Sophomore at Non-Target. Losing it
Hi all, this is my first post on WSO. I'm currently so stressed out and don't know where to begin. I came into college not knowing I wanted to do finance, originally came in as a pre-med student. I also went to the school that was a 15-minute drive from me due to financial reasons and not being able to afford to stay on campus. Second semester of my freshman year I decided I wanted to do finance because of my love for the economy and the stock market, and I was fortunate to land a corporate finance internship at a F100 my freshman summer. Fast-forwarding, I currently work as an analyst there and this upcoming summer I will be at a boutique investment bank in my city.
Keep in mind that I go to a complete non-target that probably has ~1 or no people break into IB each year. I have a 3.90 GPA and am involved in many activities, recently started the Investment Banking club at my school and I hold an exec role at the school's finance club.
Recruiting has been such a struggle for me, I sent over 200+ cold emails a week back from November - January and I didn't get much out of it, plus our weak alumni network doesn't help at all. I applied to over 50+ banks and only got 5 first-round interviews, from which 2 I got super days from. I got dinged from 1 of the super days but I'm still waiting on the other, which is a MM firm. The point is, I'm on my last straw and I feel like I have no hope if this Superday does not work out for me.
What should I do if I can't get an offer, and what should I do to maximize my chances of getting an offer for 2024 summer? I have a good plan B, graduating a year early from undergrad and doing my Masters in Finance at a top 25 and going from there. But regardless, I'm super stressed and really want to break into the industry. Any advice would be appreciated. This is my first post on WSO so if it does not meet any guidelines, I apologize in advance.
Yea such a big risk, we all know non targets are worse at changing PowerPoint colors than targets.
Facts they do
This isn't helpful and you're just being a dick. You also just finished recruiting (assuming you got your PS offer) as a sophomore, what do you know about what bankers value? Not claiming I know more, but try being a bit more humble.
OP: I was in the same boat from desert-island non-target. I networked a ton and had good M&A internships and eventually got multiple MM offers. Ended up taking a SA offer for a top MM (HL/WB/JF). With your networking volume I feel like there is either something wrong with your resume and/or how you present yourself to people, or your experiences are not up to par. Did you stop networking in January? If so that is surely the issue.
Roll with the punches if these SDs do not work out. I went through five to get my offers. Unfortunately the process so far along that there is little you can do now, save for the banks that either recruit late (e.g., middle of summer to fall) and smaller shops that recruit closer to their start dates. People already have their inboxes spammed with kids in your position.
If nothing else works out you have a decent secondary option, and, if you can't even convert that to a FT offer, school. I would try and limit your thought processes to FT offer in banking or bust because school is so expensive.
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this is junior year recruiting what u on
Feel free to message me, I also went to a non-target school with no other students entering IB and was able to land an offer for this summer—definitely an uphill battle.
Thank you, will do!
BB?
I'm in the same situation. Can I pm you as well?
Sure, MM IBD btw not BB
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Del
All WSO kids seem to forget that they can always do an MBA in 4 years if they can’t break into IB straight out of undergrad
If you know IB is what you want to do then you might as well pursue now instead of burning money on the MBA and wasting years in another field.
OP- I came from worse background- free community college because I was so poor and then also college 15 minutes from me to get my bachelors. Similar to you- I was a Biochem major. First of all- after your sophomore year is a great time to apply as a transfer student and transfer scholarships are readily available and, IMO, easier to get. I’d explore that route with your stats. Second of all- with your background you can still get a foot in the door and be successful. Feel free to PM me- I’m now in the shoes of advising my own college age child so happy to provide whatever advice I can.
First of all, you are doing great! On your second year and you already have a second internship, go you. Now let's be honest here, why you? What skills do you have that should make HR look at your resume? Do you know finance and also know how to code? Matlab? Know anything about SQL, VBA, python? I know these sound like buzz words but HR loves to filter.
In terms of networking, in the kindest way, maybe your communication is coming across the wrong way. When I was networking I would send messages introducing myself, finding something that I can connect with or just plainly ask I am interested in learning more about your career path, I see you did XYZ.
Another thing is to join networks for the industry... not sure which city you lived in but industry orgs are very helpful too. Sorry about the alumni... in that case maybe search for people on Wall Street by company and see if they went to a similar school.
Given the way you described your situation, you’ve honestly made good progress. You’re not making it to superdays by mistake. These internships are so competitive that it turns into a numbers game at a certain point. Keep plugging man, I know how frustrating that can be to hear, but it’s true. I got my SA offer in Feb of my junior spring, granted it was a different market but just hang around the hoop and good things will happen.
Got my offer boys, literally a week after I posted this
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Wait a second. You’re a sophomore with a good GPA and have an IB internship lined up? What is the issue? Succeed in your internship and they’ll probably give you a return offer. From there, you can lateral to a better firm, go to a more prestigious graduate program, whatever. I’m failing to see your issue.
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