Hi guys. I desperately need your wisdom and advice.
I graduated from Rotman (Canada) with a master's degree in risk. GPA 3.7+ (dean's list and entrance scholarship). Passed CFA I and FRM I. I had a pure finance background before. My internship experiences in descending orders: bank risk management; commercial banking; PE; and ER. I want to work at investment management, even in their MO like investment risk.
Peer pressure and self doubt are really killing me. I used to be the first ones in class having a job offer (and I declined it). Now most of the class start working, but I am still searching for a good job.
I got some good interviews like Blackrock, CPPIB and Sun Life Investment. But I can't pass them. I used to be good at interviews and seldom failed last round or phone interviews. Now I start to break records.
Considering my situation, should I start with risk management at banks since it's easier? Will it be harder to transition to buy sides with fulltime experiences than a fresh graduate? Is it because I am an international student that makes things so hard?
I really think luck and timing are extremely important in job search. :(
OP, regarding your prior internships - were they roles that would have led to FT offers if possible (as in they have the hiring budget / plan to hire FT if they liked you)? And if so, did they tell you why you didn’t get the offer?
Another question is - have other international students successfully landed roles with similar firms or are they having trouble as well? Depending on what you’re going for, native English (both spoken and written) may be a big criteria (if it’s say consulting or IB or strategy), but I think a role that requires less writing like Risk wouldn’t care as much.
Might be worthwhile to get a friend or two from Rotman to help run some mock interviews with you prior to your next interviews.
Thank you Kanon. The problem is that only one position was in Canada, which only recruits STEM PhDs. Others were either in the states or my home country.
I was discouraged since all feedback were like: interview went very well, but the other candidate was a closer fit. I am mainly targeting investment management, while most of my classmates found jobs in risk. Should I also switch my target? but I don't like risk...
You sound a little burnt out and demoralized. Take a few days off to regroup, create a schedule for yourself, and set limits on how much time you're spending on your job search (i.e. a goal of sending no more than x resumes out a week, having x coffee chats a week, spending x hours per week researching jobs).
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