Struggling to Break into Banking After Graduation - Need Your Advice!

Hey folks, looking for some guidance or advice,

I did a junior internship at a BB but didn’t get a return offer. I tried my hand at FT 2024 positions but didn’t get anything. I’m partly panicked and partly frustrated because there were far too few positions, and I didn’t make it. Now, I might regret it, but I think I still want to start my career in banking.

For now, I’m using the summer to recruit for anything related to finance to keep the lights on and get a job that’s somewhat finance-related, hoping to use it as a stepping stone later.

The question I have for you all is: what do I do to prepare? I don’t know if I’m full-time recruiting or lateral, but it looks like it’s lateral. I’m still sending emails to people, checking job postings and mentions, and have alerts set up for new postings. I’m seeing who’s running them and cold emailing people, leaning on any connections I have.

But other than that, I don’t know what to do. It’s been a month since I graduated, and I feel like shit that I haven’t achieved anything. I’ve done a few calls, but it’s the same thing: “We aren’t recruiting, you look good or give cool vibes, reach out when we are after rate cuts or summer.” (Like, when the fuck is that even?) I’ve been burnt too many times to sit on one or two people saying that, so I’ve been hitting up as many people as I can find and putting in the time to super-customize some emails to the best of my ability.

But honestly, I don’t know what to do. I know and have seen enough people who have broken in, and I know I can too, but I don’t know how to start or where. I would really appreciate some practical guidance and steps.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes, I know grad school is an option, but would like to avoid it