Giving Up IB........... for now.. Need advice in finding A JOB
Hi WSO,
I am a recent graduate from none/semi-target (UVA,UCLA,Umich Econ Major) with a very low gpa (3.0) and currently doing unpaid internship at a very small boutique investment bank in NYC.
However, predicament is that my parents are on the verge of bankruptcy, and they recently told me that they cannot support me for more than 1 month from now.
Although I have networked extensively, I honestly don't see myself getting any job in finance in a month. So I am thinking about giving up IB for now and try it again after MSF or MBA.
So I was wondering if you guys could give me advice on what kind of jobs I should apply for so I can be in a competitive position after my masters.
Also, since I don't qualify for OCR and traditional route, how/where can I find a descent corp finance or even BO/MO jobs right now? I have tried doostang/efinancial/company websites but so far, no luck.
I really appreciate your help and than you in advance!
Work on getting into a top MBA program. That's key. I've seen people get in with all sorts of backgrounds but they were at a top school and they were committed.
Sheesh, sorry to hear this, pal. Keep your head up, is probably the best piece of advice I could give ya. I've been blessed to never have to endure severe hardship in my life (yet), but I know people that have, and what matters is that they come out of it stronger and better. I'm really not sure what to tell you to do for IB, but as for as PWM/AM goes, broker-dealers are good places to start and easy to get into.
Can you support yourself financially while you continue this internship?
Forget about MSF or MBA for now, the solution to debt isn't more debt and unless you get into a top MSF you won't get very far in terms of recruitment. Continue your IB internship while searching for similar FT gigs but do everything possible to be self-sufficient, even if it means taking a part time job that you'd probably never put on your résume. Keep networking with people in all parts of the industry regardless of background and alma mater affiliation, and something great will turn up.
Yeah, I am thinking about working night shift, but I'm not sure that will be sufficient enough for me to survive NYC.
Thank you so much for your feedback guys, it's been a tremendously helpful. Since I have serious time restraint, do you guys know any websites/headhunters that I can utilize so I can quickly find a job in nyc???? Thank you!
You are at the point where you should be considering temp agencies.
Lag time for your first paycheck is usually 2-3 weeks. Even if you apply tonight, get an interview next week, the earliest you'd start is July 22. If everything goes perfect for a FT skilled job, apply now, hear back the 11th-15th, interview 15th-19th, offer 23rd-28th, starting day August 5th (if they're extremely desperate) or 12th. Realistically, you're looking at unskilled work, from a temp or otherwise. Security deposit, first month's rent..I'd consider going upstate or maybe New Jersey to go somewhere affordable. Or crash with a friend.
This all depends on how much you have in savings. If it's under $2,000, NYC won't work for the near-term. $5ish and you might have enough time/money to get a decent job in the city. Otherwise why not shoot for a smaller city? Chicago is decent, probably easier to get a job.
Hi Kfuzion, Thank you for your insight. I currently subleased a place in manhattan for 900 dollars. Since my parents are under a lot of stress, I feel like I need to find something quickly to take some burden off their shoulders. However, the dilemma is that I just don't want to take a job that will pigeon hole my career. So I was hoping to find something relevant to finance, allowing me to break into IB post MBA or MSF.
PM me. My firm has a ton of openings and I'd be willing to make an intro, especially if you're from one particular school on that list.
Hi Thunderfan, Thank you so much for lending me a hand. I just tried to send you a message but seems like I don't have enough banana points to send you one. Could you possibly message me your email address so maybe we can communicate via email? Thank you!
Were you getting good vibes from networking and they just ended up being dead ends? Or did you just have a lot of chats, but couldn't tell if they liked you or not?
Hi Loki777, I think they like me enough to look at me as a potential candidate but when they see my resume (3.0 GPA), they are little hesitant in giving me an interview. Do you have any advice on how I should approach networking more efficiently?? Thank you!!
Hey man don't give up, I'm in a similar boat. I had to take a temp job at a commercial bank, anything to gain experience and a paycheck will help. Keep it up, good luck!
Have you considered sitting down with your boss or HR to discuss your financial situation? I know that as someone starting his own business, if an unpaid intern came to me with something like this I would strongly consider making arrangements to ensure that he received enough compensation to at least cover some of his expenses. This of course assumes that you are busting your ass and providing at least some value to the firm. You should stay there for 3 months (should help boost your resume) while concurrently working with headhunters, reaching out to friends/alumni, etc.
Look, you need to take what you can get. Back office jobs don't pigeon hole you unless you stay there longer than a year. When you are in a back office job you can search for better opportunities.
I would go on monster.com or indeed.com and apply to every "operations" job you see.
Have you considered moving out of NYC. There are much less expensive areas with great finance jobs and this will give you more time and money to prep for the GMAT or GRE.
First, when would you do a masters? It should be easy enough to get an internship when you're in grad school, just do a year and get a 4.0. If you're already accepted, you're solid. If you need to apply, that might be a problem, 3.0 student with no experience going for a MFn / MBA? They'd probably want a few years of work experience, and wouldn't be to concerned about if you worked at a top-tier bank or whatever.
Second what finance_king said. Also I forgot to mention that in addition to the 2-3 week wait of getting pretty much any job, you're waiting 2-3 weeks for your first paycheck. Any advice offered won't be of use unless we have a sense of:
Exactly how many weeks/months can you cover your own living expenses? As in, what's the "I'm homeless" date?
It's really simple. If you need to make rent in a month and have nothing, the math simply doesn't work out. Of course, sell a Macbook and downgrade to a cheap Windows laptop could yield $1000+, maybe some other things.
edit- and to clarify, I'm sorry if I sound harsh. I don't at all recommend just getting some unskilled job long-term, but depending on your timeline it wouldn't hurt to get something that pays money for now, and quit that once you find a job in finance. You would almost certainly make $400-500/week from any job, get one of those and even if you're just working a week (you could get any job at least 1 week sooner than a professional job), that's $500 in your pocket 1-2 weeks sooner. Working nights/weekends - if you find a weekend only job, 16 hours. A nights-only job (5-9 or 6-10), and that's 20 during the week. And you could do your internship while getting money. Lots of options; I personally wouldn't recommend waiting for a "good job" if you need cashflow in less than 2 months.
I'm in a similar predicament. Any recommendations on what would be some jobs to take to make some immediate income? Thanks in advance for any advice.
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