Advice for 2013 graduate

I am one year out of college, waiting for my CFA Level 2 results in July and trying to break into ER.

I wasnt able to land a finance job out of college so took up whatever was being offered (even though I hate the job).
Now I am trying to leverage the CFA and get some interviews.

Since I am an year out of college, what do you guys think is the best approach for me to get a chance at interviews?
Should I just keep contacting people at these firms on the phone or should I look for job listings (Unfortunately most require some experience so I am not sure if this path is feasible)?

 

Keep reaching out to people until you can get into a position where you can either push yourself into ER or just start off in ER. When I was looking to jump ship, I actually found it easier to talk to people at other firms since my then BB was very against you moving internally if you hadn't been there 1+ years.

If you've been there the whole time, though, I'd also start reaching out to ER internally. Show interest, write up some pitches, and start taking them out to coffee. As you know, it's a numbers game so reach out to as many folks as possible. You have the luxury now of taking your time since the graduation deadline no longer exists.

 

@jss09- I read many of the threads but what I was really interested in knowing was to figure out if networking internally is the only way to go. As I pointed out in my post, I have been considering applying to job listings externally as well but find that they almost always require atleast 2-3 years of experience.

 
Best Response
Nightstar:

@jss09- I read many of the threads but what I was really interested in knowing was to figure out if networking internally is the only way to go. As I pointed out in my post, I have been considering applying to job listings externally as well but find that they almost always require atleast 2-3 years of experience.

Usually networking internally is the easiest way to do it, the chances of moving to ER would be higher in your own firm, but i would spend a good amount of time(~60-70%) on other opportunities you see listed at other BB, MM, whatever. ER is easier to lateral in my opinion than other areas because all you need is one analyst that likes you and you can get hired. Just foster as many relationships as you can within your own firm first and try to get lucky and have an analyst decide to just hire you after their associate leaves rather than having to go through the entire process of interviewing candidates, which usually sucks.
 

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