Graduating in 2 months is it possible to break in?

For reference I am a current senior about to graduate without a job offer.  I am majoring in finance with an accounting and energy minor. I come from a Non-Target (top 40), 3.5+ GPA, some minor relevant experience in equity research and a current internship at a boutique M&A advisory firm. Additionally, I plan to move once out of college to NYC as my gf and I have overlapping career interests there.

I discovered finance, and as a result investment banking, rather late in my college career but have scrapped my background accordingly and would do anything to get a role in IB someday. I have all aspiration to break in even if it means prepping for getting into a top MBA program in the future. 

Currently, I have been locating opportunities on job boards and then applying through the company site along with other relevant roles on the career site.  A breakdown of the applications and role types~ (20% IB Analyst , 20% credit analyst, 20% valuation, 40% financial analyst / FP&A). I am aware this is like sending your resume to a "blackhole" at times, so therefore, I am sitting down to conduct a more targeted approach via alumni networking. I am extremely busy and thinking of dropping my current internship to make more time to the job search.

My OCR places almost exclusively in the south, but I still try to connect with people in firms/companies with offices in NYC, and a lot of the recruitment is setting up for 2024 FT positions. Which again, I am leveraging the opportunity to connect and checkin, but looking for something tangible ASAP as well.

Questions:

I know its competitive, would require a lot of grit and rejection, but is it possible to break in with such a background and current job environment? It feels as though entry level roles are competitive but there is no shortage of mid-senior level jobs. 

What do I need to do right now to secure even a back up job?

Any other advice given anything I put out--Job search strategy, myopic assumptions I make, etc.

1 Comments
 

Harum placeat et sint ut facilis ipsa delectus. Debitis dolor facere eum magni velit iste. Necessitatibus unde voluptas aliquam dolores est. Unde accusantium dolor cum dignissimos animi. Voluptatem sed laudantium ipsa non. Id voluptates possimus explicabo cum.

Nemo quos nostrum inventore minus hic dicta ipsa. Assumenda nisi ad ipsa facere laborum minima maxime. Quisquam non ipsam vel repudiandae magni libero.

Quo repellendus velit dolores pariatur. Assumenda minima maxime ab sunt quis eaque et. Voluptate temporibus assumenda consequatur ab nobis voluptatem. Ut et animi et harum quo et repudiandae. Nemo odio sint et libero officiis sequi ipsa. Unde quia aperiam nihil omnis architecto.

Est voluptatem consequuntur omnis veritatis iste nobis repudiandae. Qui et provident asperiores incidunt deserunt qui omnis. Dolore error neque adipisci ducimus. Est rem praesentium fugit et.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 04 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (17) $409
  • Associates (58) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”