Advice for a recent graduate? What to do?
Hi everyone. First, from the little I've read so far, great forum!
Well, here's my situation.
A month ago I graduated from UMich with a BA in Econ, overall GPA of 3.3. I took several finance courses from the business school, had some finance club "experience" and non-finance "work" experience (nothing special, really), but I just don't have the real world experience on my resume. No need to make any excuses, and I obviously screwed up in that regard (I didn't get an internship junior year despite knowing the importance, especially for banking).
I've done what I could with the resume, had several people in various industries (banking, research, etc.) look it over and help it look as good as I could get it. I do believe it's professional looking and believe that overall, I've done what I could in that regard.
I want(ed) to start off in ibanking, as I thought it could be a good stepping stone to other careers or increasing chances to get into a good MBA school (and later trying to break into venture capital). I couldn't even get an interview. I also tried to get into equity research, as I thought this field was A LOT more interesting than banking. Again, couldn't even get an interview.
I am open to many different fields within finance, but right now, it seems impossible to even get an interview! I actually had a intent to offer for a financial analyst position in a corp finance, but that was revoked due to the economy.
I'm at a loss for what I should do. I considered a Masters in Finance, but several people told me that it's simply not worth the investment, and it's better to just keep applying for jobs.
I suppose my question to the wonderful members of WSO is, what should I do? Are there ANY finance related fields that I could get into for entry-level, based on my background? What should the gameplan be, and what's the best way to execute it so I can land a job sooner rather than later, and am not sitting at home doing nothing for a prolonged period of time? My preference would be equity research or investment banking, but am also open to several different fields such as, trading or corporate finance. I'd like to avoid sales/accounting. It's just really about finding a decent first job that I can get valuable experience, and make decent money (although the dream of 100,000+ after graduation are of course out the window!). It just seems like anything I apply to, there is never a response, or if there is, it's the standard "Thanks for applying, but..."
Any advice, guidance, suggestions, or input for a recent graduate who can't seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel would be VERY appreciated! Thank you for your time.
keep on networking, talking to alums, and start cold calling...
to give you an idea of somebody who made it through just using sheer willpower.
Thank you for the reply, and link.
The biggest takeaway I had from the story was with regards to cold calling. I think one of my problems has been not being persistent enough, and also not using the correct methods. I normally use email, as opposed to calling, and in the post you linked to, one of the points was that "calling is always better than emailing". My question then is, what is the appropriate way to cold call a firm? As in, what do you say to them that differs with cold email?
In a cold email, I normally just go with the typical "pitch" of who I am, where I went to school, some skills I have, why I'm interested in the firm, and basically show my interest for the position or any entry-level opportunity. In terms of specifics, what do you say in a cold call to inquire about work?
Network aggressively... and... hope for some big luck...
Thanks.
Yeah, I think I really need to step up my efforts, but also be "smarter" with my networking. By the sounds of it, I think a big key as I mentioned in the previous post will be "cold calling", any advice in this regard to someone who has never cold called a company about employment; only cold emails?
Networking is your best bet - senior people in firms are most likely to get you the job.
Chase Us, Break In http://chasingconsultantsbreakingbankers.blogspot.com/
Honestly I feel for you, but a Wall Street job might not be realistic at this point in your career. Finance positions in industry tend to involve budgeting, tracking variances and financial reporting issues so I think it would be good to get some accounting classes under your belt, maybe at your local CC. Also, if you work on your programming intensely for 6-12 months, that could be marketable- SQL, Java...
Actuarial jobs start around 50,000+. That said, the SOA/CAS exams are notoriously tough (i.e. more challenging than anything one is likely to have seen in a liberal arts/business undergrad).
As you know, the entry-level finance climate is incredibly difficult- Wharton MBAs and HBS grads are having a tough time so that is an indication of how things have changed in the past couple years. You've probaby realized this but a BA in econ is low in functional skills that hiring managers want now- accounting, programming, etc.
It's good to have a goal and work towards it, but remember there are many ways to get there. Also, VC is a field in which only a few hundred people work so it may make sense to research alternative careers. Use your free time now to study math/stats or accounting or programming or languages. Anything to give you an edge on the ivy leaguers with better grades also looking for work.
Thank you for the feedback!
It's no doubt incredibly difficult out there, that's why I considered the MS Finance degree, but decided against it since I figured that would just be another year without relevant work experience, and I wasn't sure if that degree would be worth it.
VC is actually more of a long-term goal (as in, several or many years down the line, but it's certainly something I would like to get into eventually. I just figured that a start in IB would be a good experience in terms of using it as a stepping stone and opening more doors. Unfortunately, I can't seem to break in anywhere right now. Do you have any suggestions for alternate entry-level careers that would be a good starting point for me considering my background?)
I actually feel ok with my coursework (I have taken a couple accounting classes, in addition to another 3 finance courses), but I do agree that I can improve my knowledge in that regard. I've considered picking up financial modeling skills through either the Wall Street Prep program, or something similar. I figure since I have the time right now, that it would be a good idea.
hey, reading my comment and your reply- I was a bit too negative. Obviously everyone knows we're in a very severe cyclical downturn.... but things will get better, hopefully not too far from now. I know accounting seems boring, but a lot of the financial modeling skills in the Big 4, especially in their consulting/valuation groups are very applicable to IBD and prop desks/hedge funds (not many BB prop desks left anymore...)
The masters in finance is a good degree in that you cover a lot of material in a fair bit of depth. The disadvantages as you've pointed out are that it is expensive (~40-50K) and there is no guarantee you'll face a better hiring climate when you get out. Look into taking the CFA level I exam in December. Passing it will indicate your seriousness about a career in finance.
You can enter IBD at two distinct points for the most part- right after undergrad and after B-school. Trading is a bit less rigid, but the typical path- a bank training program also recruits only from undergrad and B-school/financial math/financial engineering programs. Although tough to land, there are positions at asset management firms, investment consulting, F500 treasury departments... even private client and small business financial planning... certainly no shortage of places to build relevant market knowledge and client contacts. Banking is not the be all and end all in life. Ask the Forbes 400 how many of them got their start at GS or MS.
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