Can't land an offer. In need of advice
Hi everyone - i am a senior at a large public non-target. I have done FT interviews at large MM firms, BBs, well-known boutiques, large hedge funds, corporate finance, etc and have gone 0/14 so far with 8 superdays. I am slowly getting extremely depressed. I feel like everything I worked so hard on to get, is going away. I grinded my ass off to get every line on my resume and if I cant a good offer it will all go to waste. I don't know if getting an MSF is the next step for me or if I should give up on finance which has been a true passion of mine. My family doesn't have much money and I cant bum around until I find a job. If I get one more rejection I feel like I'm gonna lose my shit
If anyone has any advice about how to proceed, it would be very helpful.
It’s rough - in the same spot
look to get a job in tech, or mgmt consulting, or even accounting (they recruit later than finance)...you can always lateral from any of these into finance later on if you really want to.
Having a job (perhaps not your ideal target...but still, a job) is much better than wasting time and money. Masters degrees aren't worth the money until after you have at least 1-2 years of work experience. Even if its a FLDP, or any other corp finance role...you can then apply for IB, ER, and a variety of other roles. heck, even insurance would be better than nothing, and pays decent.
I would strongly suggest you apply to the big4....they always need people.
This is wrong. And it is the problem. Dare I say, its not only the primary cause of your anxiety (I'll try to fix that in a sec) but it lies at the heart of everything that's wrong with our education system today, from the angst to the crushing debt to the misplaced economic policies that keep it going.
You went to college to get an education, which it appears you successfully got. You didn't go to college because its a cartel that exists to serve as the only entry point to a specific set of jobs that are accessible only upon graduation. That is a myth and thus the "all a waste" thinking is also a myth.
8 superdays is a pretty high number. It proves you are qualified for these highly competitive roles. That's rare company to be in. Do you think that someone who's qualified for those roles can never get there because the ball didn't bounce his way in the recruiting process? It's that black and white? The ship has sailed?
It's not black and white at all. Like anything else, its a spectrum. Sounds like you were in a borderline group of folks where some got lucky and landed something, and some didn't. There will be other opportunities down the road. Get the most challenging job you can and keep working on your skills. It's not realistic to think that someone who nearly made it at 21 y/o and keeps getting more knowledgable/skilled is just going spend the rest of his life doing mediocre jobs because he "missed the boat". There is no boat and no evidence to support that theory.
It's a marathon. Who is the person who's all set after college? In fact, who's the person who's all set by their late 20's? The most coveted path we're all aware of is to go to a top IB after college and then go to a megafund after that. Then what? Off to HBS where you're in the same class as 800 other people, many of whom took a less vaunted path. Big deal.
Now granted, I'm not suggesting HBS would be some reset button where everyone is on a level playing field. No doubt, your pre-HBS megafund experience gives you a leg up to end up at a megafund, hedge fund or other highly coveted role after HBS.
But its just a leg up. And once you get that coveted role, then what . . easy street to greatness? How about you go back 10 years and find out who from HBS got the most coveted post MBA roles and look at them now 10 years later. No doubt you'll see some very happy 40 year olds, many of whom stayed at their fancy post-MBA job and made partner. But they're 40 and you're 22 . . pretty sure there's a lot of pathways you can take in the next 18 years that you can leave you in a pretty impressive place. In fact, when they go to their HBS 10 year reunion they will be sharing the winner's circle with other classmates who took less classic routes to baller status, like starting a business or fast-tracking up a F500 or even crushing it at a small boutique bank.
I'm not saying you shouldn't want the easiest road, I'm all for it. But its only the easiest road. You seem to think its the only road. From my observation that's not the case at all.
everyone loves a good story. keep hustling
It's a numbers game. Keep your head up and keep grinding. Diversify as well, like everyone else is saying.
Also don't let your brain fuck you out of your determined path. Stop thinking about your lateral moves in 3 years time. Work on making yourself the most bad-ass candidate you can for right now, and also be creative about alternative routes in.
Also don't let your brain fuck you out of your determined path. Stop thinking about your lateral moves in 3 years time. Work on making yourself the most bad-ass candidate you can for right now, and also be creative about alternative routes in.
Not adding much to the already excellent comments / feedback only to say it's not a race. The race is internal and quite common for achievers. That's why you're successful. You are intelligebt and mtivated and used to acheiving.
Unfortunately translation of the recruiting process is misunderstood by many. Most feel as if this is their one shot. That's ridiculous. You have your whole life ahead of you. There are many many MANY people who have these great gigs that started off in non-traditional roles. It may take them longer, but who cares? Along the way you pick up insight, experience, additional skills, perspective, etc. Forget about that straight line. It can work that way, but it doens't have to.
You will find something. I have no doubt of that. WHatever it is, put your best foot forward. Do your best work. Take on as much responsibility as possible. Be the go to guy/gal. You'll be surprised how much credibility that lends you for other endeavors. That's actually how the world really works, not this get into BB from UG or your screwed.
Oh yeah, btw, be open to actually enjoying the starting role / company / industry. You never know, you may want to continue the climb in that world.
You'll do great!
I was in a similar situation. Lots of final round/super days but nothing to show for it. I did two things- decided there were plenty of firms out there so it was not yet time to call it. And second, and probably more important, I spent a lot of time playing the interviews in my head and noting down things that I thought may have played against me. But more importantly, I reached out to my interviewers through LinkedIn and Email (most firms gave me their details during the interview process) and asked politely - want to improve, still interested in the firm and would like to learn from my experience so that I can work on them for the future. Not many, but some interviewers who liked me responded and gave me some advice and insights on why I didn’t make the cut. Reasons included things like they had better candidates from more prestigious schools to items like “your approach to calculate the X was not direct, took one step too many to get there” and such. So that gave me some real, tangible things to work on. Mind you, this will only work if you decide mentally to be relentless and always be critical of what you hear. Sometimes I absolutely discarded the feedback I got because it was more their preconceived perceptions than a real thing that I had to work on. So have to be head strong, decide you will keep at it and be brave enough to hear some feedback. After all, law of averages says that if you keep going one of those super days will have to be a positive result. Good luck.
Great and very mature response. I highly suggest following up with interviewers and getting feedback. Be genuine. Something like , " Mr./Mrs. X , thanks again for the opportunity to interview with your company. Although I wasn't selected, I'm still quite interested in your firm and would appreciate any feedback as to how I can become more competitive for positions in the future..."
This doesn't stop when you're 22. I'm 55 and just asked a prospect something similar when she decided to go with another firm. I wanted to know if there was something we did or weren't doing that swayed her, blah blah blah. Turns out she was the wrong rock for us. That's OK but I definitely wanted to know after investing quite a bit of time.
Also, be honest with yourself and have the ability to digest and truly consider the feedback. This isn't a ploy, but rather a sincere attempt to learn, analyze, and consider alternatives. Also, it doesn't mean you have to change based on the critique. it may be that you just weren't right for the firm, or them for you.