Hell on earth
Interned at a top bank this summer, gave blood sweat and tears to it and got cut due to market despite good work. Have been applying everywhere, no one is hiring and the processes that are in swing mostly cut anyone who didn’t get a return as 1000 kids are competing for maybe 1 spot that may not even exist due to banks lowering headcount. I know of many others in the same situation. We’re approaching september and I’m even more lost than I was before with the constant burnout and stress from not having a job after grad weighing on me for months constantly. I gave 3 years of college grinding and prepping and doing everything I could to get kicked to the curb with no prospects, likely to be shut out of the industry despite knowing I can do the work and do great at it. I’m almost thinking I would have been better off slacking off all of college, atleast I would have enjoyed myself more for the same result. Not really sure why I’m typing this either, maybe I just want to inspire some compassion towards my intern class. I have no idea what the futures going to look like, but career wise things have become completely soul crushing
Yeah man. Theres legit nothing to say here, just unfortunate. Sorry for what happened.
Life isn't fair. Get used to it.
How was the economy during the year you graduated?
I was in energy and the price of oil crashed over $100. Most banks were exiting commodities when I graduated
Imagine you're an intern in an economy with 3.8% unemployment and you're thinking you're graduating into a "tough economy".
Got a FT offer two months prior to my graduation last year after no return. Then got fired a few months in and landed another IB role just three weeks after that.
You'll realize that people can see you're a top candidate and you will have many offers as long as you put in the work.
Curious how did you get fired a few months in. Don’t they wait until the end of year 1 to fire new guys?
I was fired after accusations of misconduct, not laid off. Hired a lawyer to help me out with any FINRA issues and I was back on my feet shortly thereafter.
You need experience for a job.
You need a job for experience. :)
Shit is painful. I’ve been grinding since the start of this year (no break between school and internship, no break between internship and FT recruiting) and I’m fine with working hard but what gets me is when i have nothing to show for it.
Same story with the new semester as well
I’m all too familiar with having “nothing to show for it”. I felt that way pretty much all of college and tbh sometimes even now. Being in the start of senior year and seeing all the fucking jackoffs in easy majors that half-assed everything in life getting jobs meanwhile I got nothing but my dick in my hand. I was failing to get a $180k job meanwhile other people were successfully getting $60k-$80k accounting and consulting jobs, and guess what? Nobody cared how big my goals are, they only cared about results, and there was no doubt in my mind that I was the loser. Except it’s not that simple.
1. What you choose to do and how you choose to live is not about outcomes, it’s about who you are. You didn’t make sacrifices and grind just for the job, you made sacrifices and grinded because you are disciplined, ambitious, driven, and a hard worker. You live and act with purpose. That’s how you’ve chosen to show up in the world, and nobody can take that away from you. Some days you will win. Some days you will lose. Some days you will get the job or the deal and other days you won’t. But you will ALWAYS be who you are. In the short run there will be volatility, but in the long run and in aggregate your results will reflect your actions and what you deserve. Applies to school, fitness, profession, etc. Even if you chose to lay down and be an NPC cruising through life, you wouldn’t be happy, because that’s not who you are.
2. Don’t fall into the trap of letting recent failures or recent successes define you. People who walk the path always risk failure and embarrassment and pride. Just because you aren’t on top RIGHT NOW doesn’t negate everything you’ve accomplished. You’re still the same guy that got into a good college, got good grades, got the internship, etc. And the equally powerful corollary is your recent successes don’t define you either. Just because you’re on top now, doesn’t mean you never failed and you will be on top forever. You have to work every single day and live by your values every single day REGARDLESS of recent success or failure. You are all your successes and failures, and the true killers become stronger from both their victories and losses because they never forget either. There’s a reason Musafa told Simba, “Remember who you are.”
I ended up succeeding in the job hunt and starting IB after school. I just made over 200 grand after analyst 2 while a lot of my peers are around half that, and nobody cares that they got FT offers 6 months before me in college. While there were many moments I had “nothing to show for it”, time always reveals everything. I kept hunting, kept grinding, kept interviewing, kept networking and the difference between having “nothing to show for it” and having everything boils down to 1 lucky break. Keep at it brother.
Sage advice. Would you have any tips for someone who feels as if they have lost track with who they used to be? In other words, I feel as if I have lost the same grit, work ethic and humility that allowed me to get into a great school and connect with others. I feel like a zombified drone and 100% a shell of who I used to be. And it shows in pretty much all aspects of my life: health, work, family, etc.
Bump
I have 7 interviews this week at small investment banks all over the country. They're not Goldman TMT, but they're still IB and I still have a shot. Your career is not over if you don't get a return. Life is long. Careers are 40+ years.
I was depressed as fuck for like a week after I didn't get a return, sleeping all day not wanting to get up. It sucked ass and I didn't want to do shit. Getting out of the rut is tough and gravity feels very heavy trying to do so, but you have to do it and can't just stay there feeling sorry for yourself. This is coming from someone who quit their previous career so they could do IB, went to school, and then didn't get a return. But if you get on your horse, work out every day so you get some dopamine in your system, and start networking/applying like crazy while lowering your standards a little bit, you'll get traction.
It's going to be tough to get a job at Evercore NY or GS/JPM/MS. So what. You'll probably learn more from these smaller shops anyways, since you'll get more exposure to MDs and you'll be able to wear more hats since you won't just be a cog in the machine working on the same 2 slides over and over again. Once you land something, you can always consider lateraling.
Keep your head up. It will all work out in the end if you do the work - God has a plan as long as you try and do your best. It's life. But you'll be better off in the end. You got this!
How were you able to land so many interviews? You are absolutely correct by the way
Go on Linkedin, Handshake, and most importantly Google Jobs. Apply to everything. Then network with alumni at these places. If you don't network with people you're not going to get anything.
Sorry this is happening and there are no easy answers.
Got laid off from my Corp Dev job in April of 2020 and was unemployed for ~5 months. Was targeting Corp Dev / PE and sent hundreds of apps + cold emails with most going nowhere. Ended up taking a job in RE portfolio management since I needed the money. After a couple months of grinding, my MD proactively transitioned me over to the direct investing side since they had an opening and I had the IB background. So, got the PE job without ever even applying for it.
Point is keep your head up, be open to roles / opps that might not perfectly fit your envisioned path, even if you know it's temporary. Life has a serendipitous way of rewarding those that don't quit but are also adaptable.
Great you mentioned you studied hard those 3 years in college, because now you can see some pragmatic examples of risk 101 theory in real life:
- The small % chance of not getting a job might actually end up materializing.
- The % risk of experiencing a recession after graduation was always there - since your freshman year, and it happened; so shouldn't come as a surprise.
Your frustration is understandable, but not justified - risk always surrounds us. Work harder and have plans B,C,D, etc. for even the small % of downsides. That's the lesson of your situation.
This does suck, I empathize fully. However, that's showbiz, especially in this industry. Banks don't care about individuals, especially at the junior levels, because they are a commodity.
My best advice is to keep going, get a job (easier to get a new job once you have a job), network your ass off, and be open to non-traditional paths.
I know that may be anathema to folks, but life is rarely a straight line progression. You will need to get creative, you're learning that doing everything you're supposed to doesn't always yield the expected result.
The best thing you can do at this point is sack up and grow.
Truth be told, it is just a regular job. After a while, you get tired of doing it and you look for something else. Don't put so much of your personal value into "IB or nothing." You got the internship, so you're not a complete invalid (blood, sweat and tears might be a smidge dramatic) - so I'm certain you can pivot into something else.
Message me
you got this legend - at the end of the day, if you keep learning via a role or in your own time, you will still have skills people will pay money for, whether directly or indirectly. Don't let your head drop
i want to reassure you that you're not in this alone. many other have struggled through this IB journey and sadly, it's not all a bed of roses.
i myself didn't do "IB" and and am only doing M&A at a MM firm and getting underpaid as fuck but still, really depends how much youwant this .
They say internships are harder this year too right?
How are things going for you guys?
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