Need Some Advice for Backup plans

I'm currently going through SA recruiting (semi-target) right now and to be safe/realistic, I'm applying everywhere. I'm trying to be realistic about my chances so I made a list of alternatives just in case I can't get something in banking. What do you think of this backup plan? Anything you'd suggest I tweak ? (My end goal is to get into a top 10 b-school) Thanks in advance

1) Ibanking (applying to all BB and some MM) 2) Consulting (Applying to just the top ones) 3) F500 finance division 4) Cold Call to regional ibanks 5) Go back to my boutique consulting internship I did last summer as soph.

2 Comments
 
Best Response

If your goal is B school, then why are you so set on breaking into IB? You can get into a top 10 B school from a number of career paths - banking is among the more strenuous and heavily represented. If you are genuinely interested in IB, then I would recommend BB, MM and boutiques - don't leave out the boutiques simply because they don't carry the brand weight of a BB or elite boutique - the experience you can gain is definite strong, especially in those smaller shops that will rely heavily on you to work on financial models, pitches, etc due to the lean staff. After that, I would then target consulting and F500 shops (ideally in the non-ops divisions).

Perhaps more important than where you end up is where you hope to land after B school. If you are dead set on top 10 B school, you should know why - if the answer isn't IB, then you may not have to go into IB as a SA or a FT upon graduation. If it is IB as an associate, then focus on landing in IB anywhere that offers a strong brand name, a strong experience/skill set combination, or, ideally, both. From there, if you are good enough, you might not need to head over to B school right away as you might be able to earn a direct promote. It's still early, but just some food for thought.

Good luck.

 

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