Rejection sucks but that's just the name of the Game
I've been reading this forum for a while but today I thought I'd share my story on the numerous amounts of rejections I've received across the street and one in particular.
Background I'm currently a second-semester junior at a target university. Towards the end of my sophomore year is when I realized I wanted to work on wallstreet and completely changed my way of thinking. I started networking with every firm that visited my school and aggressively trying to land an internship for the summer that just ended. Granted, I was pretty rusty in my interviewing skills, just learning the basics, new to keeping up with the markets, new to effectively sharing my story. I was fine with not landing an internship this summer because I knew the skills I've learned from my past interviews would allow me to capitalize on the next big opportunity.
Big Opportunity After striking out all of sophomore year I was finally able to land something with a BB. However, this was not an internship, it was an invitation to a 2 day summit held by the firm. At this 2 day summit, I was able to network with individuals at the firm and learn more about the core values of the bank. After the summit ended, I received an invitation from the bank to be paired with a mentor for the summer who would help prep me for fall interviews. This was great news, everything I've been waiting. I used this whole summer to communicate with my mentor, network with other individuals at the firm, and get my name circulating across the bank. It seemed as if everything was going my way. I passed the phone screening with flying colors which was expected because I've essentially been coached by a few MDs, a VP, and a Banker.
superday This is the day I've been waiting for almost 3 months. My confidence is high, my story is locked down, resume is solid, I've been following the markets all year. I had 3 back to back 2 on 1 interviews, all of which I believe I nailed. No question was unexpected, I had a great attitude, suit was clean, eye contact was there. I did everything in the book, even followed up with everyone I interviewed with. All of whom replied either the same night or next day.
No Offer Still no offer... It kind of makes me wonder what didn't I do? I would note that I am African-American but I believe playing the race card would be too simplistic of an answer..or would it really? Regardless, its been a good run, learned a lot, met some great people. With my final school year approaching, I obviously have to pursue a different career path. I know my story is unusual from what people typically post on here but I thought I'd share anyway.
For the most part, people don't get offers because they're not unique enough. They usually only give offers to 10-30% of superday participants. When you look at your competition being other ivy kids with similar backgrounds it is hard to differentiate yourself (Being black does not count lol). This is why either being from a non-traditional background or to a much lesser extent going to a non-target helps in the superday stage because if you can prove you're smart and answer the questions correctly, interviewers will acknowledge how much tougher it must have been to get in position.
Keep trying mate. Everything that you learned can be used in all your interviews at other banks. Really sounds like you made the most out of that small opportunity (2 day summit) and nearly leveraged it into a job which is great.
Sometimes it comes down to luck and not enough positions for everyone they liked. Keep trying though, with this attitude you'll be bound to get it eventually.
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