Dazed & Confused Recent Grad Looking for Advice - IB Internship, Non-Target, Low GPA, Declined Return Offer, No Other FT Offers
I am looking for a bit of advice regarding my current situation. I just graduated in December from a non-target, top 50 or so university with a degree in Economics. I graduated with an extremely low GPA (definitely some unique extenuating circumstances, but I take ownership of the grade I earned and wouldn't want to discuss these in an interview anyway) and had no finance or accounting courses. I did manage to hustle and network my way into a summer internship with a small but respected regional boutique last summer where I received a FT offer, but it was not in my best interest to return for a number of reasons. I now find myself in a position as an off-cycle grad from a non-target with an extremely low GPA and no finance or accounting background, but with a decent internship in IB, strong extracurriculars, and a good resume otherwise.
Networking has paid off very little as it seems there isn't a large IB presence from my school and the few that are in IB are mostly at BB/EB which won't consider me due to GPA. Networking has been helpful in other ways and I have managed some interviews at regional boutiques, but seem to struggle with technicals and rarely get beyond any questions about GPA. I have also had little luck articulating a solid Plan B as my school places very well in Consulting, Big 4, Valuation (think Duff & Phelps), and other F500 but GPA seems to get me dinged almost immediately from these roles.
I'm left frustrated, dazed & confused. The odds are definitely stacked against me here, but I have managed to overcome the odds before with hard work. I do want to further my career in IB, but have hit a sticking point and I am even having trouble materializing a Plan B after not being able to secure another FT offer before graduation. Does anyone have some advice for someone in my situation?
Not sure about your circumstances regarding having to decline the FT offer but I'll mention it anyways, you should have made it work.
With a low GPA there are a pool of better qualified candidates (at least on paper) and companies just don't want to risk taking a candidate who performed poorly in university vs the opposite.
You're going to have to tug on someones heart strings / present a compelling reason why a company should hire you which is an exhausting recruiting process.
I'd suggest reaching out to alumni who have participated in an extracurricular that you have mentioned and ask them if they'd be willing to chat over the phone with you so you can explain in a heart-felt conversation your position and why you'd be a great candidate. Don't limit yourself to Investment Banking or you will be on the streets by the time you find a job.
Good luck
p.s. you're not a ft analyst, change your title scrub
If you know you struggle with technicals & get asked about GPA by this point you should have
1) your technicals down since you know thats your weakness 2) have a perfect answer to "why low GPA" question since you know they're going to ask you about it
Also as mentioned above, don't know why you didn't take FT offer when you should know the odds are stacked against you for FT recruiting coming from a non-target + crappy GPA
Were your reasons for not returning firm specific or are they concerns that are limiting your options elsewhere? Alternatively, did you leave on good terms with the boutique? I assume that since they extended you an offer, they liked you enough anyways. Depending on why you didn't accept the full-time offer, you might consider reaching out to a couple colleagues you were close with to see if they have any advice or have heard of any openings elsewhere.
That being said, there isn't a good excuse not to have your technicals nailed down. You should have known from your first go-around that you've got to really capitalize on every opportunity that comes your way, given your background. And even if your internship itself wasn't super technical, the bar is that much higher for FT recruiting when you had prior IB experience.
If you're not getting past the topic of GPA, you need to come up with a better explanation for it and how that doesn't reflect your current work ethic. Not killing the technicals is not helping your case here.
At this point, you should start casting a wider net. By all means keep recruiting for IB opportunities but have some options in play.
My reasons for leaving were firm specific. We did leave on good terms and I'm sure those guys would go to bat for me if it came down to it.
You're right in that being weak in technicals is no one's fault but my own even though this internship was not very technical. I've studied quite a bit but still struggle in interviews so if you have any more advice on how best to prepare that would be appreciated.
As far as GPA, I think I have a pretty good explanation for it. At least, as good as it will get without going into the details which I would not like to go into and which no one will want to sit and hear in an interview. Some have even been somewhat impressed after my explanation (in addition to the unique circumstances I mentioned above, I also worked full-time and led several clubs all through college.) It seems for many, though, GPA is just a hard cutoff. No exceptions. I'll have to do the best with what I have and try to brainstorm other ways to get past the screen and then explain it away I suppose.
That is all very good advice. Thanks for replying.
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