What's up with recruiting for SA London this year?
Recruiting for SA London feels extremely slow and difficult this year. Video interviews with most places but after that complete silence. Same for all my friends as well. Last year I was invited to more processes and the processes were much quicker. My profile is also much stronger now as I had no internship experience last year but now have 3 internships at reputable firms. Are banks recruiting fewer interns this year or are they just dragging it out for some reason? Would be great with some insight from those currently working in the industry.
Off-topic question but how did you manage to get 3 internships at reputable firms in a 1 year period? Did you do them during your studies and are you based in London?
2 internships were off-cycles and one was during the summer. Not based in London.
I’m experiencing the same and others I have talked to are saying the same thing too
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Glad to hear you secured a spot! I secured offers from two regional BBs as backup. Feels very unlikely that I will get any offers in London... Also agree with the point regarding lower-tier banks. Complete radio silence from places like HSBC, Jefferies, and UBS. Not even a video interview or first-round phone interview.
Even CREDIT SUISSE didn't even send me the tests! I have no idea what's going on. Radio silence from BNPP as well. Not even been invited for the MUFG tests either but somehow have been for their insight day so I don't know. I really thought that an American BB IB internship would count for something...
Since when was HL shitty lol
they don't compete at all in terms of Product (DCM) against B/S banks.
So is it only UK undergrad folks and diversity getting interviews/1st rounds this year?
(I come from a Continental EU grad program and haven’t heard of anyone succeeding in getting past HVs/tests this year)
Yeah, that could be the case. I'm at a European target (HEC/Bocconi) and everyone I know is also struggling really hard this year.
I know multiple people from my non-UK target getting interviews (non-diversity)
Yep, come from a traget European graduate program and didn't receive any response after my Hirevue/test at BB (rejections from some boutique and BB tho)
But got an interview at an Elite Boutique for some random reason :)
My question is: does anyone have inside information on whether intakes are getting slashed or if they are just taking their time to send interviews away?
How likely is it só still get 1st round interviews at this stage, given that I applied 2 weeks after opening?
Intakes are getting slashed at some banks. Where I interned, they consistently had an 80-90% return rate, apart from this year. This is because they started recruiting in 2021 under good market conditions and then everything went belly up. They overrecruited and in the end the return rate was actually 40%. To mitigate for this, my bank is recruiting a smaller class to maintain the high return rate. However, I think the likes of JPM just have their set number for whatever year and let their return rate vary. This is just what I've heard, though, so not 100% beyond what I know for my bank.
I started FT in June, here is my (and my firm’s) consensus:
Masters students just are not as intellectually capable as target undergrad kids. Yes, they might have previous IB experience etc but in the long run undergrad students always outperform the masters students. They were not smart enough to get into a good undergrad and now trying to compensate by doing a ”target” masters that is just designed to bring money to the insitutions.
If everyone started reasoning like you and your firm, there’d be no Continental Europeans in London
Well no shit, you seem to be good at math.. shame you still couldnt pass a GCSE maths level online test lmaoo
This is just objectively false. In the team I was in, it was always the European Masters students (you have to do a Masters in Europe anyway) who landed on top. They had all the technical knowledge and like 2+ years experience when they started FT. It was one of the reasons why my group had a 0% return rate, we (undergrads) simply weren't technical enough to meet the expectations of the group.
There is nothing special about going to a "Target" undergrad. It doesn't make you smarter or better than someone who is doing their Masters at a "target" postgrad institution. You are not taught how to do the job at these schools. But what you do get at European schools, especially their Masters programmes, is an imbedded internship built in. In France, for example, you have to do like 6 months of internships in your undergrad and again in your Masters.
You just don't know what you're talking about.
Did this kid just say “my firms consensus” like he is the CEO? lmao
Impressive how you’ve been a part of the bank for 4-5 months and already speak for the firm.
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