no return offer

I didn't get a return offer despite every indication I would (positive summer feedback, team liked me, and had good deliverables on deal work). I am not gonna lie I am extremely depressed and sad for this outcome especially considering how hard I worked this summer and to get this internship in the first place, but I just feel so hopeless in terms of next steps. How do I move past this?

 

yeah i think i just needed a night to clear my head and get over this loss ~ got to get back on the grind and am gonna send a fuckton of networking emails and hopefully something can stick

 

Yeah I'm feeling really low right now. I don't really want to think about the time I spent recruiting and working all for things to fall apart. I don't want to talk to anyone  today man but also I want a shoulder to cry on at the same time lol

 

Best of luck to you. You should def talk to a friend outside finance/banking, and enjoy your weekend. Starting next week, get your head back in the recruiting game and remember it is not the end of anything. You can also reach out to the analysts/associates on your team that you know liked you, ask them to become references if applicable

 

Same here - interned at one of the top MM and ended up didn't get a return offer. I would just say it's probably because of the market, deal flow, headcount, we are underperform in their opinion, or whatever the reason is that I can't think of on top of my head. I am a hundred percent confident that I literally put in a lot of effort, and I only received positive feedback from the team and the people that I closely worked with too. At this point, it is what it is. This might sound cliche but we all honestly need to move on, reflect on ourselves, keep grinding, reach out to all possible connections we have on hand, and literally just keep our head up. Good luck!

 

appreciate it ~ was just really sad yesterday tbh but just decided to get back on the grind, hopefully we can get past this

 

Hey man, PM me. Had the same issue a few years ago and was looking at a steep discount in "prestige" but was able to land a really solid role. Can't do anything about market cyclicality but timing is key and you need to start thinking about your options (strategy, who to reach out to, etc.). Really want to emphasize while this isn't fatal, if you want banking you need to act. Too many people get lazy, miss opportune timing and end up doing generic roles or going to grad school, simply because they didn't want it bad enough or didn't act quick enough. To the degree you hated your experience / don't want to do banking, disregard my prior comments.  

 

This isn't proprietary so posting for everyone's benefit: 

***

Look I don't know your situation but assuming you are rising senior this is what you need to do:

  • Figure out exactly why you didn't get the offer. Politics aside there is always some sort of reason that may have blown up, and on the margin caused you to not get the offer. Figure this out. 
  • Ask yourself - do you want banking? I knew the answer was an easy yes for me because it was a means to an end to get an investor seat down the line. But there are a lot of other good paths out there so some introspection needed obvi. 
  • Reach out to all of your allies or people that you trusted in the internship, analyst to MD and ask them for honest feedback and also if they have any recommendations for people or banks to reach out to
  • Set a 1-2 month window, preferably end of October to get an offer (arbitrary to a degree but to the extent banks want additional heads, a little less so in this environment, people tend to want to hire faster). This is a lot of pressure sure, but timing is key.
  • Build a tracker/CRM/whatever is helpful to track outreach across your network, LinkedIn, your university etc.
  • You must have an honest, compelling answer for why you didn't get the return. It always comes down to some version of (i) the bank over-hired & (ii) some deficit, small or large that other people magnified to push you out. Didn't own the work product / shitty work product / not confident / just wasn't the right cultural fit. Craft your response to emphasize the first point and if pressed you need to give somewhat a directionally honest reason on why you didn't get the return. A lot of people in the industry are willing to take chances on fresh talent but not if it you come across as a liar or a fraud. This is a tiny industry honestly and people talk.
  • Craft the resume to reflect your deal experience, have 1-2 deals prepped for a deal walk and depending on banks you are going after expect a modeling test of some kind 
  • Timing wise - do not give up. I would push hard the next 1-2 months but I know of people that had to wait until spring before graduation. Do not give up. I was able to land something end of October in my situation but best you can do is focus on the process (outreach, story / deals / technicals and doing your best to ace the interviews that come your way). 

Do not be shy about explaining your situation to others you think that can help you (people you know, rich people, family friends, your tennis instructor who summers in the Hamptons / Brentwood, etc.). Don't let your ego get in the way here. When you do land interviews realize that on the other side of the table/zoom is a human (and likely not a sociopath, although YMMV), be present, tell your story and address this issue when it comes up.

 

People will absolutely reject you (had someone claim to have a meeting and close the interview early, had others just ghost met etc.) and it blows super hard but you gotta push through, lotta goodness on the other side I promise.   

***

Addendum: Geography (summered in NYC but you are TX based, CA based etc.)

- Need to optimize for where can get the full time offer (if that means doing LA banking or Houston banking and then trying your hand at a lateral role in NYC). Lateraling as an investment banking analyst, compared to virtually any other lateral move in your career down the line, is super easy. You just need an offer.  

 

 

Would you mind PMing me? I have a question about modeling tests—the group I did an SA position at this summer was a very specific type of modeling and I didn’t learn general 3-statement modeling. I want to learn myself but courses are expensive and timeline is tight.

 

Ut est quod quibusdam quo sunt consequatur iusto. Quos et facere consequatur consequuntur reprehenderit. Aut aut est ut eos sequi. Voluptas et fuga vel recusandae. Architecto enim omnis dolorem. Ipsa reprehenderit voluptatem eos consectetur aliquam inventore quas. Maiores minima totam cum mollitia.

Itaque exercitationem consectetur neque quas est autem necessitatibus omnis. Suscipit est voluptas architecto ut quos.

Rerum et similique et et quae magnam. Rerum minus provident enim reprehenderit nisi necessitatibus.

Numquam ipsam ut odio ut fugiat ullam. Aut et quia ratione veniam nihil rerum.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (87) $260
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (14) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (146) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”