May '19 Graduate, Can't Get Job
Hello everyone
I graduated from a semi-target school (few classmates of mine ended up at BBs like Citi, Merrill, JPM ) back in May and I have not been able to secure a position. I was not able to secure any internships during my time at school (applied but got denied) and I've only faced rejection from the jobs I have applied to. I was able to get an interviews at FactSet and at a Fintech startup (sales dev. position) in NYC, but nothing in the banking space.
Background: I was a Finance major, Econ minor. I graduated with a 3.57 GPA and departmental honors in finance because I spent my last semester writing a roughly 30 page research paper on shadow banking/08 crisis. Relevant finance extracurriculars included being a part of the student managed investment fund and being a member of a finance club on campus. I also was the TA for an intro level finance class.
I know graduating without any internship or formal banking experience is the equivalent of shooting yourself in the foot (or both feet really). But what advice would you guys give someone in my position? I'm not much of an idealist so I don't see myself at a BB... I guess my only options are try to get into a boutique (no problem whatsoever with that) or should I go back to school in the Fall? I'm very lost and I would appreciate any and all help.
3.57 is not a bad GPA for many positions out there. If you are not set on IB, go into a Corp fin role of Fortune 500s near your school where the network is strong, try it out to see if you like it.
If you still want to go into IB, instead of more school you should start at a related financial service role. Apply to things like valuation analyst at Duff and Phelps, Financial Due Dilligence/deal advisory at big 4, corporate/commercial banking and other positions that you can lateral from after a couple years.
Truly appreciate this. Super helpful.
Going to be pretty tough without any relevant experience. Just apply to anything even somewhat relevant right now. Don't even bother being picky. If you're not applying to 10+ jobs a day you're doing something wrong. After you find something, you can always go get an MBA in a few years for a soft reset.
Well, if OP isn't doing anything else right now but job hunting since May '19 then applying to 10+ jobs every day is very little. Should be 50+ if not more and try to get people on the phone or email people to have networking sessions to get your foot in the door somewhere in a finance-related position. After a year or two in that position, you can start to recruit heavily for lateral positions and can potentially make your way into IB.
Thank you for the advice.
Try MO/BO roles, and then work your way up internally or with an MBA. You would still be a great candidate for those I feel like with those stats.
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