a valuation analyst even better than being in IB? I don’t understand why you think otherwise.
possibly FOMO
I didn't specify but I'm a valuations analyst at a mid-size consulting firm. Besides the comp being well below market I want more direct transaction experience. I'd like to join IB but I've also applied to PE and other consulting roles that would offer similar experience and comp.
What valuation analyst position are you referring to that is better than IB in comp or exit ops?
Firstly, don't lose hope, my friend. Be grateful for what you have got. There tons of people there with much worse jobs than yours. Secondly, non-breaking into IB/PE is not an end of the world. It is a very limited way of looking at things. Thirdly, being happy is mostly not-related to the job. There are plenty of miserable, and non-happy people in all sort of high-caliber careers.
Being happy is a state of mind. It is a kind of way of living. Breaking into top industry will make you happy for about 10-15 days, then you will feel just as you felt without this job.
If you want that job, network, and don't lose motivation. You still have an MBA chance to use as a leverage.
Happiness = Reality - Expectations
You cannot change the first one but the second one is up to you.
In conclusion, I dont mean you shouldn't target high finance. No. But you shouldn't feel yourself hopeless and miserable just because of it.
Good luck!
Thank you
Welcome, my friend
Quit feeling sorry for yourself. Why do you want to do IB? Is it to become an investor, this isn't clear from what you wrote. As someone who has hired interns and analysts, you will be beat by real passion 10/10 times. I see through the BS immediately. If you want to be an investor, you can skip IB entirely if you are good. If you're not good or don't believe you are, you are in the wrong industry. Asset management and hedge funds are mature. Seats are scarce relative to demand.
He wrote he wasn't looking for sympathy or pity. Did you even read what he wrote you dumbass skank?
Yeah kindly fuck off buddy, not everyone has to have a full hard on for investment banking to get into the industry. I just want comp and exit ops.
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