Laid off bankers, how’s it going?
For those who have been laid off, how’s the job search going? Which industries are you targeting? Are you finding opportunities through connections, recruiters, or applying directly?
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It was tough at first but It’s been a blessing in disguise. I am looking at way better opportunities and recruiters have been poaching me for way better jobs at better companies. I have been averaging around 2-3 interviews a week in the last few weeks so far all thanks to recruiters.
What recruiters if I may ask? Guessing these aren’t all for other IB roles?
Some IB and some were not but I’ve been focusing on taking any kind of capital markets/PE job I can get so it’s not a bad thing.
Would be interested in hearing about the process. PM? - may be in a similar position soon
Bump
Was laid off in December and feel thankful for the timing. Recruiting was definitely tough given the market, but not impossible. It took about 3 months, but ended up with 4 offers (IB, 2 PE, AM) in the same week and recently started the new job. Happy to share the process and what worked / didn’t work for me .
This highlights the importance of having a rainy day fund/emergency savings so one can buffer looking for work.
100%. Thankfully started my job the week after severance ended, but could’ve gotten rough another month or so out.
Would definitely be interested in hearing what worked or didn’t
Sure and happy to answer any specific questions (interview prep, resume, etc) but will answer in terms of what worked to actually get interviews. By far the most effective route for me was reaching out to well regarded recruiting firms who have real mandates.
My own network was also huge, and would suggest letting anyone who might even be tangentially helpful know that you are searching. You never know what might come of it, but if they don’t know they can’t help.
Job boards and LinkedIn applications were a numbers game. For every ~20 applications you might get one interview. Quality of these firms was also largely hit or miss (more often miss).
What definitively did not work and was a huge waste of time was responding to recruiters like pinpoint, water st, or spammers on LinkedIn. I’m convinced they somehow monetize your resume and can arguably do more harm than good.
I’m glad it worked out. Were you an a2a or mba associate?
MBA. Definitely a barrier to entry at some places, but not as much as you might think
Which offer did you go with and do you have an idea of what you want to do longer term?
Can you send me a PM? Would like to learn more about your process. It’s not letting me PM you for some reason
Would greatly appreciate any advice!
What didn’t and did work for you? What were you doing that was not effective in your process and how did you redirect?
Laid off from a top tech boutique back in February - it has been tough, recruiters have blacklisted me at the moment and have had little to no traction
Sorry to hear man - blacklisted because you said you were laid off? Wasn't there a grace period where you could still say you were employed?
Yeah but the recruiters have contacts at my bank (I guess) and figured out shortly after that I was on severance
Bump
PM me if you need help in your recruiting process.
DM - would appreciate advice. I can’t see your user name
DM - would appreciate advice. I can’t see your user name
Would also greatly appreciate some advice.
Likewise!
Laid off in December. Still looking for opps. Been very tough mentally. Feel like a failure and am extremely isolated.
Got laid off a few months ago so I feel ya. I definitely still have those moments of feeling like a failure but I try to look at the positive side of things. Reconnecting with friends, studying for future endeavors, selling old things, and just catching up on everything else has made this whole period a lot smoother. Look at the bright side, you never know if this will truly be your last break in life or not, hang in there.
What type of role are you looking for?
Same as you pal, was completely depressed/unmotivated, but found something by virtue of luck/grind. Keep sending those apps out, someone will bite! Best of luck.
Also I suggest keeping busy by learning/trying things you've always wanted to do.
What type of roles are you looking at?
I was also laid off in December and it took so long to find something. Market is terrible right now for IB so don’t get discouraged. It felt like there were so few opportunities available. Really long interview processes too. Keep it up man you’ll land somewhere.
In NYC or from a regional boutique? Shouldn't be THAT hard to get back in the game if in NYC, no?
I mean I think there can be a lot of challenges - If you are a firm, do you take a risk on someone who was laid off - Arguably somewhere near the bottom of the totem pole in terms of standing due to: quality of work, effort, political standing, etc.
or
Do you take the risk on a new grad that is not jaded and willing to grind to get things across the finish line?
I am not saying that people who get laid off are bad employees, but this has crossed my mind as I have started to sit in more on the recruiting/interviewing side of my firm and I sort of ask why do we pay the 20%+ premium to recruit "tested" analyst versus molding our own.
hang in there guys. I was in a lame middle office/quasi back office role at a hedge fund awhile ago and I got "soft" laid off / i.e. they moved me to some really crappy team in a crappy office with like 10 people near a datacenter in NJ where my coworkers would all be high school grads only. Moved off the better projects.
Felt like a failure, and while I had a big ego hit, I used my time networking and finally landed a off cycle nontrad IB spot at a BB superday. crushed the interview as a I was extremely motivated and prepared for it.
basically went from wow, I can even be a support ops loser at a hedge fund, to landing a nice gig at a BB (and basically tripling my pay).
Made me realize all our "setbacks" in our careers are not a big deal. Lots of people really do not care to get into the details as they mostly just care about themselves anyways.
keep looking, you will find something
inspiring story - thanks for sharing. any tips for non-IB laterals looking to break in? how’d you convince bankers to take your call/push for you coming from a more MO/BO background?
Inspiring asf. Thank you for this. Really appreciate it
Former AN2 in the US here, got laid off from MM bank late last year. Job search / recruiting process has been quite brutal so far for me - that being said I had a terrible experience at my prior bank (deals getting killed before substantial progress made / VP and up short circuiting juniors on deals). Initially had a few buyside recruiting processes that I was plugged into via recruiters / network (started those before getting laid off) but most buyside recruiting has fizzled out already for me. Have switched to recruiting for IB, AM and research roles but the competition has been intense on these roles. I've gotten into most of my non-buyside processes by directly applying on the company's website; most banks had a hiring freeze in place so it's been a bit more difficult to get into the first round interviews.
What I'm observing so far is that Analysts are in a tough spot (large supply, relatively small demand) and Associates are in high demand. (See Meredith Dennes' weekly IB recruiting newsletter on LinkedIn).
On a separate note, would love to get everyone's opinion on whether it's worth moving into a middle office role at a large international bank (minimal / no presence in US) or if I should stick it out and try to snag another IB analyst role at a lesser known firm. Not sure if I'll be stuck in the middle office if I take the former but a job is a job and it ends my long "unemployment streak." The goal is to one day make it into a credit investing role. Thanks!
its ultimately up to you, but I would not think any less of someone in your position taking any job (middle office....etc) just to pay bills. I lived through 2008-2010 and people were graduating from nice schools and taking jobs are starbucks since no one was hiring.
you can always switch (they will understand), and you can always reset with an MBA later if you want to get back into banking/PE/front office roles after doing middle office a few years.
Got it - really appreciate your input here as it helps put things in perspective. When you say "you can always switch (they will understand)" are you referring to a switch from MO back to FO or something else entirely?
On another note, assuming I take the MO route, what traits / characteristics would you want to see in a candidate seeking to return to FO? Making full 3 statement models / pitches / writeups in your spare time? Or what types of actions can you take to demonstrate suitability for a return to the FO? Based on firsthand experience (and current BB / EB hiring practices) my understanding is that finance isn't exactly known as a field of 2nd chances...
How are you all keeping your sanity? I’m a month in and already feeling pretty down. I’m not in nyc so my options are limited, though I’m willing to move if needed. It’s hard to stay positive when I’m seeing fewer and fewer postings and the processes I’m in are moving slowly.
One thing you know is that you were successful in staying/moving up your last spot for however long you stayed there for X reasons. I’m also seeing the well drying up and close to facing that I might have to bite the bullet and jump into something to stay afloat. Knowing that it’s not just you and is across the board softens the blow a bit
Yeah, I had to jump to something to keep the boat afloat. Still in banking but at a tough LMM Shop and really need to spend every ounce of energy networking and then finding a new role.
Hey does anyone know how I would put it on my resume? Do I just put the month I was laid off and hope for an interview and then explain the lay off?
Most people didn’t seem to care but a few recruiters asked me to put the month I was laid off instead of showing “present” on my resume while I was still under the notice period. Once in the interviews, I’d mention the layoff.
Any updates?
Signs of hiring?
How’s everyone doing? Hiring has come to a halt but I’m starting to see a few postings so maybe that will change come august? How long have you all been unemployed?
Laid off for 5 months now and not seeing much investment roles. Did get an offer from a UAE firm in their REPE group focused on US investments. My plan would be to come back in 2-3 years when markets improve. Thoughts?
What would you do for 2-3 years?
Go to UAE bro.
I would take it. Better to get experience and get paid, especially with almost a 6 month gap. Who knows how long the market is going to be shit.
Are you willing to share how you got the job? Through headhunter? If yes, which?
The job wasn't really marketed. I've networked via cold emails for this one.
No income tax and experience abroad. Why not take the offer
While it is nice and focused on North America the one doubt I do have is how my experience would be considered when I decide to come back in 2-3 years.
UG Graduate spring '23 seeking IB roles it has been 1 year since my first FT interview and have a ton since. No offers yet though.
I have ~10 years of work experience, two in IB, eight in corp dev. I have been laid off twice during corporate restructuring processes. Here is some stuff that I have found helped me through this time:
1. If you take your job search seriously, you can realistically only spend an average hour or two a day on it. Find something to do during your newly found freedom. Reading books, dating, and spending time with friends I had not seen in a while was what I did. If you're in a major city, go to the library- it's free. Maybe learn a new non-work-related skill.
2. Spend some serious time on your resume. WSO has a good resume review service and template, but your basic goal should be for your resume to demonstrate what you have accomplished in previous roles that just so happens to be what other firms are looking for. So, say you want to work in tech corp dev....look up corp dev postings from top tech companies and see what language their job postings use. Cater your resume to that, and do the same things during interviews. Have 3-5 stories in your head about how you have blown everything in their job description out of the water at past roles.
3. Indeed.com is pretty good for a search aggregator. Check it once a day for your various search terms. LinkedIn is good for this too.
4. Rejections are usually not rejections of you, but frequently not related to you at all. Some companies post jobs just for compliance purposes, some hiring managers are the definition of the Peter Principle, some HR people forget to take down job postings, etc. Just because you do not hear back does not necessarily mean anything is wrong with you.
5. Try to take a social media break. No need seeing everyone happy 24/7 while you are probably depressed that you were laid off.
only thing i would add is lift weights
Agree with this, will say though from 9AM - 5PM - be ready for any random calls from recruiters / HR.
Laid off from EB c. 3 months ago. Summer was very quiet as expected. I'm in one process since June which is moving very slowly but I'm now in final stages. Couple of other opps appeared now that people are back from hols. Hoping to secure something during Sep, seems doable...fingers crossed
Hey dude - how’d everything go?
Was laid off 3 months ago, still looking every day for jobs but interviews have been rare to come by lately.
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