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I'd start hitting up LMM and MM firms in your area. You'd be surprised how many MM firms have already hired all their first year spots as well, in my experience there were a few that still had spots (Piper, HL, Baird) in my geography, but those were because they had interns declined offers and needed a full time hired by September. Obviously not ideal, but nothing wrong with working at a LMM and then lateralling upmarket - any IB experience is typically better than no IB experience (TAS, audit, etc.)

 

Firstly. STOP STRESSING - it’s not too late! You’ll be fine! Been there.

The biggest pain in your position is that you will now have to “get your foot in the door”. The first internship / job was the hardest to get. Try find an internship, then another one, then try intern with the big guys and secure a return. Sounds like I’m over-simplifying it, but this is the process. I started as an intern at a regional small cap boutique, then another, then EB intern, EB full time, lateral to BB.

The first job is the hardest to get - start small, work your way up, and if you actually like the job, latest by associate you can sit with the big guys - there is actually a big shortage at ASO level even with BBs because most people don’t last that long.

But, coming back to the start, most importantly don’t stress. You’re doing great!

 

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