Don't know what there's left for me to do - SA 2022
Some background first: Sophomore at a west coast semi-target. Brief HFT experience in HS and Research experience with my club at my college. Decent GPA but not super competitive.
At this point it feels like I've exhausted all of my options - for the past few months, I've been applying to every position I can, refreshing job boards, cold emailing firms everywhere, praying for some kind of response. Every time something seems to go well it always results in a dead-end. Those that I've networked with the hardest end up completely ignoring me even after weeks of talking to them. I've had to deal with applications being broken and a refusal from HR or technical support to fix it. People on LinkedIn seem to want to view my profile twice a week but not accept my connection, and those who do won't respond to my messages. Most of my applications just seem to be in limbo with no communication from the firms at all. I know there's still a lot of time for me but it feels like my chances are dropping every day, and at this point, I have no idea what I can do.
Just looking for some advice from anyone who was in a similar spot.
(1) make sure your technical skills are superb. (2) reflect on your behaviorals. You clearly are not coming off as personable enough in networking calls & interviews. You can even record yourself answering mock interview questions and self-analyze what idiosyncrasies are off.
Eventually you are going to land an interview and you need to be absolutely golden when the time comes.
Friends from a nontarget struck out at EVR, LAZ. When in reality it could have been their golden opportunity and they blew it. Don't let that be you.
What roles are you going for - IBD or equity research? And for 2022 right?
I've been applying to ER, IBD, HF, PE. My goal is HF or PE but ER is my most realistic based on my resume and experience.
I think you’ve answered your own question - focus on Equity research. Since you go to a semi-target school, you’re already at a disadvantage to all the Stanford, Wharton, Harvard kids. And you’re right, it’s already May so you have a ton of time left to network. It’s impossible to know the technicals for HF, ER, IBD, and PE. That’s like trying to quadrupole major in Astronomy, Chinese History, Economics, and Computer Science. jk but you get the idea.
Also, if you’ve been having trouble making meaningful connections in calls then that means you’re not “Wowing” them. You need the person to think “Omg yes this kid really knows his shit.” Maybe that means you do a ton of extra research on the person’s background and look into the small nuances of what they do. It’s a f ton of work but that’s how you differentiate yourself from just another kid.
Thanks for the response.
I feel like one of my bigger issues has been just getting these people to connect with me in the first place - I send them research reports, thoughtful messages, everything I can - but I don't get anything back.
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