Nerd with no summer internship or connections. How do I get a job?
- Rising senior at a low ranked school (like below 150 on U.S. news)
- I'm a nerd and suck at networking/socializing (I have zero friends and couldn't even get a bid to a bottom tier chapter at my school)
- I have no summer internship or job (applied to 500+ places, 3 interviews for summer job, empty handed)
- My GPA is above a 3.6
Most kids at my school become loan officers or insurance agents. But those kind of careers aren't good for nerds like me. I tried to apply to investment banking but I'm bad at networking (because I'm a nerd) and don't have good stats. I feel like I'm stuck in a limbo and I don't know what kind of jobs I can get.
I'm going to try to address this post in several parts.
Looking at the U.S. News College rankings, University of Alabama sits around 150. Nothing against Alabama, but it's not an academically challenging school and the fact that you have a 3.6 at a school lower than this caliber is questionable. Do you have a particularly difficult major (engineering, computer science)?
The fact that you have "zero friends" and didn't get a bid at a bottom tier fraternity says to me that you need to seriously work on your social skills. People have to like you if you want to get into investment banking. This is something that is essential to networking and making great first impressions.
In terms of the internship experience, try to get something in finance (investment banking or related preferred) for part time if you can. Otherwise, you may have to go through some extra school to get into IB at this point (MBA, MSF)
As a side note, it seems that you are just taking whatever job you can get. Are you sure that investment banking is a path that you want to pursue 100%? It's not an industry that you can enter and stay in based on a whim.
This can't be real. Real people are not like this
No, I'm serious. I know my social skills suck and the way I look just makes me a bad impression everywhere. How do I improve them?
Also I major in Finance. I know it's not that high. That's why I need your help to know how to get a decent Finance job.
honestly you are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, "how can i get a job?" you should be asking yourself, "how can i improve myself, my social skills, work on my weaknesses, and fix my self-image?"
Might need to just shoot for internships out of school or else consider jumping into graduate school right away.
What about other careers? Would you consider being a financial analyst, data analyst, etc.? They make less on average but at least you'll be able to support yourself.
Consider low-level companies, like (I'm making this up) ABC United, and get your foot in the door there. I know it might suck, but we don't all have our **** together when we're 21.
how can i improve myself, my social skills, work on my weaknesses, and fix my self-image
Maybe some sort of corporate finance role with traditional recruiting (read: networking-light) could be a good start. And then later on you could move on to grad school or a more Wall Street-esque role
Yeah I would be interested in financial analyst roles but I'm having a hard time putting my foot into the door anywhere. I've been applying to a bunch of minimum wage jobs to pass time during the summer and still havent even got a job yet. I did apply to some financial analyst internships back in the fall but never got an interview.
Rebrand with a graduate degree while using the additional time to work on social skills
I don't have money for a graduate degree, I might get a MBA once I get older though. I need a job next year and I need to improve my social skills now.
You might be surprised how much you change once you enter the real world. Plenty of people who are nerds in college become social and confident outside of it in the "real world". College students value different things than the real world where your "neediness" might actually be respected and thus give you confidence (a positive cycle). In the meantime, I would keep your head up - you have a college degree and can find a job. Start at the best place you can and work your way up.
you're looking for help in Alderaan places my friend
Hit the gym and join a club at your school. This will improve your social/networking skills.
Read "How to Win Friends and Influence People"
Seriously.
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