tradinganalyst:
If you're good enough, finding a job isn't a problem.

Honestly, most people really aren't as impressive as they think they are. Coming from a target school doesn't guarantee you a job. With so many fewer positions, banks have raised their standards. Most college students haven't raised their game in return.

Lol, isn't entirely true...its a numbers game man. if you are talking about interview performance, then yes i agree. but having trouble getting to the interview has nothing to do with your "game"

 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/accounting/profit-and-loss-pnl>PnL</a></span>:
Lol, isn't entirely true...its a numbers game man. if you are talking about interview performance, then yes i agree. but having trouble getting to the interview has nothing to do with your "game"

It certainly can, in terms of how much effort you put in in the first three years of college; may be too late to change now, but killing your GPA and going above and beyond to get that extra internship can certainly fall under "game" and could definitely be the make/break point in a resume screen. The problem is most kids (correctly) assumed the rules would be the same in the late innings as they were in the early innings, and the bat they brought wasn't good enough when the park got bigger.

 

Yeah, it has been pretty vicious so far. I've pretty much lowered my standards in seeking an internship. How does one view a Big Four accounting internship nowadays? They are still recruiting heavily at my school and putting lots of resources into it, I see a lot of partners coming to visit all the time.

 
monkeyinasuit:
Yeah, it has been pretty vicious so far. I've pretty much lowered my standards in seeking an internship. How does one view a Big Four accounting internship nowadays? They are still recruiting heavily at my school and putting lots of resources into it, I see a lot of partners coming to visit all the time.

I don't think choosing the top firms in another field is really lowering your standards lol

 
you-down-with-<span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/trading-investing/securities-and-exchange-commission-sec>SEC</a></span>:
monkeyinasuit:
Yeah, it has been pretty vicious so far. I've pretty much lowered my standards in seeking an internship. How does one view a Big Four accounting internship nowadays? They are still recruiting heavily at my school and putting lots of resources into it, I see a lot of partners coming to visit all the time.

I don't think choosing the top firms in another field is really lowering your standards lol

Ha. But choosing accounting definitely is!

 

dont go into accounting its a dead end job....accounting = ops.............Anyone else been drinking more? i find myself having a two or three beers before bed and making frequent trips to the liquor store, not to mention i've been drinking natti ice. I MISS COLLEGE

 
Best Response

Accounting is not at all comparable to ops. A few years at the Big 4 are more likely to get you into an M7 b-school than the same amount of time in ops. The skills you learn could be relevant to IBD, particularly if you work in advisory. Plenty of people from the Big 4 move on to corp fin. gigs at the F500.

I'm not trying to be a Big 4 poster boy (I don't work there). I'm just saying it will give you a much better shot at FO jobs down the line than BO experience or unemployment.

 

I see only two ways for non-targets to get an internship: 1) Networking, networking, and again networking; 2) Applying to tiny/small/unknown boutiques... 4.0 GPA and 2400 SAT are obviously assumed (haha j/k).

This is what my friend (by far one of the brightest students I know) wrote to me: "First and foremost, banks hire talent; if you are good, which I know you are, opportunities will arise. Many IBanks exist - I have a friend who studies engineering at <...> and recently accepted an offer from a lesser known IBank in SF for next year. Ibanking jobs exist outside of Goldman, JP, etc. He interned for the bank during the summer before his senior year.

Don’t regret <...> - yes, going to a prestigious school may have helped you now. But when the economy is down everyone loses. I have a close friend who graduated from with exceptionally high grades in economics and math; she was just laid off after 6 months on the job.

So keep you head up; keep your grades up; and diversify your interests - for example, have you considered consulting? Private equity? working for the government - the IRS, Treasury, World Bank, IMF - which are all packed with MBA people and PhD's in economics."

And I'd like to end my comment with my favorite quote: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”

So I guess my point is that there is always a chance. You can always intern/get a job at lesser known boutique, then get MBA from elite business school and be back.

</...></...>

 

that sucks dipset. i'd agree with the other posters though, now is the time to lower your expectations. if accounting firms are hiring, well great, go with them. if not, something else - general corporates, NGOs, things abroad, peace corps, foreign service, whatever.

I think now is the time to take anything you can get. and then wait it out for the next 2-4 years. at that point, you can get an MBA or another type of grad degree, and then actually enter the market at that point.

Good luck man.

 

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