What is generally the most common path to an operations or business analyst role for IB/HF? Do the banks utilize recruiters for these positions or does the hiring process resemble the Analyst recruitment process?
Also, when headhunters/banks look at resumes, are gaps more acceptable now than they would have been 3 years ago? I graduated from a top engineering school with Industrial Engineering and Finance and worked as an analyst for a boutique PE firm before moving into a BA consulting role where I worked primarily with F50 firms. After getting laid off from there though, I've had two different positions in financial analyst/operations capacities for short time periods. The work has been far beneath my skill level though, and am looking to be challenged. I know my resume doesn't have the chops to break into IB right now, so I'm looking primarily at middle office work. Am I looking at auto-dings for the time I was laid off and then two 6 month or less stints at different firms?
