Trouble Getting First Rounds

Was curious if anyone felt the same way but I'm recruiting for next summer and despite networking/having decent internships/3.8+ GPA I haven't been receiving any first rounds. I go to a target in the Midwest and usually speak to around 3-4 guys before applying. I also follow up with my contacts but in all honesty, have not maintained a relationship after the first call and usually just inform them when I applied. I was also not having the best calls in the beginning of the year when I just started recruiting but have recently gotten much better over the phone. Was curious if anyone has tips for securing that first round, thanks. 

7 Comments
 

What places have you applied to so far? Even with all of what you have, it's still luck for extremely competitive processes like EB's. I'm also from the Midwest but a non-target. Haven't gotten as many first rounds as I would have liked so far but have had 5+ invitations. Maybe you're only applying to the top banks and ignoring MM's and such?

 

Hey I'm in the same situation as you. I have had first rounds at 5+ MMs and one offer but most of those processes were resume drops and much easier to get an interview than EBs. Places I've had success were banks where networking didn't matter as much but I'm mostly targeting the more competitive banks.

 

I totally feel the struggle. I got a referral from an MD and it didn’t even lead to a first round. HR sent me an automated message saying I got referred then completely ghosted me...

 

Would echo what everyone has said. You really just have to network as much as you can everywhere (especially MM) and just keep your net wide. Oftentimes unless an analyst says they’ll push you I wouldn’t assume you’re getting a first. Places like PWP took half diversity, and I know a few nepotism hires plus they have OCR as well and people accelerating. Overall a very very tough spot for you to be in but keep at it

 

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