This recruiting cycle is mind fucking.

I simply do not know what to do. Did I really fuck up by being born a 2024 grad at a shit-stain state school? My resume has been reviewed by BB bankers who gave me feedback to make it SD worthy. Networking has been drier than a fucking desert, and I seem to be in limbo with every other application I put out. 

Do I just read the writing on the wall and give up? Was destroying my social life and relationships for a boutique PE internship completely pointless? I can't even get an actual phone interview. I just want a job dude. I get it, the market is brutal, but frankly it seems fucking impossible. I haven't felt this irritable, anxious, and frustrated since I failed to land internships 2 years in a row.

I can feel my habitual rage manifesting again.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

8 Comments
 

M&A market is down 40 - 50% since Jan '23, think about it. If getting into IB in normal conditions is extremely hard, imagine now... because I think that some people saw the recruitment during the M&A boom and forgot that getting into IB, to begin with, is already extremely extremely hard even in normal conditions, so they are somewhat delusional about their chances now.

But all I can say is that besides keep applying/networking, try also to build.improve as many skill as possible, so when recruitment gets back to normality you will differentiate yourself from other peers (communication skills, finance knowledge, etc. etc. - those are not only for recruiting, those will have a huge impact in your career until you retire). So don't see your circumstances as lack of progress because you're unable to get an offer, instead, getting an offer is just one part of one's career progression, focus on making progress on what's in your control.

incentives trumph ethics
 

make your own conclusions: (but I'll say 1-2 years, because banks laid off the bottom bucket pool of analysts, but there's always room for talent)

image-20230904173630-1

and let me make a remark about recruiting based on the graph: The fact that we have such a low volume after the Covid M&A boom means that there are WAY MORE people in this market (and in the upcoming months/years they will still be) with "Investment Banking" experience in their CV. But this shouldn't affect students, only graduates that are trying to lateral. Personally, if I see someone with IB experience at meh banks during 2021/2022 I don't take them too serious.

incentives trumph ethics
 

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