Graduating MSF - no job
Panic is starting to set in. In a few weeks I'll be graduating from my MSF degree with no job and 200k in debt (undergrad included).
Over the past 2 months I have interviewed with 3 companies, 2 of which made it to the final round. The last one was heartbreaking because I crushed the technicals and got along great with everyone I met, but think I got dinged for poor answers to one MDs unconventional behavioral questions. This was 2 weeks ago.
Since then, I have tried reaching out to alumni who I networked with, but have not had any luck. All have been sympathetic, but just don't know of any openings this late. My MSF has a good brand name, so I'm sure I can get some kind of Corp finance or back office job, but that won't help me pay off this debt and is not what I want long term.
Is there anything else I can do at this point?
Are you only targeting BB-IBD? If so, you're going to have to move down the spectrum of prestige.
Also, what was your experience prior to MSF?
I came to the conclusion that BB IBD would be unattainable fairly early into the MSF. I initially targeted MM banks but then changed focus to boutiques after not gaining much traction with the MMs. The interview a few weeks ago was with a small 10-man IB. I'm open to any size bank at this point.
Prior to the MSF, I spent 2 years at a mid-size, relatively unknown, consulting firm doing data analysis.
Bump
Finance is a quickly shrinking field. We are in a really bad recession and have been since '08. Never truly recovered.
All Obama did was preach about what's he's done for the economy. In California and NY, just to break even you need to make $150k / year. To me, this is insanity.
Its truly amazing to see a high school economist preach....
Calm down. I broke even on $60K/year in NYC.
Back to my rusty honda.
Yeah, if you need 150k as a single person in their 20's to sustain themselves (even in NYC/SF) your expenses are WAY out of line. I realise you'll probably have roommates and stuff but 100% doable on significantly less than 100K; just look at how the majority of young people do it.
are you serious dude lol
Deleted.
Are you straight up asking for jobs when you reach out or still asking for an informational interview, but including the resume as a subtle hint? When I was doing my initial networking early in the year, I tried both attaching the resume and leaving it out with similar results. But it sounds like you're saying to change the email context.
OK, first thing is I would spend a day talking to financial aid and researching forbearances. You're gonna want to make sure you have a plan of attack to keep those student loans current.
Once that is done, I would form a two pronged approach.
1) Apply to everything that is fits three buckets - Your goal job, the job that is one stepped removed (with transferable experience) and any relevant job. So if you want banking, apply to all the BB/MM/Smaller Boutiques, etc. Then apply to all the valuation and transaction services jobs. Look at FTI and other financial consulting firms as well. Look at corporate and commercial banking (credit roles). Look at F500 treasury roles, rotational roles, etc. Stuff that you can use to lateral in a year or two for the job you want.
2) Look at a local internship to keep your resume fresh and relevant. Find something flexible and unpaid. Will give your resume a boost, add something fresh to talk to your contacts with and keep you moving forward.
I'd get Linkedin/Indeed/OCR/ all dialed in with alerts. Spend a weekend (if you haven't already) filling out profiles on all the major bank job sites. You want to be able to apply and move on without getting sucked into an app process. Try and reach out to 10-20 fresh contacts every other day. Go back to your UG alumni network, Masters network, friends who are working in your desired field from UG, professors, professional contacts, etc. If you want banking, look into ACG events in the city you are near as a way to inject some new people into your search. CFA events.
I'd also try and set some measurable goals so you don't feel like you are wallowing. Try and set up a call a couple times a week with someone news. Apply to x number of jobs a day. Get an interview pipeline set up, etc. Your two biggest enemies in this process are going to be time and despair and you can only control one of them. Make good use of your time and stay positive.
Shoot me a PM with the program you went to. Odds are I have some contacts that graduated your program over the years. Might be of help.
Deleted.
You mature into the degree because most students don't have work experience when they graduate. In 3-5 years it will be your terminal graduate degree. Honestly, of all the years I have around, MSF's who do an MBA tend to be in the minority.
As for your comment about commercial banking, I think you are looking at things incorrectly.
Credit Analyst roles at a good sized bank pay better than F500 roles (which many MSF's go into). Credit analysis can place you into IB, Corporate Banking, non-bank lending funds, etc. It is more relevant for other finance roles than F500 and you can easily stay within commercial banking and make good money.
At the end of the day, the reality of the situation is that you 1) didn't get the job you wanted from UG and 2) haven't landed the job you want from your masters. So right now you have zero. Anything not zero is a gain. So I'd be careful thinking that commercial banking would be perceived as a waste when being unemployed is most definitely a worse situation.
As a data point, a classmate of mine did an rotational credit program with a big European bank. Went on to do Syndications at that bank and is now doing LevFin at a good MM bank. Another person I know had a similar path, but with Citi. I used to work in with people who did commercial/corporate banking from PNC.
Excellent advice. SBed
Thank you - this is great advice.
I should clarify I'm not completely without a job. I can stay with my consulting firm as month as I want, but it's not a high paying job and won't help me move to where I want. It does make the loan situation manageable, albeit without much money left for anything else.
Would you suggest I be more direct when I reach out to network at this point? I feel like people will question why I am contacting them so late and "couldn't land a job" doesn't seem like the best answer.
Have you considered BB BO roles? They are really not as bad as people on this site make it seem.
To add onto @TNA" post regarding the student loans.
What you can do is delay the payments (1 year cycle), when you call them in to schedule payments, notify them that you are "unemployed" on that "day" so that when you sign the contract, you are waived from payments for a year, until the next year when the date comes up, that is when you can do a "payment calculated by income" (pretty self-explanatory).
Make sure that you are in good shape with the federal government. One default, late payment, it will suck and add unnecessary stress.
This dude needs to be given some kind of community service award.
sorry to hear about your experience. I don't know if my 2 cents will add a lot, but you can also try applying to finance related roles at Big 4 accounting firms. The pay will certainly not be as high as in IB, but better than being unemployed with such a significant amount in debt.
My understanding is that given my experience post-undergrad, I will have to come in to an off-cycle opening, which I would certainly be happy with.
Have you tried reaching out to independent recruiters on LinkedIn? I get contacted by them every single day and they say the have lots of opportunities, so might be a good idea to try. They also get substantial bonuses if they place you in a job, so they should be very proactive in responding to you.
Curious as to where you got your MSF. Also, have you looked at some of the M&A Advisory practices at the Big Four? Obviously this wouldn't be IBD (But I think its tougher to recruit for IBD with an MSF over an MBA anyway)
Most likely USC. I know some Indians there who didn't get jobs even though they obtained their undergrads from USC(other schools) and some students went to audit and accounting from their MSF just because they couldn't get anything, it's expensive and a mediocre program. But it's just a guess. Could be UT Austin, 70% got placed last year with 57k average salary lol(because a lot of grads went to audit plus low salary for internationals which is what Trump was talking about, H1B abuse). Those placements stats on UT Austin's website are outdated.
Neither of the above :) I'm a US citizen so it's not an issue of language or work Visa.
If you're referring to the May 2016 class at UT Austin, I can tell you that both the 70% statistic you cite and your assertion that 'a lot of grads went to audit' are, based on what I personally know as a member of that class, are very wrong.
If you work for the government or a 501c3, your debt will be gone in 10 years. I know nobody on WSO would ever suggest working for the government or going into tech or working anywhere outside of NYC, but there's $20K/year of debt forgiveness here.
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/publi…
what area are you in? i know some boutiques hiring...
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