Edited — no longer recruiting

I mean there’s two key points here:

1. It’s never worth killing yourself over a career.
2. Brother I can assure you, you’re in a far better position for IB than you realise.

Aside from the fact that committing suicide over not breaking in would be insane, you basically HAVE already broken in. People with far worse experience/stats have secured golden offers plenty of times.

Take a breather for a day/week. Get out of the initial spike of disappointment and objectively review your position/objectives.

Most important here is that IB isn’t worth dying over, but since it clearly seems very important to you:

You got this far, what’s one more hurdle to overcome?

hey youll be fine same happened to me. Hang in there

Same spot bro it gets better dude

have never even been graced with an interview at an eb, you got this my man

You need to stop. I don't know who is guiding you but even remotely considering suicide for something as trivial as this is the most retarded thing ever. I highly recommend you step away from this career if you're this intrinsically volatile.

I understand how dark it can be to grind so hard for something, only for it to implode in your face. But to even intern at an EB, you are in the top 99% of business college students around the world. I truly believe things happen for a reason and I have no doubt your next act will put you in even better place. So many of the most successful people were kicked down multiple times and had to build resiliency to get to where they are.

Always happy to talk strategy about best next steps via PM. 

bro I didn't even know what investment banking was until 4th year and I worked a shitty sales job after graduating making like $50K all in and eventually broke in to a BB. This ain't worth losing sleep let alone killing yourself over. There's so much opportunity out there, it seems like from where you are you're still most likely gonna end up in a top tier banking spot and in the grand scheme it's not even that important?? Take a step back and reflect a bit on why you want this so badly. 

I’m sorry to hear what you’re going through. You need to change your perspective on the situation. I didn’t follow the normal IB route and have not gotten return offers too. Everytime I failed to get a job / return offer, a better thing was around the corner that I wouldn’t have come across had I gotten the offer and stopped looking. IB is not the only path to wealth and definitely not the path to happiness. How sad / depressed do you think you would be working 100 hr weeks for two years? How about if that wrecks relationships and your health? But the “prestige” of IB will make it worth it? I really don’t think so. You could look at this situation as the worst thing in the world or as dodging a bullet

Brother (or sister), my biggest piece of advice is to let go of the metaphorical "control" you have with your career and future. You're feeling this way because you probably created a world in your mind where you'll do 2 years in IB, go do PE, get poached to be Chief of Staff at a Decacorn, and clip a $1mln ticket every year. That is not real in any way, shape, or form. You're only 20 or 21, barring any health scares you have an entire life to see and enjoy. 

If I could travel back to my 21 year old self who also didn't get the return offer I wanted (ended up in ER nevertheless) I would tell myself to just go with the flow and to stop feeling like a failure just because of this 1 singular moment in life. Life will naturally beat you down, throw you around, and spit you out just to do it again. The last thing you need is to contribute more to that cycle. 

I know it's really hard, but I would highly highly recommend you take a look at who you want to be in the future but be truthful to yourself. If you start swaying into the "I want money and a nice house..." that will only lead to you a path that requires sacrifice beyond the occasional late nights. 

This moment in your life could be a blessing or a curse, it's up to you to decide how you want to frame it.

While I can sympathize with you, I hope my experience can help you a little bit. I have been reading this website on and off for ~15ish years, when I was a junior in undergrad. Back then WSO had a chat room where I hung out and bugged Patrick and others. I never thought that any form of banking would be something that I would be able to break into. 

It all sort of unfolded in a way that I could of never expected - I started off in consumer lending and eventually worked my way into a HF. Honestly, after reading some of the stories on here, I was hesitant to even go into banking, but I knew that I could not at least try. It has been a journey, where like any, has many ups and downs. 

There is a quote I used to hear as a kid that has stuck with me, I don't know who it is by, but, "there are many paths to the top of the mountain". It is all perspective and growth, and when I finally got old enough to realize it is learning to like and appreciate the journey. Hope it helps - keep your chin up and know that to some people, where you already are is their top of the mountain. 

Ignore title, can't get WSO to change it.

You know it's not over right? You can still recruit for FT roles. Careers are long, even people without IB internships do extremely well in life.

Yes it gets better. I’m in the same position and i got some cool interviews.

 I was in your spot two years ago- didn’t receive return from a MM and felt like a reject in most of my FT IB interviews after saying I didn’t get a return and getting ghosted. I ended getting an AM job after three months of desperate recruiting and it was the best thing to happen to me. I work 2/3 of what I was seeing analysts pull in my group for the same base as I was getting in IB. With bonuses max 15k less comp gap-a lot of my IB friends getting hosed on bonuses this year. I can see a clear path upwards and the name on my resume is more widely known to family and friends if that matters. Not gettting ft IB is not the end of the world, and most other careers will give you more satisfaction than IB after you can separate your self worth from the job

of all the things to make u consider suicide, it should not be IB my brother in christ. not sure u noticed but everyone in this industry tries to get out so don't throw your life away for something so shitty.

Ik you've heard this before, but remember that you've only underperformed your own expectations and in the grand scheme are still in the top 1% of student outcomes in terms of being positioned for a successful career.

Imagine your failures when you were in grade 5 and think about how little influence those had on your current situation 

I didn't get a return offer from GS/MS, and I was pretty devastated, and ended up at an MM firm rarely mentioned on WSO. A decade later, it's turned out just fine.

I know it sucks, but 10 years from now you'll be in the same place you would've been because your work will prove itself.

-

before you do anything rash, I have shitty experience and I am getting banking interviews you were at pinnacle of finance sure you might not get an EB again but I promise you MM, LMM are very much in reach so are BB. Dust yourself of dude I remember when i didn't get a traditional internship I thought it was over for me however now.  I am at least getting traction. I assume you have better grades and better school than me don't give up and do not stop believing. Also i know how bad it feels but you literally have as good expirience as you could possibly have at this age.

I could tell you life isn't about your career, and I'd be right, but let's assume for a second career is everything and work within that.

There are people graduating MBA programs right now, 6-10 years older than you, with a negative net worth, entering IB at the Associate 0 level. There's no way you're behind them on the ladder . . you could start in any basic finance job now with the goal of getting to IB, eventually lateral as an older analyst (happens all the time), and by the time you reach MBA grad age you're a VP making a big salary and none of that MBA debt.  Way, way better position than those MBAs, who are hardly considered to be down on their luck as far as people go.

Life of course is about so much more than that.  But even on your brutal scale, you're not behind.  Not even close.

I’ve been in this game 20 years.

Career trajectories are not up to the right.  There are peaks and valleys along the way.  This is a setback that will not mean much in the long-term.

Don’t do anything rash over something as silly as investment banking.

Guess what. you got the offer, you were in the top 1% of applications. There are firms looking to take you i assure you of that. You are much more than your career and having an EB on your resume puts you in the top 10% i'd say in resumes.

It's a hard market, but you'll get through it. From a career side, i know ppl at MM IB -> GS/EVR IB -> Warburg/Blackstone, i know MM IB -> Citadel L/S, i know alumni LMM IB -> GS/EVR/PJT -> Elliott/Tiger.

You WILL get through it. 

same feeling here man. no return, no luck in re recruiting so far, just want the pain to end

Seeing you updated your post. What's the reason you think finance is not for you? Are you giving up because you didn't get a return offer, or because there are concrete aspects of the job that don't fit your personality/goals? One of these is more valid grounds to give up than the other.

I got let go by my EB/very-well-regarded UMM advisory firm 5 years ago on a group call in the dead middle of lockdown and was absolutely pissed beyond belief. I actually do feel you. As stated above, I'm going to try and work within your thinking to help you forward:

#1: As others have said, you're in great shape. You have a better resume for full time recruiting than the vast majority of your peers, with some roles that are extremely attainable. I once worked with a woman at my EB who joined as an analyst at 29 after working 7 years in residential real estate: she had the emotional maturity and professional demeanor that none of her 22 year old peers have, and you have a great opportunity to be that place with the next role you take. Step back, be thoughtful, and realize you have an amazing opportunity to build personal capital with a resume that better than the vast majority of your peers. 

#2: Don't make any rash conclusions. Saying "finance is not for me" just because you didn't get a return offer after working an IB internship at an EB is like saying "sports is not for me" after losing your high school JV volleyball championship (and yeah that happened to me, and I said that about myself, and I regularly run marathons now). The defeatist narrative won't help and it didn't make sense for me either. Maybe you need to explore, or maybe you know exactly what you want to do, I don't know tho I can't tell you what to do lol. 

#3: If you're really mentally unwell, please speak with a professional who can help. Potentially in contrast to some above, if you're really down, talk to a professional. You owe it to yourself. The worst case scenario is that you don't like what they tell and don't have to talk with them again. A wasted hour. The upside is someone who can guide you into a better way of thinking. Again, can't tell you what to do, but don't see much downside there. 

Lol try doing a whole year working in finance to realize it isn't for you. Trust me, you did good realizing it's not for you that quickly and iterating on to better things.