I'm going to graduate this April and unfortunately my schooling has been a bit of a disaster. I failed 3 times finally got it together, went back, will finish a finance/accounting double major likely with a 3.4-3.6GPA in last two years. I'm 24yo, turning 25yo this year.
I'm in Canada and I go to UofA which is a top 100 school (top 10 Canada) in Canada, most grads do have a good chance at finance jobs in Calgary. I've tried to get what I would consider to be "good" finance jobs in Edmonton and/or Calgary but I have 0 relevant work experience, as I worked manual labour over the summer to afford my mortgage and have not had 1 interview despite applying to about 30-40 different positions. I suspect my school history is my biggest fault.
I'm intelligent, and my GPA might not reflect my abilities, I think I shot too high double majoring accounting/finance my courses were pretty much all finance and accounting leaving no room for "gimme" courses other people use to pad their GPA. Regardless, it seems like any job that cares about GPA I'm not going to get.
My question is, where do I go from here and what should I be shooting for? I don't want to be an investment adviser at a retail bank my whole life, I have more ambition than that. Yet I don't have a clear idea of what exactly I want to do so I want to do something that opens the doors for more things. What sort of job should I be looking for and what should I be trying to do to set myself apart from the rest of the pack? I'm writing my CFA I this June but a CFA seems to hardly mean anything these days. I can dedicate my spare time to reading finance journals and studying for more certs. Obviously "network network network" is going to be key.
In particularly though, what kind of job do you think might be attainable for myself that I could at least learn something useful to try and add value to my resume so that perhaps I can at least get an interview? I may have the ability to get a credit lending job or a financial analyst job at an energy company (they will want me to pursue a CPA). The latter is of course more accounting related and that isn't really what I want to do, but I don't see how credit lending will really be any more helpful for a job at an investment bank, in fact I could see the FA job as being more useful, but I really have no idea.
If I don't get either of those jobs, what should I be looking to get? If I'm not where I want to be in the next 3-5 years is going for an MBA my next best option? Any input would be appreciated, thank you.
What do you want to do?
Something where I actually feel like my skills and potential are being put to use. Where I actually make decisions that matter in the sense that it can affect the company considerably.
Specifically I'd say I have no idea. Optimally I'd have liked to have been one of the people who did their 2 years as an investment banker and then moved onto something else that interests them after having two years doing a variety of financial analysis which would hopefully give them an idea of something they'd be interested in.
I like the idea of venture capital so maybe start there.
"I'm in Canada and I go to UofA which is a top 100 school (top 10 Canada) in Canada,"
So is it top 10 or 100?
"I'm intelligent, and my GPA might not reflect my abilities, I think I shot too high double majoring accounting/finance my courses were pretty much all finance and accounting leaving no room for "gimme" courses other people use to pad their GPA. Regardless, it seems like any job that cares about GPA I'm not going to get."
Finance and accounting courses ARE "gimme" courses you fucking buffoon. But yeah I'm sure you're intelligent...
I'm not going to defend myself here, if you cannot offer me advice don't bother responding.
I would give you advice but since you can't handle accounting and finance classes I'm not sure there's much to be said. Good luck though mmmmmkayyyyy
Alright, say hypothetically I didn't say that sentence regarding the finance and accounting courses. The answer to your previous question was top 100 world, top 10 in Canada. The point I was trying to make with that statement is that investment banks from Calgary hire from my school despite my school not being the greatest school in the world. What's your advice?
I would try to get a better idea of how the markets work, the different avenues available to a new graduate, and where you think you'd fit. Saying you have no idea what you want to do is not a great way to start a job search. Focus your attention on where you want to be, but be realistic at the same time. Don't shoot for a top job when you know you're not qualified at this moment. It might turn out that you take a job that doesn't exactly thrill you. That's fine, you can gain experience there and leverage that to either move to a better role or go back to school. Good luck.
Listen, your GPA and school are not the problem. The problem is that you don't know where you want to go; thus, you have no plan to get you there. You need to decide on long-term goal and evaluate which paths will take you there. Once you've identified an appropriate path, start taking action to put yourself on that track. Then comes the usual advice; network, be persistent, keep your positive mental attitude, etc.
You're going to need a story, and it sounds like you've got an alright one. You busted your ass through school to get that damn degree. You were been determined to land solid fin/acc internships while in school, but unpaid PWM doesn't pay rent. You double-majored in relevant fields, and you'll do anything to land job X. Create a story practice telling it... Talk to yourself in the fucking mirror. Have this story down when you go for interviews and you'll get respect.
Remember, you don't want a sob story. You want a story that shows you're a hard worker and you busted your ass to get through. Rule #76: No excuses, play like a champion.
Get a better idea of what kind of jobs exist in finance and what you want to do. Be specific. Not "I like the idea of venture capital." Its probably harder to get into venture capital than it is into investment banking straight out of undergrad anyways. You've only got 2 months until graduation, start researching.
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