Can't break into IB - NEED ADVICE (GMAT Prep or Modeling Course)
A little background on myself: Graduated with a bachelors in Finance in December of 2017. Had no banking internships throughout my undergrad years as my school wasn't a target IB school (Even though I had a 3.86 GPA). After graduating I managed to land myself a spring internship at a boutique through networking efforts, however, that ended a month ago and I have been looking for jobs this past month and not having any luck whatsoever - even with non-banking roles such as a valuation analyst.
I need advice on what to do with my current free time and what type of roles to look for as IB is very competitive and the future doesn't look so bright. I was debating between either taking a GMAT prep course ($1,500) and use my free time to study and try to crush my GMATS with hopes of getting into a good MBA program in the future or, take a Wall Street Prep Modeling course ($1,100) for 3 days and try to put that on my resume and gain a competitive edge as my modeling skills aren't amazing.
Either way, I need to make a decision between those two ASAP as both courses are starting soon and time is ticking for me. Any advice/feedback is much appreciated!
First things first: don't just throw money at the problem. MBA programs usually look for a few years work experience, so even with a very good GMAT you still might have a tough time getting into an MBA program with 1-2 years work experience.
Modeling courses might give you a very slight boost on your resume, but a lot of companies have templates they use or will train you a certain way. Either way, don't just plunk down a ton of money. I'd spend some time networking and practicing modeling (there are a lot of free resources), and if you can't get in by 25 or so, go the MBA route.
Thanks for the help! I understand that MBA programs want some good experience, I just wanted to get the GMAT out of the way since the scores last for 5 years and maybe I could break into banking in the future with an MBA if I don't today. As for now, I am job hunting every day and not having much luck. I tried taking a look at commercial banking and corporate banking roles as well.
Fair enough, a GMAT score is good for a few years. However, you may have to weigh how much time you're spending now networking versus studying would be. I've been putting in four hours a day regularly with Magoosh, which doesn't leave a ton of free time for much else (aka networking and modeling).
Commercial and corporate bankers are good at figuring out who is applying as a safety. Plus a good chunk of corporate bankers are ex-IB and almost all analysts at the firm I’m at come from targets/semi-targets both in the WSO sense of what schools constitute a target/semi-target and in the sense of almost all are from schools where we do OCR or resume drops.
The GMAT is not a hard test. With diligence + determination you should be able to get a competitive score. Look up GMAT prep methods in the B-school forum and save yourself 1500 bucks.
Thanks bro. Would you recommend I do this in my free time as I search for jobs?
Easy Fix: Get a top MSF or Go to Law School. You are qualified for both.
Wtf no, getting a law degree is terrible advice. You're still a student at a non-target (at best just graduated) based on your posts, so please stfu and stop trying to advise others.
Evidence from just over a week ago: "Currently, only BB Ops recruits at my school and I would have to do all of the leg-work trying to recruit for Investment Banking internships"
OP: You've only been looking for a month. I would keep trying to search for anything finance related - accounting, wealth management, more boutiques, etc. Keep networking and applying to places before throwing in the towel at this point. You're probably not going to get into a great MBA program if you went to a non-target and don't have good work experience anyways.
which city u in?
Baltimore/D.C
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