quit IB recently, advice on what to tell interviewers
hi guys i wrapped up my first year at a mega sweaty shop in nyc, received top bucket bonus and really solid reviews but it was too much for me, i could not do the 2 years. Did a string of weeks where I worked 105-110 hours for 7 weeks straight and felt like I was literally going to fall over and croak and die. I have worked Saturday/Sunday 9 am to Midnight for a full year straight. I think I may have had 2 weekends off the entire year.
Right now applying to corp dev. What do I tell interviewers for why I am unemployed? I want to be honest and discuss mental health and extreme burn out, but how would you explain / phrase this? I want to lie but I assume will get caught lol.
wonder if for OP it would be easier to explain he was laid off? or will they assume he was a very weak analyst?
Well it's far better to say that you left for health reasons vs you got fired for poor performance
I mean I’d just say exactly what you wrote here
Agree with this advice here. Word it more "professionally" in interviews but many people will understand where you're coming from
I would say exactly that, with an added emphasis on the toll the job was taking: a) physical fatigue and feeling burnt out and b) not spending time with family and friends and/or on hobbies to recover.
Talk about how you like the underlying work, but have gotten your work-life priorities straight.
Thank you very much. With realizing how competitive the market is right now, I thought me quitting one year in would show immense weakness or incompetence and I was worried this would seriously hinder my competitive profile.
I am realizing now though that any company that would look at my reasons very negatively is probably a company I would not want to work for anyway.
Thank you so much again for the response.
Just be honest. Tell them how heavy your weeks were as well as your positive feedback from coworkers.
Agree with others that you're fine to tell them what you laid out above. On the corporate side, they fully get that bankers take pay cuts to take those positions largely because of WLB issues. So explaining that you were a top performer, but the work load was more than you wanted to take on a sustained basis is fine.
Just be straightforward and honest about your goals. There will be plenty of organizations interested in you. They will be selling you on the more reasonable hours.
Just be honest. If you really want to find a way to frame it better maybe considering saying things like “I want to prioritize my time with my family/friends.” If you really think appearing like a “weak analyst” per se is a concern (which I think it should not), then frame it more strongly as a choice for different life priorities instead.
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