Recruiting for Everything

Hi all, I just started my sophomore year at a non-target giant state school and I was wondering the feasability of recruiting for everything under the sun. I am not exactly sure what I want to do career wise besides going broadly into finance and/or real estate. I plan on trying to recruit at REPE, PE, IB, PC, Credit analyst roles, LO AM, MM HF, and basically anywhere else I can get someone on the phone. I wanted to know if this was possible, advisable, and if I were to do it what are the best things to read/know and the best way to go about it. I know this post is kind of a mess but I would really appreciate any advice. For context I have a 3.9 and am double majoring in finance with either accounting or real estate as the second.

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I would not advise. 

Remove yourself from comp for a second and spend some time doing research on the actual day to day of the roles you're interested in. From there network with folks in jobs and industries that stand out. You'll find out pretty quickly which is most interesting to you and pursue whatever that is. 

Recruiting for everything is going to lead to interview burnout and result in you not giving full effort for recruiting processes. 

Pick what genuinely interests you and go from there.   

 

Of course nothing wrong with casting a wide net. I'd just encourage as much upfront research as possible to find out certain industries don't interest you sooner than later. 

No sense in recruiting in a space that you ultimately find out is uninteresting to you.   

 

Focus on a couple that can be grouped together. I get that all appear appealing and that you can't truly know what you want or don't want at the current stage but spreading this thin will dilute your approach and the ones that spread themselves thin on stuff they don't know much about are very evident being on the other side of chats and interviews.

 

The niche people place better than the generalists. I knew a guy who knew he wanted to work in rates structuring since sophomore in college. He landed 3 roles at DB, BAC, and Citi and works in a macro fund rn. He was able to optimize all his time to learning everything about rates structuring and exotic rates that made him stand out compared to others. 

This could be selection bias, but generally IME those who know what they want and work hard on that specific thing tend to do well. 

 

You don't need to decide. Generally speaking, however, you should have some idea of linear pathways. If you go into IB in a specific division, say healthcare, you generally open yourself up to a lot of careers and paths in healthcare(duh). Most people switch what they do at some point. I started in trading, but then tried out data science for a bit. Didn't like it, went to prop shops, did that for some time, now I work in systematic macro. I am able to use my own past to my advantage, but generally when I started in S&T I never really planned on ending up in systematic macro. It just so happened that I liked trading, I liked the products, and I wanted to do it more. I maximized for S&T, got a role, and moved from there. Paths aren't linear, so don't expect them to be so. Most people you meet at your age that are dead set on one thing end up changing. I know premeds turned SAHP's, prelaw turned artists, IB into non profit work, CS to running private wealth management crews, english major to credit analysis at PIMCO. These people weren't thinking about doing their respective roles when they started, but they ended up where they did because they were open to new roles and, when given opportunities, seized them. So just maximize for what you want to do now, and don't worry too much about the next 40 years. Worry about the next 5 or so in front of you. Hell, worry about the next year, next month, next week. Set little goals, and be flexible in them. Who knows where you'll end up?

 

I am in alignment with the other responses. While it feels difficult to get a job today, you also need to actually be a fit for whatever you are applying to do and ideally keep that job! It sucks to be constantly recruiting to find a job and it will hurt you longterm if employers see that you jumped around a bunch. Obviously you may not know exactly what you like now, but at least go into something that will help you speak to a larger story / journey.

I weirdly ended up going from a PE background to in house strategy and product development at a well known consumer products company. While it was very different, I could still speak to why I was interested and why my skills prepared me for the role. I also know that after a year or two I see that I want to go back to PE (generalist or consumer), I can speak to why this strategy role within a company helped me understand company operations more thoroughly.

Also, if anyone is ever thinking about doing something similar to me, feel free to reach out!

Private Equity Associate recently transitioned to Senior Strategy Manager @ public consumer company
 

xlsx_chimp1126

 it will hurt you longterm if employers see that you jumped around a bunch

What does casting a wide net have to do with jumping around a bunch? He never said he was jumping around a bunch.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

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