Gap Year for IB Recruiting
Hi everyone,
I would appreciate your advice on my situation. I'm a rising junior at a target school and am considering taking a gap year to recruit for IB with the class after me. Although my resume is finance-oriented, I initially wasn't interested in IB, which is why I didn't apply during my sophomore year. However, I've since developed an interest in pursuing a career in IB.
Is this a common path? Will taking a gap year have a negative connotation with recruiters? Additionally, my school email address includes my initial graduation year, which could be a giveaway in my networking emails. Could this potentially impact my networking efforts?
Thanks in advance for your insights!
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here are some insights regarding taking a gap year for IB recruiting:
Commonality and Perception:
Impact on Networking:
Recommendations:
By addressing these points, you can mitigate potential concerns and position yourself as a strong candidate for IB recruiting.
Sources: Recruitment Set Back To "Normal", Recruitment Set Back To "Normal", Investment Banking Recruiting allows underclassmen to get exploited and doesn't do anything about it., https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/should-i-take-a-gap-year-before-university-uk?customgpt=1, Will recruiting ever stop accelerating?
I would just slow down your class schedule and plan to graduate in December, which pushes you to the next SA class. That is super common and no one cares one bit about you doing 4.5 years.
Gap year raises more questions... people will ask you how your classes are going and you will have to lie or say you're not enrolled, which some people will not react to well. Not to mention you'd be excluded from all of the many resources/OCR available at a target school. Just re-allocate your class schedule, take a lighter load for a few semesters so you end up 1 semester late.
Thank you so much for the advice! I also prefer to slow down my class schedule instead of taking a gap year if possible. However, my school semester ends in mid-November, which is just before the SA class cutoff. Do you know of any way to work around this timing issue?
Also, could you please explain a little more how the delayed process works on paper? Will it matter if my transcript still has my original expected graduation date during background check?
Thank you once again for your help.
Then delay one full year. Or if your school does trimester/quarters, just push enough to be past December.
Just go tell your advisor you are changing your grad date to recruit for finance internships. Might even be able to do it online these days. And just schedule your major classes so you won't finish until the fifth year if you need to. Get yourself some off-cycle internships, this fall especially, to keep you busy with a lighter schedule.
Hi! Sorry to open up this thread again, but I really need your advice. During networking calls and interviews, how should I talk about the extra half year without sounding like I am a junior? Some people tell me to say I am a sophomore graduating early, but that doesn't seem possible as my school alumni are very close and they can verify my information quite easily. Thank you so much!
Anyone in IB will assume a December grad is re-recruiting, this is quite common. Just say you are a sophomore, if anyone asks you can say you're doing 4.5 years but for simplicity's sake you are a sophomore and don't say anything about graduating early.
Also on your LinkedIn just put your new grad date if you can. No one is going to go through the back channels to figure out what your "real" year is because it truly does not matter
Don't take a gap year, delay graduation .5-1 years - this is becoming pretty common what with the timelines getting super accelerated
Thank you! If I choose to delay my graduation, i.e. graduate one semester late, should I refer to myself as a sophomore or a junior when sending emails or writing a cover letter? However, do you think using "junior" might decrease my response rate, as they might assume I am not eligible for this SA year?
I really appreciate the advice! Delaying graduation sounds like a great idea. I would like to have two follow-up questions if you don't mind:
1. Do I need to provide official confirmation of the delayed graduation at the time of application, or can it remain a plan until my senior year? My school only allows delayed graduation if not all major classes are completed.
2. Unfortunately, my school semester ends in mid-November, which is just short of pushing me to the next SA class. Do you know of any way to work around this timing issue?
Thanks a lot!
not exactly sure what you're asking in #1 but the university or even the company doesn't need to know anything, you just change your graduation date to the intended month/year and plan on slowing down required major classes.
as for #2, I'm actually not sure. Do you when the graduation ceremonies occur for students who graduate that semester? To be honest, you can probably just put your graduation month as December, I promise you these firms don't care/aren't checking.
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