Stuck in FT recruitment. Any andvice?
So recently I finished infra PE off-cycle internship in London. Previously, i had internships in project finance and also some valuation. I have a target MSc (top 10 on the FT rankings). So far, things have been quite abysmal in recruiting full-time and off-cycle positions. I'm getting trounced by competition. I expected that my experience would at least carry me a little, so far not even passing screening for months made me question if my CV is the issue. I've had 2 ACs for off-cycles and 2 1st rounds, but nothing came in for the past 2 months. Any advice?
I am thinking about enrolling in a new MSc programme for the work permit. Understandably, requiring a visa sponsorship is a death sentence. What do you think?
Strange, your CV is 10/10. I am based in the US though and only studied in Europe for 1 year, so I might be missing some nuances here. Is there a reason other than visa sponsorship that your past internships didn’t convert?
I suggest you keep applying but also try networking. Having transaction experience on your resume sounds like a great pitch. Double master isn’t the best idea. You’ll end up paying 40-50k for a superday or two (at best), not worth it. Your experience is good enough to get you in. Good luck!
yes, the reason my internships didn't convert was due to sponsorship. at least that's the reasoning i was given
i am trying my best to network but so far nothing has worked. i sent around 300 emails & linkedin messages over the past 2 months without a single response. idk, i follow the same template suggested on here and i get nothing. i don't get invited to interviews, even.. so my thinking was that doing a master means getting a direct recruitment channel and would at least give me some visibility
The issue I think you have (looking at your CV) is that you don't have proper IB experience to be able to be viewed for a FT job in PE / HF etc. (that's just my take, I've tried as well and literally had the same reply several times)
At the moment, I know friends who are in HFs and they are only working there because they spent at least 1 or 2 summers / OCs in banking and without it, their private markets FT job would not have been possible.
Definitely consider something like a Morgan Stanley OC in London for 2027 especially as you are from outside the UK.
haha yeah i did 1st round with MS for their GCM division but was dinged after. IB application didn't get past screening unfortunately. considering i've done so much debt work in my previous internships, i was hoping to get into levfin or DCM. the interview went well, i just think there were better options with IB experience like you say.
i now fully understand the lack of IB exp makes a big difference. i thought my project finance work could potentially move the needle, guess it doesn't work that way.
Try IBD instead especially Renewable Infra, I think GCM OCs are only for penultimate students atp
i'll try next September, though it's hard to imagine it'll go any differently. for the time being i guess i have no choice but to keep applying
Macquarie OC
MS IBD OC (already mentioned)
Ardian OC Infra (doubt it's the one on your CV but if not then it's a good shop in the meantime)
Rothschild OC LT
BX OC
GS OC PE Infra
Jefferies literally opened their OC again for energy
Guggenheim OC Digital Infra Q1-Q4
Trion Q2 '26
those are some half decent OCs that might be worth trying
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