What to do when you don't have a good SA offer?

I am a junior student at semi-target, and was rejected by most IBD/SnT SAs but only managed to get a Tax SA at big 4. I was less than happy with the result but it is what it is.

Now, what would the best way forward for me to get a full time position in IBD? Do a masters and re-recruit? Try to somehow do big 4 tax --> big 4 M&A --> IBD? Open to suggestions!

2 Comments
 

1. Extend grad and re-recruit if you think you can identify the reason(s) why you weren't able to secure an IB or S&T offer and fix the reason(s) relatively quickly.

2. Otherwise, I'd recommend cold emailing regional boutique IB firms over the next few months trying to get some experience at those.

3. If you end up doing the internship with Big4, try to network as much as you can during it with people in the firm's deal advisory or valuation business, then try to secure an FT offer in that area, then work in that area for a year or two, then lateral to an IB firm. 

 

Consequatur autem magnam perferendis enim et. Tempore itaque in ut veritatis doloribus.

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

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Guggenheim Partners No 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (81) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”