How long have you been laid off and how is your job hunt going?
Wanted to get a pulse check on how folks have fared due to industry-wide layoffs. Is everyone that have been let go from an investment banking background? Any PE folks who have been let go? How long ago were you let go, and if you have managed to secure a new gig, how long did it take you? For the veterans on this board, any advice on keeping your head up and staying positive?
My firm went through restructuring and my entire group got let go in December. Almost 6 months, and still job hunting and feeling increasingly demoralized
Laid off in end of Jan/Feb, first real job out of school, IB M&A.
So far I’ve gone through various recruitment processes. It’s been extremely difficult to get back into banking and to be honest I don’t see myself getting back into banking anytime soon due to the climate at the moment.
So far most of my processes were in other areas like REPE (hiring has been a lot better than banking right now tbh), and Investment Management. Eventually, I was hired to work for my parents in their advisory practice — strat consulting so I’ve been doing that now until I find a new job.
I can’t lie it’s been really tough and it’s a bit weird as I do feel like my career has been thrown off when I just started, but I’m staying positive because I know this is just a speed bump.
My advice to you is to keep looking and don’t feel discouraged. Your time will come. I can’t like to you, getting back into banking is very tough right now so be open to other opportunities. When the economy gets better, you may be able to find yourself back into banking with diverse experience (if you still want to do it) or you find something that is better for you.
Aside from that, keep your chin up, it is really hard out there.
In a similar boat right now - did you find yourself having to do a lot of prep for separate processes such as REPE / Investment Management, or are they pretty similar to IB interviews?
Ignore the title - I’m a 2YA. Top group at a top BB. Interviews have come rapidly through the door but no one seems to actually be hiring. I’m probably going to toss my resume over to Water Street. Note I also had a UMM/MF PE offer - they pulled it when I got let go.
Dang I feel for you man - was the PE fund not understanding of the situation? That is extremely tough and something I can relate to. I was also at a top group and it feels like my career has now been derailed and in limbo
You were a second year analyst at a BB. Breath my friend. Take the time off and go do something, travel, see the world, and trust me you’ll come back as a better all around person. Your mojo will be better trust me, your confidence will be stronger and you’ll be a more interesting person overall.
I’m assuming you have completed the full two years of IB? Why not take a small break and do something entrepreneurial? The best time to take some risks is when you don’t have a job and you’re young. Explore your passions, identify what kind of person you want to become. Banking will always be there, but as life becomes more complicated you won’t have as much time for these experiences. My friend, you’ll be fine, but do yourself a favor and take a break.
What was that convo with the fund like? Did you tell them or did they find out somehow? Really sorry to hear.
DM me
How long is too long as it relates to having a gap on the resume? Top target background with strong test scores and two years of banking experience at top firm. After getting let go in February, been selective about finding the right buyside opportunity (passed on a LMM growth fund and a corp dev role) and although folks at the firms I am interested in are willing to chat and sympathize, they are not hiring. Not sure if I should just take the next offer I get to close the unemployment gap even if it is not what I am interested in or stick it out and continue the search
6 months is when it starts to become an issue. 8+ months most hiring managers will really wonder what's up
I wouldn't stick around for the perfect offer because you'll be waiting a while in this market + there are thousands of juniors looking for ~hundreds of IB/PE roles so you are just facing an uphill battle already. Unless those two offers were clearly not a fit I would have taken something along those lines.
Does the current market environment give any leeway? Things were significantly slower than one would expect in Jan of this year as most places were wait and see. I didnt really start gaining traction until late march and still searching though have made it to 3 superdays so far but am coming up to 8 months unemployed in july
... did you consult anyone before going through 2 full processes and saying no? I'm a bit stunned tbh. You don't have a job, hiring had frozen last month and starting too elsewhere, the brunt of rates hasn't come close to fruition, and firms are letting people go... Unless you don't need to work because the Bank of Mom and Dad is open 24/7, or you've accumulated millions, you don't turn down 2 jobs ffs
Got laid off after a year in PE and working on building my own startup now. The upside to me is much higher than going to another PE shop but the life as a founder is 10x tougher...
Complete respect. What are you doing now if you don’t mind me asking?
I genuinely like helping people so if you’ve got SWE/ tech questions feel free to reach out. If it’s quick stuff I’m happy to just answer to help
Bump- I got laid off in April and am *still* looking. I got 2 offers I really wasn't excited about and turned both down. Left NYC and moved back in temporarily with my parents to save money while working a part time retail job on the side. I'm really hoping I won't regret my decision to turn down those offers, as this hiring market SUCKS rn. More and more layoffs continue to happen across the M&A sector, and so the competition pool only expands. At this rate, if I don't get an offer by Christmas, I'm thinking to take some sort of sabbatical and go backpack a few countries with the money I've saved up thus far. I'm mentally exhausted and only young once...
why'd you turn down the 2 offers? if they're utterly crap and not in the field, maybe totally not worth it like a retail job but if it's relevant space, would be curious to know your reasons.
i'm 12 months out and it has been mentally draining. i've decided to go backpacking out of country (south america) for the next 4 months and see where life takes me. leaning towards doing something in the food industry when i come back
What's the update on this? It's been almost 2 years for me and getting interviews for any role is difficult. Will likely be going through the MBA route in fall
Similar to folks in thread top target in a solid BB laid off ~ 6 months ago in NYC - had to move back w parents and recruit as well.
Got offers for random ass PE shops in terrible locations (MM/LMM)
Got offer for a solid corp dev role (f500) which I took
Reasoning was I’d rather recruit from a f500 with better wlb than a PE role where I’ll likely be overworked (most firms I noticed hiring immediate starts were understaffed)
I had HHs reach out for good platform opps (1-5b AUM) in California etc. but never converted / never wanted to end up in Cali. Happy to answer any Q’s if y’all got any
Do you plan to recruit back into IB? Do you eventually want to jump to the buyside and if so, what size are you targeting?
Checking in - how’s everyone’s situations?
Following
Market's pretty dead (London), everyone's looking to see what the other ones are doing. Classic
London is cooked for sure.
US cooked also. been out of a gig for 2 years now - picked up some side hustles and totally unrelated to finance. kind of fun and refreshing. may never go back
The chillest exit op is to sell finance recruiting content
All those guys seem to transition to it full time, I can point to like 5 people and there's probably a lot more
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