FT Recruiting Anxiety
Interned in IB at GS/MS/JP this past summer in a top group and didn't get a return. Sophomore summer I interned at a reputable MM IB and Freshman summer I interned in boutique IB. Have a really strong resume with tons of deal experience. Have leadership positions in three different finance clubs and a 4.0 GPA. Despite all of that, still haven't been able to land a FT offer. Have had three superdays out of around 6 processes that I was able to get into, and have been rejected from all of them. I feel like the no offer is just the brand of death, and I'll never get a job nomatter what I do. I wake up every morning and hate my life. I have constant stress and anxiety, and I don't know how much longer I can take it. I have no interviews coming up and there seems to be little to no applications left for FT IB. Has anyone out there been in a similar situation? Can anyone give me some sliver of hope?
Same man. Feel this. In some ways continuing on will build character and eventually we will get something good. But yes, I feel you
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Bro what 💀
it sucks but given the market is so shit FT recruitment is very competitive and firms tend to bucket those without a return as someone who can't do the job as an intern so why could they as a FT. As much as its stupid to judge someone off 10 weeks, it's better than off 4 hours of interviews
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In the same boat, it’s definitely very very hard, but imma stay positive and you should too. Good luck dude
was in the same spot, didnt get a return at my MM regional this summer, really didnt click w/ the people and felt like total crap at the end of the summer knowing it was pretty inevitable.
signed ft offer to an objectively better bank in nyc. you really j have to keep going and not let the stress of the situation get to you during interviews. my first two interviews at two different EBs i flunked because the pressure of interviewing w/ no return was making me crazy panicky. thankfully was able to get into a process that only had 4 ppl spd and outperformed those w/ RO
most of the structured interviews are gone at this point but there will always be some attrition before next FT class as SAs realize finance is not for them in a couple months, h1b situation causes some turnover, etc etc. 1 off postings will continue to trickle in even until next may.
Damn if you can’t get a job then I am cooked
well i did sign a ft offer, in paragraph two haha
Any general advice in regards to when they asked about no return or why move? You prob told them so I assume they didn’t care, but curious there. Thanks and good job.
well i was from NYC so it was an easy sell going from regional back to nyc.
on the retrun offer- this one is a bit of a cliche but i told them i did good work, work product was generally liked by those i worked w/, but didn't focus as much on the social aspect and as a result had no one pushing for me at the end of the day. in the actual case, the group really didnt gaf about the me or the other intern and only 3 ppl even bothered showing up to the end of summer event or our last day despite not being busy, but you can never blame your group for not extending the return. always find something you could've done better and explain how you fixed it mid internship and how its not an issue going forwards
FITFO?
It takes time. I got no offered from summer 2023, then landed a job at a worse bank in October of that year after many rejections. Now I just accepted a real sweet buyside job. No regrets
For my full-time banking offer, I landed in a 'shitty' seat (non-NYC, lesser-known nichey bank, team where I saw basically no deal work) but it ended up not mattering too much when interviewing for exits. So just let go of the idea that you need to end up at a great BB or MM.
If you off yourself after every setback then how are you going to survive the rest of your career? If another 2008 happens is that it for you? Be stronger.
Did you get to a top MF or UMM or MM on the buyside?
In same boat except for AM - am attempting for ER and PB now.
Networking is such a huge part of it and some of these postings will come up as a one off or from a referral. Can’t speak for IB directly but I’d imagine it’s much similar.
Keep practicing and stay confident. Keep at it you got it brother.
Was at a better mm firm this summer and the group gave out 50% return offers and I didn’t get one. TBH I just started aiming lower and ended up with something better than I thought I would. The no-offer definitely got me cut at places as well. What worked for me was emailing every group I had an advantage in (prior or current experience was in that coverage).
Damn so you’re done? Still doing IB?
Yeah summer was in IB and was looking pretty exclusively in IB. Had two guys I know who also got screwed over and know they are still looking though.
Maybe you can try another finance job other than IB? I got no return at an EB product group and realized I hated IB. Interviewed with multiple roles outside of IB(AM, PE, Portfolio Management), was never asked if I ever got an return offer, and just landed an investing position with comp much below IB but can’t complain given great WLB :D very happy about this move
OP here. Wanted to give everyone an update. Today I signed a FT IB offer with a strong MM bank in NYC! It was my 8th superday this cycle and my absolute last chance at breaking back in to IB for FT. To those still recruiting, I wanted to give a message of hope to never give up. Even when it seems like all is lost, if you just keep pushing, you will get to where you want to be. I'd been completely depressed for the last 4 months after not getting a return offer - this was one of the darkest times in my life. Everybody told me that everything would eventually work out and I never believed them, but they were right. So don't give up, believe in yourself, and you will accomplish whatever you set your mind to.
pm?
That’s awesome !!
Can I ask how you approached FT recruitment especially w off cycle processes?
Network network network. The off cycle processes that I was able to get into weren’t advertised and I only found out about them through connections that knew about them. Send as many emails as you can every single day, get your resume out there, and you will find processes that not too many people know about. From there. At this point in the cycle, the talent pool isn’t as competitive so you’re typically competing against other people who either didn’t get a return offer or didn’t do IB so I found that they don’t really discount you as much for not having a return offer. That means as long as you perform well in the interview, you should have a really good shot at getting the offer.
congrats g, enjoy senior yr!
Congrats mofo!!!! I hope you’re getting blitzed tonight. Well done.
So awesome to hear that. Hope you enjoy the rest of your senior year! Hard work really pays off!
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