Please Help - IB Recruiting in Houston

Hi Y'all,

I have been recruiting for IB, particularly roles based out of (Houston) Texas, and it has been difficult to land any interviews due to my PE background. Any Advice?

Background:

- Currently a Senior at a Texas target school.

- 3.8+ GPA; Economics Major (actuarial science minor); yes, I do have my technicals down.

- I have lived in Texas practically my whole life.

- I absolutely do not want to work outside of Texas, or any city that is excruciatingly expensive.

- I entered University as a "first-time freshman" despite being a Junior due to the number of credits I entered University with (63 credit hours). I effectively did not have a GPA until the second semester of my junior year.

- I have done two PE internships at two boutiques (no "actual" deal experience); practically just a glorified buy-side acquisitions intern providing due diligence.

Dilemma: 

I did land a full-time offer at a top-10 PE firm but given the position is based out of their NYC offices, I could not bring myself to accept the offer. Give me monkey-shit all you want, but I cannot possibly imagine moving to such an unbelievably expensive city. Even then, I still think Oil & Gas is a complex and interesting industry. I'd ideally like to work upstream or midstream, but that's if I can even get my foot in the door.

Since then, that train has passed but so has on-cycle IB recruiting.

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Since I have kept my eyes on Houston for so long, what can I do to actually land an IB role at a reputable firm now that on-cycle is over, and I will be graduating this May? Even the firms outside of Houston do not want to hire me because of my PE background since they think I will jump ship after 2 years on the job. I do not want to stray into boutique territory, but I also really want to jump into the workforce (since energy deal activity is currently booming, especially M&A) which is why I do not want to prolong my education for no reason.

And yes, I have been recruiting. Yes, I have been reaching out to alumni. No leads.

I have not even mentioned the worst part--the firm I have been interviewing with (obviously off-cycle) seems like the perfect fit but the second-year analyst responsible for interviewing me has been iffy on communication. I also recently found out that he will be leaving the firm in a couple of months. What can I do to mend the situation? I have tried reaching out to both junior and senior bankers in the division to no avail.

If I get keep getting rejections, how can I prove to them that I am a good fit? How can I persevere without sounding desperate? I really cannot accept no as an answer at this stage.

My technicals are rather good and my conversation skills are exceptional, but now that I am so far past on-cycle recruiting, what can I do to increase my chances of landing an IB analyst role based out of Houston for 2022?

Advice?

I really appreciate any response and thank any suggestions that come my way.

Thanks :)