Is the job market really that difficult or am I doing something wrong? 

Is the job market really that difficult or am I doing something wrong? Blacklisted? 

For reference I have 2 years of experience in Wealth Management at a Bulge Bracket bank on the west coast which I stepped away from a few months ago to take some personal time off. Prior to there I worked in wealth management at another firm  for 3 years that was nothing to write home about but broke into the bulge bank by miracle.

Overall I have 5 years of experience in the industry but realized I did not want to become a private wealth advisor for the ultra-rich & quite frankly, my personal traits don't align with those needed to be successful in the role.

It's been a little over half a year since I stepped away, 2 months after being funemployed I began searching for other opportunities. At this point I have applied to over 100 postings, casting a wider net to roles as times goes on without any offer success.

Don't get me wrong, I have gotten interviews for some of the larger PE firms on the west coast, going through 4 rounds on a few of them, case studies, panel discussions, only to get ghosted after or to not get the offer. It honestly feels like I got blacklisted from my last firm even though I left on good terms. I did my job until the very last day, gave them over a months notice, no bad things to say about my time there it just didn't fit me long term. I know the team I worked with last before leaving carried some weight on the west coast so given their connections I almost feel it's not out of the realm.

The only roles I get job offers for are through recruiters reaching out for are client service associate roles with a year of experience required. I suppose this is due to my background but I thought the big name on my resume would propel me forward not hold me back to such limiting roles. No disrespect to them but going from working with fortune 500 CEOs to selling annuities is not what I had planned. Otherwise my interview rate is probably at 5% of applications.

I guess my question is, is anyone having the same experience as of late? Have you heard of anyone being blacklisted? 

Thanks!

8 Comments
 

Market is definitely that bad. Job openings lowest level since Feb 2021. 

 

I agree with the work gap, it's not doing me any favors and starting to look worse and worse. Role types however are not standard PE roles, they've all been for Investor Relations, Investor Services, Wealth Solutions driven where I do have a background and that's where the frustration lies.

Regardless, seems like it's a tough market!

 

Don’t let the jobs data deceive you. Financial services has seen negative job growth since the rate hikes back in 2022. The only banks that are really hiring are select BBs and certain foreign balance sheet banks that have been outrageously conservative for the last decade and now are somehow replacing established domestic players as tier 1 lenders to a lot of corporations.

 

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