Struggling to Break into IB/PE/ER After 5 Months of Recruiting – SEEKING ADVICE
Hi WSO Community,
I’ve been actively recruiting for IB/PE/ER roles for over 5 months now, applying to 1,000+ positions and landing a few interviews, but I haven’t secured an offer yet.
About Me:
- Graduated this past August (2024) from Boston University with a 3.47 GPA in Economics.
- Completed a Summer 2023 internship at Fidelity Investments as a Summer Analyst in Equity Research. I have another internships as well at much smaller asset management firms doing er as well
- Certifications: Bloomberg Market Concepts, Wall Street Prep (currently working toward FMVA & SIE).
- Proficient in financial modeling (DCF, LBO, etc.) and technical tools (STATA, SQL, Tableau, Bloomberg).
My Approach So Far:
- Applying to 40+ jobs daily and tailoring applications.
- Studying technicals with resources like “400 IB Questions.”
I’d appreciate any advice on:
- How to strengthen my networking strategy and secure more referrals.
- Finding firms or opportunities I might be overlooking.
- Preparing more effectively for interviews.
I’m determined to break into the industry and would greatly value your insights or guidance.
Thank you for your time!
I should also mention I've made final round at some botique firms, but I've consistently been getting rejected after completing the final round.
Best,
B
More info is needed here. You mention a Junior internship with Fidelity in ER - did you not get a return offer?
If not, what was your recruiting strategy like during your senior year?
Separately, don’t spend your time studying for certs like the SIE - it’s a waste of time. If you get a role, they’ll have you take it. Spend more time networking. 40+ apps/day is a good number, but you’re submitting into the void. Spend at least an hour each day messaging people on Linkedin at firms you’re interested in for chats.
Thank you for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
To address your questions:
I did receive an offer from Fidelity after my Equity Research internship, but it was later rescinded due to headcount and budgeting constraints. They offered me an operations role in NH instead, but I declined as it wasn’t aligned with my career goals and the pay was very low.
During my senior year, my recruiting strategy was heavily focused on applying to roles in investment banking and private equity. Unfortunately, I didn’t secure an offer before graduation, which left me continuing my search post-grad. I recognize now that I could’ve spent more time networking and building relationships during that period, which is something I’m trying to address now.
I’ll also take your advice on certifications like the SIE—good to know I shouldn’t prioritize that over networking. I’ve been applying heavily (40+ applications/day) and will dedicate more time to LinkedIn outreach and informational chats to make sure my efforts are more targeted. I definitely have done minimal networking, mostly cold apps. Are there any firms I should be targeting?
Thanks again for the guidance—it means a lot! Let me know if you have any other tips or feedback
There’s a certain point where you have to throw in the towel, or adjust your strategy. If you’re not gaining traction in IB / PE it means you probably don’t have the profile for it. This will be your first job so always have the opportunity to hopefully break in down the line or get an MBA
Dude this is wild, Fido ER internship and unable to get interview - wtf? Someone elbse needs to chime in here who is closer to fresh grad recruiting, but if you can’t get interviews than who is??
What other experience do you have? Any other real human connctions to Boston buyside (coming out of BC should have given you these)? Also I can see if you’re gunning for IB PE roles with buyside ER experience and no IB experience then that’s gonna be uphill vs the standard robot path. Feels like there’s an issue with how you’re interacting with people bc you should be able to get lots of convos with you background, which should lead to 1Rs.
Someone else chime in here
Worked at some small 10 man shops as an er intern. I think I might be reaching too high I'm honestly open to any finance roles at this point
Also, I don't think its a personality thing. I 've always been commended ton this. Always made friends with my colleagues too. I was also very outgoing in college, was involved in team sports and clubs have a good social network of close friends i still see regularly post grad since moving back to ny too.
You need to be getting on the phone with people. Applying to apps is worthless. Your profile is also average between GPA / school. Internship is OK. At this point I would consider taking non IB role. There are a million other people with your profile or better in the same spot.
Longer you are unemployed the harder it’s going to be. This process is very structured and the boat has left port. Your best bet may be via corp finance or otherwise then MBA.
If you were still in school I’d say keep fighting but… it’s December 2024 and you graduated 5 months ago.
Thank you for the honest feedback—I really appreciate the perspective. Yeah, the clock is definitely ticking. I'm honestly open to any roles in finance at this point in time. Any additional advice on how to best position myself for corp finance or other related roles, or how to accelerate networking efforts, would mean a lot. Or if there are other roles with lower barriers to entry that align with my experience/background?
Cheers
I'd argue OP has just gotten screwed (like many other '23 and '24 Grads) with how bad the market has been. If more roles open up in '25, they have a respectful background to land somewhere (not saying it's Goldman). I have networked / seen so many '21 and '22 grads with far worse profiles that got in simply because of a good market, which no one can control.
You should be reaching out to and staying in touch with every single person you worked with during your summer that you had a positive working relationship with. They are your best asset and probably feel somewhat guilty about your offer getting rescinded (although that seems highly unusual for an institution as large as fidelity). The senior people you worked for / with are definitely super keyed into the boston finance community and can help you land another spot / get you in front of other funds, and by continuing to stay in touch, you leave the door open on the team getting more headcount in 2025 and being able to re-extend an offer. Worst case, you should ask if they can defer you into the next starting class in fall 25 or if you can continue to intern with the team while you look for a full time role. Trying to negotiate with HR is not helpful their job is to say no to you (but will say yes to some MD in ER calling them to process the paperwork for you).
You’re absolutely right. I did keep in touch with some of the VPs and senior analysts I worked with. However, I found out last December about them reneging on me I feel like the ship has sailed for the most part. I’ve gotten some referrals from them for other firms so hopefully that pans out. In any case, I’ve been cold applying to a lot of firms/ reaching out to recruiters which has landed me some interviews in risk & er /trade support so I’m going to pursue these opportunities in the meantime. I can’t stress how invaluable everyone’s support/advice has been though. I wish I asked sooner ngl
Something doesn't track here. Fidelity rescinded an ER offer due to budgeting?
Your LinkedIn profile is very easy to find FYI - perhaps remove some identifying details from here. I read your bullets under the Fidelity internship and it's not really clear to me you were in equity research. Some of them straight up make no sense and if that's what's on your resume, I see why you're not getting calls.
You confirm that you were in a risk-taking equity research internship seat? Not trade support/finance/other non-risk taking seat related to Fidelity?
Thanks for your feedback. To clarify, my Fidelity internship was in the Options Trading and Asset Management divisions, where I conducted equity-related research like valuations and financial analysis. While not a dedicated Equity Research seat, my work aligned with many of its core tasks.
The rescinded offer was due to broader budgeting decisions/headcount in the Boston location, not performance. If you have specific suggestions for improving my LinkedIn or resume, I’d appreciate the input.
Cheers
You’re being vague. What is the exact nature of the work you did at Fidelity?
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