Did I srsly fuck up - turned down AC when unemployed
Mostly posting to vent since I am kind of beating myself up about this but advice about future steps also appreciated.
Basically - graduated 10 months ago from a UK target undergrad, just finished OC at an EB few weeks ago, also done an SA previously at a large MM, both in IBD. During the last week of my recent OC (was quite sure I wasnt converting by this time but not 100% certain yet), I was scheduled to attend a Big 4 audit AC for a role starting in September which I initially accepted but did not attend (later found out about the 75% pass rate).
Reasoning was that I wanted to apply for off cycles again to start within the next few months rather than go into audit+make the commitment to start that qualification etc. when it's not what interests me. Initially accepted the AC as an automatic reaction given it would be stupid not to, but as the day approached given that I was also not in the best place mentally having just found out about not converting the EB, I couldnt really get myself to go out there and put in effort at that time and just withdrew on a whim.
But now obviously regretting it since I am over the initial sadness/shock from conversion and am starting to think it may have been a bit stupid to do so.
Do you guys think this really was that stupid or justifiable?
Also just posting for general advice - how should I be applying at this time this to not dig another big hole in my CV (already have a 5 month gap between graduation and starting the off cycle).
Scared I might be unemployed forever at this rate tbh.
damn you're worse than me!
Lolll ikr😭🤣
If it helps, I'm coming at a 7 month gap post-graduation now. Had verbal offer (one PE internship, one IBD FT) in the US until visa convo ruined it, trying London now.
People still understand on calls and almost no one is hiring, so haven't gotten any weird questions as to why I am unemployed.
Also, just curious what position are you in lol? Is it similar, in what sense am I worse than you😂😂
If ur in a similar situation having not converted/searching etc feel free to pm haha, or did u just mean I'm worse than u in terms of being prestige obsessed🤣😭
x
Based on previous WSO threads, turning down an offer when unemployed can be a risky move, but it's not necessarily a career-ending mistake. Here are some insights:
If you need more specific advice, feel free to provide additional details about your situation.
Sources: Just graduated and don’t have a job?, Laid off, Depressed and Giving up..., Unemployed and living in parents' basement, losing hope, What Was Your Biggest Career Setback; How Did You Recover?, Yes, You Are Having a Quarter Life Crisis (and it's ok)
think of it this way - people get into IBD in UK after Big 4 Audit as analyst 2, sometimes as Associate 1 after doing 2 years TS. Im sure you would have had no issues transferring having done 1-2 IBD SAs AND being ACA qualified. Very least would have easily gotten into TS / CF function of Big 4. Could probably have had a few more chilled years as a young professional and enjoy them rather than doing 100 hour grind straight away. Take it next time imo. Having ACA qualification provides loads of optionality. Maybe try TS roles too. should be easier with your background. Just say you are keen on them due to opportunity to do transaction work but combine it with ACA and learn accounting during busy periods / down time.
Yeah thanks, that makes sense, and will do next time if I get one again for sure. And yes if it was TAS I would have 100% gone for it. I have seen a lot of transfers from TAS as An2/Ass1 too but also observed that those from Big 4 audit usually had to move to TAS first as you mentioned(met many ex B4 auditors in my internships) but the entire move took them around 6 years on average/they often entered as associates?
While that is a great career choice, I think it would not be for me personally as I dont see myself in IB long term (just wanted to do my stint and then move out) and wanted to get IB out of the way in my early-mid twenties though I should prob start being more flexible with these things lol.
Not sure if going for TAS straight would work for me as even though I went to a target my grades are v low and unfortunately unlike IB (for which I had a v high interview rate last cycle when I got my OC despite my grades), Big 4 seems to not ask for a CV and only judge based off name and grades so didnt want to risk it.
So will probably apply for audit again at the B4 for next year as a backup alongside my other apps and if I get that and my other apps are not successful, will take it and make the switch to ER if I get in as that does interest me more as a longer term career than IB and have seen it be done from audit.
Hey thanks again for the reply, just had another question which you I thought you may have some information about.
I recently got another Big 4 audit AC invite, but this time unfortunately for a regional office role (think Cambridge/Reading).
Accepted it for now but as if I got the job, I know I want to exit asap to most probs to ER but also maybe to TAS then IB, would the office location be a huge disadvantage or still very doable? Would this disadvantage be different for ER vs TAS/IB exits? Idk why but I keep feeling very hesitant even accepting these ACs as I really dont want to be locked in in case I dont get into a masters and not sure if quitting within a few months if I land another off cycle is worth the risk.
Thanks so much for the info again!!
its going to be a bit harder from regional since they usually only have audit teams but the strong people always able to transfer into London. Plus quite often you might get cross staffing during your first 3 years to help out with a DD or something to help you network. then once you've transferred after ACA into London Big 4 TS/CF team, at IB interviews you can always just say "you didn't want to be specialised in an industry segment so early on and regional office provided more visibility on a wider variety of clients"
from my regional office pretty much all the people id have expected to stay in Big 4 long term transferred to TS/CF. The others were audit lifers aiming for Partner.
dunno about ER - probably more a case about sector experience there id imagine than getting the "deals / transactional" experience.
Cambridge should give you good experience to various biotech / engineering type firms too so id say its a good regional office in grand scheme of things.
at the end of the day you can always quit Big 4 if you get Masters (& leave it off CV) or just use it as interview experience
Would do another OC rather than start career in Big4
Yeah was my logic too, rather than going into a job I'd do everything to quit in less than one yr but just starting to get scared I'm not going land another OC.
Also, was just generally wondering in case you know, is there a way that people in this position generally network to find FT openings etc which I am not aware of or do I need to wait till app season for both OC and FT to start again?
Why did you not convert
Was due to a mix of factors tbh. During my SA after second year, I was put in a team where interns didnt really get any deal exposure or any work whatsoever tbh due to confidentiality etc, so found it hard to actually prove myself and other interns with more experience + relevant languages for the team were picked over me (team had over 4 interns and conversion rate within the team was quite low (50%). Colleagues I worked with were also generally very aggressive (constant personal insults etc) with me so found it difficult to work well with them as well even though I tried. Overall dont think I could have changed much here even if I were to go back to this one tbh.
During the more recent EB OC though, I honestly think it was more on me as I created a bad impression with a couple tasks in the beginning where I made silly attention to detail errors/was not productive enough during the first couple weeks leading to a couple projects going badly.
Tried to be a lot more careful to recover from this but I think the first impression did ultimately hold some weight but also definitely did not hand it perfect work as the internship went on. So I think these accumulated small errors gave me a bad reputation with the juniors and the seniors just generally did not think I seemed confident enough - think it was partly paranoia as i was terrified of not converting/messing up throughout lol.
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