Start a FT role at an "irrelevant" role first? Or quit to concentrate fully on finance recruiting?

Recent graduate here, I've completed a mix of consulting and finance internship positions, including an HF internship for my final year with a relatively sizable fund ($X b). I received a return offer from the HF, but ultimately rejected it with a heavy heart (I can't share why here, but it was not over something trivial).

I've known all along that I wanted to pursue a career in finance, however, given the relatively non-linear nature of my experiences, I ended up trying for both finance and consulting roles.

Early on, I did receive an FT offer from a relatively no-name boutique consulting firm, which is scheduled to start soon. Would it be a good idea to do an irrelevant FT job in the no-name consulting firm first, while continuing to apply for finance jobs in the meantime? Personally, if it were up to me, I would not have taken the role, because I do not want to come across as extremely indecisive about a career in finance and cause this role to jeopardize my chances.

However, my folks have been putting lots of pressure on me to start ANY FT JOB ASAP since graduating, concerned that I will be unemployed for an extended period of time. I've been pushing hard against this as best as I can, but this has made my job search even more exhausting. 

Thanks to the most recent internship, I've landed a number of early interviews for a few finance roles. While I am reasonably confident that I should be able to land a finance role eventually, these processes are going to take time and the other role would have already begun. I'd really appreciate any advice you guys might have at this stage. Thanks!

1 Comments
 
Most Helpful

Eaque expedita temporibus earum quo recusandae. Ducimus voluptates quia molestiae aut et tempore dolorum. Aliquam et sed dolore illum nihil dolores. Mollitia dolores pariatur magni repudiandae.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan No 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”