I have the following:
BCom, Finance 3.4 GPA
CFA
FRM
2 years of Pipeline Project Analyst (excel monkey)
3 years of Commercial Banking ~$5MM in credit writing and relationship management. General desk.
1 year of IB with no success. I've tried to get into Equity Research with no success. I've recently been trying corporate banking with no success. I really just want to get into a working culture where I can work 80 hours a week on some complex files utilizing my intelligence and get paid for it. I want to spend 2 weeks on a transaction because there's that much complexity to it. I finish 4-5 files a day now. I'm sick of working 5 hour days, chatting with a coffee in my hand for an hour to the person next to me about some stupid $1MM file. Everyone giving me a hard time if I stay past 4:30pm... Going for lunch at 12pm on Friday and never coming back because the work is easy and no one is truly busy. I feel like I'm dying here; just wasting away. This is a great career for someone that wants to come into work, put in a little bit of time without much effort then go home to the dog, kids, wife and house before taking the kids to a sporting event, raising the family and all that stuff. It doesn't interest me. I'm seriously dying here. What should I do?
My most recent two interview experiences were really discouraging. I tried for an analyst role doing corporate banking and I didn't get hired. One of the directors met with me after and told me he wanted to hire me but the competing view in the office was that I was overqualified and would have been bored after 1 month so they hired a new graduate. They felt I would have made a good associate but they didn't need an associate and have no plans on hiring one for a long while. Meanwhile I interviewed for an associate role in corporate banking at another bank and their feedback was that I wasn't qualified enough for the associate role and lacked experience. I'm running out of options because my city is small and I've almost interviewed at all the corporate banks. I can keep trying I suppose but I'm not even sure if corporate banking is what I want to do. I was just trying for it because it's the only thing that seemed feasible in high finance but clearly I can't even do corporate banking. This is starting to seem impossible.
Just have to REALLY get out there and network, I mean you have to just keep pounding and pounding until it happens, if you’re willing to. Apply to every job, email and message everyone you possibly can, have calls with people in different banks just to hear about their experience. Typical networking things but do it with that extra time you have because your current job is so slow.
Go to places where you know bankers hang out and become a regular. Or just places where you think successful people MIGHT hang out, and see who you meet. Maybe you can get a warm intro from someone else you meet who goes to that spot too. I’m talking guerilla warfare tactics to networking if you have to, and even if it doesn’t pay off at least you’re face and name is out there in some circles where you’re likely to meet a banker or someone who knows one. These bankers would have to be experienced in order to truly sway a hiring decision so probably a place with an older crowd. Obviously have to do it subtly, not with the intention of using it to get a job, but to meet people. Go into it with the mindset that if you meet enough successful people, it could happen eventually, even if not for a year or two. Or maybe you find someone who does something interesting that you might be open to trying instead. Build that network at all costs. It could not work out, but if this is what you want to do, it’s worth it. You literally never know.
I say this because friend of mine literally met a guy at a bar and had a chat with him while they both waited for the rest of their group to show up. They both continued to run into eachother and eventually became friends enough to the point where the guy asked if he was interested in an opening at his firm. Things like this do happen. That’s an outside shot, but it’s better than giving up.
Obviously this is something to do outside of the typical applications and emailing people. If none of that works, and you’re still really dedicated and feel like you have to break in, then go to get an MBA (which is the obvious answer here but might not be what you want to do).
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