Has anyone truly been ousted after not getting a return offer from their junior-year internship?

Had my dream internship for SA '25 - NYC IB at a MM - and didn't get a return despite giving it my all. Now, I am having trouble landing something for FT, since FT is a completely different beast. I know there's 7-8 months until graduation, but I am still nervous - has anyone (who actually cared about the role and actively re-recruits, not those who realized the job wasn't for them and left the industry themselves) found themselves unable to break back in? What should I be doing right now? The idea of making it so close only to have to take a corporate finance job and break back in via MBA is gut-wrenching.

6 Comments
 

I definitely am. What does the recruiting/networking process look like for these? (assuming its different compared to on-cycle where nearly every firm has apps open)

 

 I’m in the same boat as you. Was at a top MM (not in NYC) and didn’t get an RO. I’ve only been able to land one IB interview at another MM and currently involved in a process at a LMM one. It’s been emotionally draining tbh – feels like all my hard work was for nothing. I’m just going to keep looking for IB jobs til I land one, not going to compromise and take some bs FP&A job. Lmk if you want to chat about it. 

I have a good friend of mine who is 2 years older and didn’t get an RO from his SA in 2023. Pretty similar situation to me too where the reason was bullshit, but he worked for like 6 months in some sourcing role for a LMM growth equity firm and landed an analyst role at a better MM than where his SA was. So it is possible to get back in, even if you don’t land something initially out of school. 

 

100% down to chat about it, but its great to hear that you can bounce back after school ends too. Still considering if I want to purely gun for IB or drop down into something like FP&A for 6 months and continue to network.

 

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