I have no offer right now, am I screwed?
Hey guys, so I'm currently a senior at a target school. This is my last semester and I still don't have any offers. All the banks seem to be done recruiting and I'm starting to freak out. I have pretty strong IB experience for the past 3 summers despite a low GPA, but didn't pull an offer at the MM bank I interned at.
I really want to continue my career down banking though. Will there be more positions opening up or am I screwed? Would greatly appreciate any advice.
Chicago IB offices still recruiting.
which ones?
I'm not the authority on this, but I believe Citi, Moelis, DA Davidson, and Robert Baird are still hiring for their Chicago offices.
Time to take the BB ops roles you've dreamed about
Your first step should be to figure out why you did not get an offer. Did you do any networking? How did you interview? The reasons are probably your low GPA coupled with you not getting a return offer. Not getting a return offer, especially from a well-known IB, is very difficult to overcome.
My suggestion would be to start reaching out to boutiques. You can always lateral after six months to a year. But, you really need to get your story down as to why you did not get a return offer.
How would you recommend getting over the no-return offer? Because some banks only give offers to half of the people.
It depends why you did not get the return offer. Your first step should be to fix what caused you to get the return offer. As far as a story to tell interviewers goes, I have seen everything from "it wasn't a fit" to "there were headcount issues". Honestly, though, it's pretty tough to overcome.
Detox15 I'm not sure what sector you focused on but have you considered Corporate/Business Development? Based on what I see in my industry there is a major need for people with financial modeling ability and experience sourcing and developing pipeline of M&A opportunities.
Have you considered the above instead? If not what about joining a valuation group such as Duff & Phelps and then lateraling into an IB role?
I know its not what you want to hear but some alternatives...
Have seen multiple people go from valuation -> MM IB.
Corp dev is usually an exit from IBD though, so it's likely harder to get into that right out of undergrad. However, I'd also recommend going into Big 4 valuation as a last resort. I think their recruiting starts soon.
Banks are anticipating a recession (natural downturn... not like scale of 08) so naturally they are hiring less.
I was still interviewing around this time my senior year. Most opportunities were the 2nd and 3rd tier stuff that is either not posted or you have to look for it.
There is hope. However, I encourage you to branch out - there are good jobs out there, just not BB IB.
Same boat--no return offer from Chicago based MM IB. I'm going through interviews with boutiques and some corporate banking programs. Speaking on behalf of Chicago, it seems like few firms are sticking their necks out to hire. Battening down the hatches for the oncoming storm I presume.
There are many big name IBs recruiting for lateral full-time roles right now in Chicago. If you don't believe me, check indeed or linkedin jobs.
I'd agree that there is a good amount, but at the same time places like Lincoln turned away SA class.
Start pounding the pavement with boutiques
In a similar boat, in that I am looking for IB FT, but different circumstances (regional semi-target, non-IB internship, above average GPA). Have a few interviews at boutique firms coming up, but all through OCR. What's the best approach for landing interviews via non-OCR with a resume firms would otherwise quickly overlook?
Also, I have contacts in London and Asia that I've reached out to, but wondering if firms in London will consider applicants from US schools? Are there any boutiques in the UK worth applying to?
"Regional Semi-Target". That's a new one.
WUSTL?
My bad, meant to say: Regional/Semi-Target. Not a target school but some kids end up in BBs, some at EBs, some at small firms in weird cities.
Thanks for the advice guys. Where am I suppose to be looking for the advisory firms? Do I have to cold email or something since I don't see anything posted on OCR.
Detox15 most I assume do OCRs but also want applicants to submit apps on their respective career website. I would look into say Duff & Phelps for Valuations or one of the Big 4s for advisory/TS on their career webpage and network via LinkedIn.
Check out the usual Indeed, LinkedIn and also Google search for recruiters/search firms that may have openings in similar areas.
You should have networked WAY earlier. I got probably 80-90% of my superdays through accelerated/unofficial recruiting. That said, I'm on the west coast and realize that NY is a bit more standardized. The rest were through OCR.
At this point be very quick and direct with cold emails. Attach your resume with the cold email, and ask for a time to chat. If they like you and there are spots available, they'll loop you into their process.
Keep in mind, however, that full time positions are almost entirely nonexistent BC 80+% of the full time class is hired through summers (i'm sure you know this already). Good luck
Not sure who threw you monkey shit but this is 100% true. I would just say 80% is hired through summer, an additional 15% through accelerated which can be done as early as september and the remaining one or two spots through networking/ocr/internal hires or whatever it is.
Getting a no-offer from the bank you interned at is a bad look. Especially with 3 summers worth of IB experience. If IB is your passion, fair enough. But I wouldn't be hesitant to see what other industries might be worth pivoting into. Consulting may have something to offer. Better lifestyle, opportunity for travel, similar skillset to those of IB folks. You're now in a position that may require being a little more open-minded. Just my 2...
Also - pivoting again from consulting into a boutique firm or PE shop is totally doable and a very popular exit opp.
I understand your situation as I was in the exact same position about a year ago. I did not end up getting an offer after graduating in December and I also had a low GPA.
I started networking like crazy to find any type of IB/PE related job for January 2016 after my graduation. Turns out a friend of a friend of mine was working in a small PE shop in Eastern Africa. I reached out and got an opportunity to work for him for 6 months. I networked like crazy while working there via emails and phone calls.. I came back about 2 months ago and got an interview at every firm I reached out to and ended up securing a FT spot in a respected MM firm.
That being said, start sending emails to everyone you know and dont be picky about where you start. Just keep grinding, it will all work out.
Good Luck
Props to you man and way to go in giving people some hope!
Take this as an opportunity to change career path and do something more interresting.
.
I say this both from having spent 25 years in IB (M&A) and from my current consulting business, which is advising college seniors (target and non-target schools) who want jobs in IB, PE, HF, etc., as well as other fields.
First, as others have said, try to get a really good read on why you didn't get an offer. if you've done that and you still want IB, you need to be very, very sure that whatever happened won't happen again (and persuading another firm to hire you won't be easy). However, if you were my client (and I've had several clients in your position), I would advise you to think very hard about why you want IB. I don't mean all the standard reasons like "equips you for almost any career", etc. etc. I'd want you to think about why you're drawn to it. Is it the prestige? Or the money? Is it something you think you should do?
At least for now, my advice would be to try something else. I agree with the others who say that things don't look good. If you still want finance, there are many paths, and they might lead back to IB. For instance, I have a client who failed to get a BB offer after his summer. He went to work for Texas Instruments as a financial analyst and two years later, having impressed the hell out of an MD in another BB firm's tech group (on a deal), got an offer to join that firm. I have other clients who didn't get offers, and they've gone off to do something else and have never looked back. I had a great career in IB, but it isn't for everyone.
Woods this is slightly off topic but your post (good one BTW) has me thinking. How does one go about determining whether or not IB is "right" for them?
Its difficult to imagine the day-to-day and long term prospects of IB without having done it and for someone who is going to pursue an MBA this is my last shot at a career change before I'm locked down (or so it seems).
Any ideas or thoughts?
@RedRage you raise an interesting point. There is obviously no way to fully determine whether IB is "right" for anyone. However, both when I was in IB and now in my advisory business I try to assess whether the individual is really interested in IB for its own sake. For example, do they really understand what it is? Do they have a strong interest in the capital markets or the deal business and what's going on there? Have they done any investing on their own? Do I see any passion there?
I realize that in most cases they're college seniors and I don't expect huge amounts of knowledge or lots of understanding, but it's important to weed out people who think only about the money they could make, or being able to say they work in IB, or think it's something they should do. I also want to hear more than the standard "I want to get into PE and this is the best way" (btw I'm talking only about IB, not exit opps) or "it equips you for almost any other career". I want to see a spark, defined as a real interest in the business of investment banking. I found when I was in IB that the people who had that spark were the ones who became successful bankers (and who had the greatest opportunities going forward).
It's that spark that keeps you going when it's 2am and you're knee-deep in the third revision of the PowerPoint that must be ready for the 10am meeting, or any of the thousand other crappy things young IB'ers have to deal with.
So ask yourself if you really like the idea of going into IB (as far as you can tell anyway). If it really interests you for what it is, go for it.
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Yes and no
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it's definitely not unheard of. I've seen people on here go from M&A advisory at a big4 to a lower tiered BB. I'd steer away from the MBA since you don't have the kind of experience to get in a program that banks recruit from yet and imo I think it'd be foolish to take an IBD associate role from an MBA program when there are Asset Management, PE, etc. jobs available.
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