Have you ever accepted a job because it was the only offer that you had?
Not to assume that most people are able to pull multiple offers in the field they want, but-
I'm heading towards a one year masters this year the plan is to start grinding from the beginning. I'm more stressed than excited since the more I try to get a general idea about the everything in finance the more specializations i find, and the harder it becomes for me to fixate on one thing.
It would be helpful to have perspective of people who didn't land an offer from their first choice right out of undergrad/masters. I feel I'm being too serious (meticulous?) about the whole thing
Some fields people move around a lot and job at shitty firm to get into the industry is better than no job.
However not sure how finance people view it.
A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush
I spent two years in IB (one at a boutique, one at a MM) and have spent the past several months in corp dev. All my offers were the only ones I had at the time.
I had a bunch of boutique internships in undergrad, but sucked at interviewing, so I graduated undergrad without a job and ended up accepting a position at a boutique. I clearly would have rather been at a top bank. After a year at this boutique, I lateraled to a MM. The MM was the only offer I had at the time, but the firm would have been a top choice of mine regardless. Plus, lateraling is not a linear process. I would truly be amazed if a significant amount of lateral candidates had multiple offers to choose from. I lateraled in as a second-year and did not want to stay, but had no interest in PE. I spent the majority of my time interviewing for corp dev roles in a select number of non-NY cities (read: I was extremely picky). I accepted the first and only offer I got because the firm was my top choice.
cognac, let me give you some advice that an MD gave me when I was in undergrad. I was at a superday for a top MM (I ended up getting dinged) at the dinner the night before and was chatting with this MD about his career. The guy looks around the room and goes, "Look at all these kids. They all would want nothing more than to break into IB. They'd probably trade away their first born for it." I nodded. He then goes, "Look. You might not get an offer tomorrow, but don't worry. Life is not a straight path for most people. You have to make your own path. And, there are many ways into a building than just the front door." Being a naive college kid at the time, I thought the MD was a complete buffoon and ignored what he said. Turns out (surprise, surprise), he was spot on. You're not going to like hearing this, and that's fine, but even if you have to start at boutique, start in an unrelated role and do an MBA later on, start in a group that you hate, etc., things do have a way of working out in the end. The percentage of IBers who take the traditional target>BB>MF>top MBA>MF path is very, very, very small.
+1 SB for the ways to enter a building comment.
This is golden. Thank you.
SB'ed for the always insightful advice
I cried when I read the last comment. Reminded me of my start. +SB'ed.
Yes. Every job I've ever had.
So long as the checks clear, I'll consider doing anything even tangentially related to my interests or involving my skill-set. I'm not all that particular.
Beautiful thing happened along the way: I built up some pretty good experiences, a great network, and some interesting bullet points on the resume. Like a previous poster said, there are plenty of ways to achieve success that don't require strict adherence to a defined path-ironically enough you'll only see them once you become less rigid about the approach yourself.
As I have mentioned before in a comment in another thread previously, there was a time when I had interned in a MF PE, albeit in a relatively MO-BO role. If you want, you can either hunt down my comments till you find it, or maybe I'll find some time soon to tell my really long story. Of course, that intern was a long shot - non finance major, just one finance-related intern experience in AM, away from major financial centres, and I had a shit GPA. Of course, MF PE was a big big big big big big deal for my situation, bigly. Intern was not at a major financial city.
I couldn't land a good job that I wanted, since my uni was a relative non-target. I literally had to work with a reputed professor from a top American school on a project to show that I had some finance experience (West Coast uni, got connected via email, Skype and buddies there, long story).
Fast forward, I graduated with no good job in hand (had a BO role that paid shit, even for my region). I then casually reached out to the MDs I had worked under during my relatively informal internship (highly unstructured offcycle intern meant I got a good ton of exposure across departments). And here comes the good part.
The three MDs I had worked under had just recently been promoted to Partner in a major office. They understood my situation, and pressured me to send in my shit CV. Next thing you know, I'm sitting for interviews in an MF PE which was way out of reach for a guy from my background. Prepped well, but I crashed my interviews - I couldn't even tell the flow of mezzanine debt through a 3 statement model. I cried that day so badly, since my last shot was gone. Surprisingly, I received a call for another round of interviews - even though they had already mentioned that the previous one would be final (note: this was very late in the recruiting cycle, when the firm was already done handing out offers).
I prepped a lot for that last chance, and finally nailed it - sailed through like a breeze. My first job, average kid in college, from a totally different country, was at a MF. Not PE role, some would argue it's kinda BO or has reduced prestige, but I don't really care. I started my career at a place only most could dream of, because it was my only offer.
I did not want to brag about my accomplishment by writing my story, and seeking approval from guys here, but I wanted to show how something really good will definitely happen in future as long as you do a great job in the present. I'm pretty sure that my very unique story (in getting the intern), and my work during the intern said volumes about the kind of person I would be like if I were to join the firm.
this is a great story. congratulations brother
yes, I went to a good school, but had only 1 relevant internship. I went through countless interviews, but ended up graduating with no job offers. 1 month after being unemployed, I got a job offer for a finance role at a non-finance company, and ended up getting fired 2 weeks after, which is a completely different story. Another 2 weeks went by and I got another offer from a decent shop (still not IB, but within finance), which I accepted. I am currently interviewing for roles I would have died for out of undergrad, and somehow, someway, my interviewers say they can see the progression in my internships/current role. My advice is to completely immerse yourself in the industry in every way possible. Something will catch your interest eventually, and you'll become completely infatuated with it. Good luck brother
I've done the same product / industry for the past 4 years, as I am looking for the next role, I'm really open minded and willing to take a wide variety of roles in banking / corporate finance that meet my compensation hurdles as long as they're 1) analytical roles, 2) working with smart & talented people that share my work ethic, 3) there is upside and opportunities to learn.
This basically translates to taking the only offer available at the time as Sil pointed out as long as it meets the requirements. Still haven't figured out what I want to do long term yet but how can I given there are a handful of different roles I want to try out that I haven't had a chance to take on yet.
Lol of course some people accepted their only offer or the first offer they received. This is an extremely competitive industry regardless of how much dick-measuring people do on this site.
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