Lost in the IB grind—how do I crack London?
Hey everyone,
I could really use some advice on my next steps.
Quick background:
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I graduated last year with a Master’s in Finance from a target school in the Benelux.
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I’ve done two off-cycle IB internships in Europe—one at a top US MM and one at a European bank, both in sector teams. Neither internship was designed to convert to full-time.
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Since then, I’ve been grinding to break into IB in London. I interviewed for off-cycles with 4 top MMs and 1 EB, but no luck so far. I also tried going back to the MM I interned at for an off-cycle in London, but sponsorship issues shut that down.
Now I’m debating between :
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Doing a second master’s in the UK or France to be eligible for Summer Analyst/Graduate programs, which are more conversion-focused.
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Sticking to networking and applying for off-cycles, hoping to land something that leads to full-time.
My end goal is to secure an internship with conversion potential or a direct FT role at an MM in London.
What do you think is the best move, or what else should I do? Has anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice would be super appreciated!
P.S. I don’t speak any European languages fluently, so options in continental EU are pretty limited.
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here’s a roadmap to help you crack London IB:
Second Master’s Option:
Networking and Off-Cycles:
Alternative Strategies:
Language Barrier:
Execution is Key:
Ultimately, if you can afford it, the second master’s at a top UK school might be the most direct way to achieve your goal. It aligns with your endgame of securing a conversion-focused internship or graduate role. If not, double down on networking and off-cycle applications while considering lateral moves from other markets.
For more insights, check out this thread: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/advice-for-lon…</a">Advice for London applicants.
Sources: International Student - Chance of getting an IBD internship in London?, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/investment-banking-in-the-uk-an-overview?customgpt=1, 20 Most Frequently Asked Questions - London Edition, Investment Banking in the UK - An Overview, London Advice on current situation and transition to IBD/S&T
bump
good luck
Not enough info here.
Where have you been applying? Have you tried the mid caps like Raymond James?
Don't do a second Masters. Won't anything to your CV and will just cost you money.
Have you been network calling?
Yes, I’ve applied to most of the MM firms, though there aren’t too many grad/off-cycle openings available. I’ve also interviewed MMs like Baird/HW/ Macquarie.
I’ve been doing a lot of networking calls, mostly with firms that have active openings, which helped me land a few interviews. But I’m not sure if I should also reach out to companies that don’t have any openings right now.
For the second master’s, my main goal was to become eligible for SA/Grad schemes. I didn’t expect it to add much to my CV, but it would also let me do off-cycle internships in the UK without sponsorship. I’m just not sure if it’s worth it.
How exactly were you able to convert networking to interviews? What caliber of bankers did you network with? What kind of banks?
Why are you not getting through interviews?
If you are getting interviews it isn't your profile that's the problem.
Would suggest you look at Big 4 Corp Finance / Restructuring / Transaction services. Get you accountancy qualification and then look to move up.
It's too late, you're cooked. Better start applying for audit programmes
Disagree. OP if you can stomach the cost do a Msc at a target like HEC and try again
You don't speak European languages? Thats entire point of hiring Europeans... So basically you are like a Msc in Finance from UCL grad, just without the visa.
If there were a student from the UK struggling to get into IB after MSc, I wouldn't recommend them to do another MSc, its just burning money
It’s a bit different from that—I’m more like a UK MSc grad + IB internships - UK visa. If I were already a UK graduate, I’d probably be doing another off-cycle at the same MM I interned before and might have even converted to a full-time role by now.
The main reasons I’m thinking about doing another MSc in the UK are:
1) Being eligible for SA/grad schemes.
2) Being able to do an SA/off-cycle in London without needing visa sponsorship.
With my past internships, I am quite positive about at least getting another SA/off-cycle in London
At some point you have to realise when its curtains. By doing another (top) master you are essentially paying a ballpark figure of £45k plus CoL for a chance to land an assessment centre (which may or may not convert into an offer).
I am a student at a "top" master's programme (HEC/LBS/Oxford/LSE) with a worse profile than yours (I have directly related internships but not at brand names) and I have gotten a total of 0 interviews. I have also noticed across my cohort that there are people who have impressive brand names (e.g. MBB) who are struggling to get interviews.
So a master's is very far from a silver bullet. I would recommend perhaps trying to find the closest job to IB possible with a somewhat decent brand name, grind it out for a few years, and then try for an M7 MBA.
European (and especially U.K.) recruiting is a joke which plays off factors such as nationality, nepotism, etc. while making it incredibly difficult for students to grind their way in as HR runs the show and essentially nullifies the impact of networking (not the case in the U.S.).
As always, do your own research but I would not recommend you to pursue a master in your position.
Thanks so much for your advice and honesty—that’s exactly what I needed! You’re right, even if I do a second MSc and spend all that money, there is chance I still end up in the same situation I’m in now.
Do you think this is just a function of a tough hiring cycle, or what is the actual issue? I'm curious to know as I'm thinking about accepting an offer at a top masters program next year, and don't want to end up in the same situation as OP. For what it's worth, I will have a year of Big4 M&A Advisory / Corp Finance Experience, non-traditional background (engineer with published scientific research), speak French and English, and do not require VISA sponsorship. Wondering if you think I'd get traction with this sort of background.
I do not want to comment on your specific situation - I have a similar profile to yours, and yet I completely struck out on summer analyst recruiting. If your offer is from the LSE, I strongly recommend avoiding. Given that you are French, HEC would likely be the best option.
Given that M&A activity is expected to be much higher, I suspect that next year's cycle will be easier than this years, for whatever that is worth.
Is it in London never possible to convert off-cycle internships to FT? Just curious bc in my homecountry in Europe SA or OC doesn‘t matter for conversion
In London, OC's play second fiddle to SA's. The graduate scheme will be filled first by summer converts, and then any left over spots (if there are any) will be allocated to OC's. Consider that some banks overhire for their SA, it is not uncommon for OC interns to get a pat on the back after their 6-12 month stint of working (at what essentially is) as an analyst.
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