Do I Have a Chance? (Recent Grad w/ No Internships)

Okay so I have seen people roast similar posts but here goes nothing


About me

  • Lived in California for most of my life
  • Was not motivated in High School
  • Went to community college with the goal of transferring to a UC
    • Was focused on transferring to a 4-year
    • Worked as server in a restaurant
    • Was unaware of the importance of internships
  • UC Berkeley denied me so I decided on UC Santa Barbara
    • It was at this point that I learned about investment banking
  • Went to UCSB from May 2019 - December 2020
    • Applied to hundreds of positions with a very weak resume (got almost no responses)
    • Did my best to educate and prepare myself for interviews and internships
    • Failed to effectively network
    • Due to COVID and my weak resume never landed an internship
  • Graduated December 2020 (3.57 Economics)
  • Next week I am beginning a job as a Credit Analyst for a company that acts as an intermediary between banks and small businesses in order to streamline the process for SBA, PPP, and Bank Term loans
  • My plan is to stay in this position for at least 4-6 months, and then either:

My question is, knowing my past and my plan for the future, do you think I have a chance to land a position in Investment Banking? All opinions are welcome and I am very open to criticism.

 

Thanks, this is a route I have not previously looked in to. Which of these scenarios seems more rational?

a) Credit Analyst -> Corporate Banking Analyst -> Leveraged Finance Analyst -> Investment Banking Analyst

b) Credit Analyst -> Corporate Banking Analyst -> Leveraged Finance Analyst + MBA -> Investment Banking Associate Intern  -> Investment Banking Associate 

 

You can’t apply for internship positions since you graduated already, banks are very strict about this. Best bet is to work for a small boutique to get experience and try and lateral your way up. You are going to really network and have a good story since you graduated with no internships but have a somewhat decent GPA. 

Realistically no shot at any BB’s/EB’s but I could imagine you could find something at a small boutique in the west coast if you tried hard enough.

 

I would apply to a top masters in finance program and re recruit - or work for a few years then get your MBA

 

You won't get an internship because you already graduated but you can lateral over, but you need to network your ass off. I graduated without an internship and ended up at a valuation shop, spent some there to get some experience and then lateraled over to a large MM IB firm. Best advice is to network like crazy and apply to any and every open position. Some people on here will say you have no shot at BB/EB (somewhat accurate) but don't not try just because something seems like a long-shot, the worst that can happen is they say no. And if after all that it looks like you aren't going to be able to lateral over then go for an MBA and re-recruit if you really want to do IB.

 

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