Most interviews in a row without receiving an offer?

I'm 0/10 can anyone beat me?

And why is it suggested that my speech and behavior are inadequate upon learning that I have been rejected so many times in a row? What if society is the problem?

 

If this is the criteria, I've been rejected around 50 times (not exaggerating). Between IB, PE, and Real Estate Finance SA and FT applications, I've applied to somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 positions. It's just tough out there. Admittingly, I bombed my first few IB SA interviews on technicals because I didn't know what I didn't know. After the learning curve, it just came down to there was a better candidate out there. I've also experienced rejections due to poor timing and others for being "overqualified," whatever that means. Just keep your head up and keep refining yourself. I'm on my 5th internship as a May 19' undergrad and have had several years experience from the US Navy and Pharmaceuticals and still don't technically have a FT offer yet, though I am working 2 internships at the moment that have expressed interest in converting to FT. Just keep doing things to make yourself more marketable and network hard.

 

I've gone on some bad droughts like 7 or 8 in a row but almost always get further than the phone interview. In every phone interview, they basically want to know whether you can generally do the job and are you a serial killer? So, that's a bad sign if you're striking out at this stage.

Every time that I was rejected at the phone interview stage, it was either because I said something 100% retarded or was stupid nervous which didn't help with my credibility

 

I would say its a combination of both. Did you bother to ask for feedback?

During the interviews try to be more aware of the interviewers body language, their tone, what they say, and their responses to your questions. Of course, you should also be doing the same for yourself.

Think back to your most recent interview what did you think were 5 weak points?

 

Just to clarify: interviews at the same company before not getting an offer? Or from various companies?

Same company: 6 interviews, lack of experience dinged me (just out of UG)

Different companies: TBD.. trying to break into CRE

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

I was in the running. Another person came in and had more experience and took the spot. I was bummed but I understand it. Gotta keep plugging away

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

I'm not saying that I'm not strange. What I mean to say is that at this point, my inability to come across as normal makes me feel a sense of despair. And I am beginning to question why the system is designed like this - why are we encouraged to put on a mask?

 

Nearly impossible to find a job that isnt client-facing or requiring close teamwork. Most jobs don't really require complex hard skills. It's all the soft shit that is most important, and that is why you have to "put on a mask". Likable & smart > unlikable genius

What is hard in finance is telling a story with numbers and slides, managing ridiculous client executive's expectations, working until midnight for weeks on end, closing deals/sales, etc.

 

A lot of areas where you can’t necessarily ‘be yourself’ to your truest extent require a degree of skill in reading a room/person. A meeting, a client dinner, a social team outing,,, an interview. Don’t think of it as ‘wearing a mask,’ but rather as being a social chameleon in a way. You have to bend your personality to match a situation or person, not necessarily create a false persona. So when it comes to interviews, you need to read the energy of the interviewer and anticipate what they’re looking for in an answer, but also how they’ll react to said answer. This requires practice as you need to take this into account very quickly as you answer, so have someone go through the most common questions with you and build a core set of strong answers that will be received well, and practice them a lot. And then tweak those answers to sound like you just thought of it on the spot, so it sounds natural. I can’t say I’ve read it, and someone correct me if I’m wrong, but the book “How to win friends and influence people” may benefit you. Good luck! Sit outside the barbershop long enough and you’re bound to get a haircut

 

It's just a numbers game. Most was like 0/8 for me, so I prepped up, talked slower, sounded more confidence, brushed up on my technical. I mean it was relentless when I got laid off, I was up from 6am to 1am applying, reading, brushing up my resume, playing mock interviews by myself. I lost a lot of friends and family because I always made work first but I rather be lonely than poor... Atleast for now.

 

Thanks for sharing that. Been through the same kind of ratios myself. Do you have any advice on coping? (On the practical side, all anyone can do is play the numbers game by keeping up the pipeline of applications/networking while making sure they get feedback and honing their interview skills.)

If you guys check out a Schwarzman - Stanford interview on Youtube, he talks about receiving a ton of rejections and says make sure you have a good therapist.

 

Going through FT, I'm about 0 for 12 interviews, 8 of them I managed to get to the final round for. All FO positions, I've gotten good feedback during some interviews but no one seems to respond when I ask for it via email so Im not sure what i'm doing wrong besides my own self-evaluation and I manage to fix that usually too. Any advice here?

 

I'm experienced (c6 years) and I got stuck in a rather dead end job. I was looking for several months but was also extremely picky with roles and companies. Before I finally landed an offer, I reckon I had gone to around 15-20 interviews/modelling tests.

Basically you have to keep on pushing, can't let rejections get you down as there will be rejections and there will be many of them.

 

It's fine to complain for a bit, but pick yourself up and keep pushing forward. If you don't help yourself, nobody will.

I was 0/20 at some point (for a combination of EBs/BBs/PEs/HFs), and at that point I already had 2 summers of BB IBD and BB ER on my resume. If it makes you feel any better... I also went to HYP undergrad and had a 3.7+ GPA.

As with most matters in life, sometimes it's just luck (or not being in the right place and right time). That's the one factor you can't change.

 

Too many to count.

You need to approach the process with a better mentality. Every failed interview is a chance to learn something. Whether thats something you did wrong, something someone else did right, or even just a unique question you hadn't anticipated.

As others have said, it's a numbers game. This isn't college admission, a lot of the time the process doesn't make sense. Just keep pounding the pavement.

"It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day - that's the hard part"

 

3.5 years experience and been on the new job hunt for a year now.

Probably like 0-20. Turned down two offers last year and since then have not had any. Exactly 0-4 for getting to final interview and not getting offer.

It’s a tough and frustrating road. Just gotta keep pushing and not get discouraged. If you’re 1-300 you still ended up successful.

 

I probably went 0-15 in on-campus first rounds and superdays before landing my FT offer senior year, this with two good summer internships in IBD and an MBS trading desk. And what's funny is that after I got that first offer, I got two more within a week.

Sometimes it's just luck. You very well may have been the best candidate that day with better experience... and then the guy who got offered was a director's nephew. But it's a numbers game. You're bound to break in somewhere as you keep putting in applications and interviewing. Keep your head up.

 

I was 0/60ish for about a couple months out of school while working for family business, then I did some introspection on my resume and interview skills, still 0 for jobs I actually wanted but then got about 2 offers a week on crappier jobs.

For one boutique ended up telling one manager on a final round that I declined another offer while I drove over. Got the offer that day and then got a 35% higher offer from a global firm the following week.

Stop making excuses and just persevere...if you can't adapt and face hardship then you are going to have a miserable life.

 

For one position, I went through five rounds before they dinged me. First two were a panel of associates and associate directors. Third round was with four directors. Fourth round was with the team's MD and another director. Last round was a case study. I don't think I did particularly bad on the case, but they should have just given it from the beginning so they could interview people with advanced technicals only.

 

Keep your chin up! I can definitely feel your pain. For 2019 SA recruiting I went through... probably 19 processes (not including ones I did not get an interview for), 5 of which became supers, and only clinched offers on the last two.

At the end of the day, its a marathon. Every rejection makes you a relatively stronger candidates (less people in the pool, and you get more experience interviewing).

The biggest piece of advice I can give, and this will sound cheesy, in addition to prepping and practicing as much as possible, is to have a support network. It gets stressful, depressing, and can feel like nothing works. You may start doubting this whole endeavor. Whether its a SO, having a buddy who's in the trenches with you also recruiting, or a good group of supportive friends who aren't in finance, all of these can stop mental fatigue/burnout, which is critical.

 

I had a longer streak during SA recruiting (2/2 FT) and if you think that society is the problem, you are most definitely the problem. I applaud the interviewers for having good enough reads to select out someone who would ever ask such a ridiculous question, let alone in a rhetorical manner.

I come from down in the valley, where mister when you're young, they bring you up to do like your daddy done
 

Some things to keep in mind that might cheer you up: - How many of the places that rejected you would you have actually liked to work at? A fair number of rejections can actually be dodged bullets. - Having some rejections is a good sign that you're pushing yourself - Perseverance/grit and handling rejections are important skills. Working in the industry, you'll see that deals go busto at all stages and you have to just keep on pushing. - Would love to hear other folks points to add to this list

 

I was around 1/10 for SA and currently 0/15 for FT. But through the many rejections, I was able to improve my interview/communication skills and gain a better understanding of my interests and strengths.

It can definitely feel unfair but think: is it more likely that society is the problem or that you just need to improve? Also think which do you more likely have the ability to influence? This is best summarized by a quote from Marcus Aurelius: "You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."

 

A job interview is an outside event, so you have no power over it according to the wise Marcus Aurelius, right? And it is ironic that you say that your communication skills have gotten better but your conversion rate is now worse than it was for SA. Though I do feel your pain, as we may very well have similar difficulties, and hope that you are able to land something.

It is more likely that society is the problem. Let's not forget that this is the same society where there were once slaves, and the same society where immigrants once could not find employment upon arrival in America because they were immigrants. Now we are going to pretend like everything is rosy eh?

 

The truth is that "diverse" (whatever the fuck that means), LGBT, and female candidates are given preferential treatment in the hiring processes at big name firms. I recently filled out a Goldman Sachs online job application (MD reached out to me after I accepted my current position to interview, but I don't want to join their New World Order culture anyways) and they had a page dedicated to asking whether or not I was a transgender or transsexual. How is this relevant to my capacity/potential to perform a job?

Society is fucked long term because "diversity at all costs" is destroying meritocracy and breeding surging resentment/anger in those that don't benefit from these handicaps. This resulted in the election of Trump. I just listened to Paul Ryan speak at a conference - he opined (and I concur) that this is just the beginning of populism in our country.

 

Keep on pushing. Tbh this is not too much.

Before landing my internship at a BB in London I literally applied to over 100 places, and after final rounds at MS and GS finally got my offer from other BB.

As other monkeys said do ask for feedback and do as many mock interviews as possible with peers that have landed IB internships. Also networking is absolutely key, specially in order to make it to the AC. Be sure that if you can manage to get to 4-5 AC you'll eventually get an offer.

Aside from this, work on your CV. I personally landed 4 internships (PE included) before my first offer at a non-BB IB in London. After this, with 5 internships in my back (incl. PE and IB) I finally received an offer from a BB.

And btw society is not the problem. Getting an IB internship is hard as fuck, so you have to work your ass off in order to make it. There is no middle ground.

 

I was probably about 0 for 40 before I finally landed an offer. Right after I received that first offer I got another offer. Being 0/10 could stem from circumstances outside your control (candidates with connections, etc.). After about 25 interviews I realized I had to be doing something wrong. Each interview after I tried to be outwardly cocky to sell myself, and that’s how I finally closed. I wouldn’t worry just yet, but if you keep getting rejected then I’d think long and hard about what you’re doing wrong and how you will fix it.

 

As someone who is about to start diving back in the market for a new job, this thread was helpful to read. Many of you have been there, and while it is frustrating, and sometimes goes unexplained, it makes the rejections/no follow up a softer blow. Glad there's some good advice in here, sometimes you just need to hear it's not all in your head.

*also: why isnt it more standard to give some feedback after an interview? most large corporations market their employee centered culture as a benefit but refuse to take a holistic approach to making it real. *

 

We started a consulting club at our university and initially told people the reason when we rejected them. But after two people writing angry emails in response we stopped doing that. Maybe larger companies want to avoid making people angry who would go on to tell their peers not to apply.

Array
 

I truly understand your frustrations. My best advice would be definitely ask for clarification while interviewing....meaning ask the question “did I answer your questions or do you need further feedback” depending on their answer, you can make a judgement call as to how the interview is going. Furthermore, I’ve found that with most firms you have to articulate during the interview questions process how YOU are going to make and impact for the firm and what skill sets that you already possess is valuable with the firms culture. I say all of this to say, you have to know when and how to speak their language. Hope this helps and best regards in your future endeavors

 

Going through 3 rounds of interviews and not making it on the final cut sucks!

"All men are alike in their dreams, and all men are alike in the promises they make. The difference is what they do."— Jean Baptiste Moliere
 

I've been looking for a little over a year, applied to ~1,500 jobs if I had to estimate, had 150 or so first round interviews, 50 second round, and gone to 5 in person with no offers received (granted ~10 of the second rounds invited me to come in person and seemed very interested but I turned them down for lack of interest/not wanting to waste vacation days). I'm convinced I'm just terrible at interviews especially in-person ones at this point.

 

Most of the time this is due to cultural fit. Make sure you interview with firms that you actually would enjoy working for. I found culture differences to be dramatic between Midwest, east coast and west coast as well as between IB, trading, and risk divisions. Most people say ethnicity doesn’t matter but it does, especially with middle market banks in the Midwest. If there is no one in the office with your ethnicity, it will be difficult to get an offer.

 
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Keep your head up. I was a non-target that missed the FT recruitment boat and spent years trying to break in through the back door while working pretty brutal hours in another job.

I had several interviews that resulted from networking with MDs/Partners, all of which ended awkwardly at best, and all with no offer. On one occasion, I was told point blank by a low level HR employee at a low-tier MM bank that nobody at the bank would want to hire me with my background, that I was only being spoken to as a courtesy to the MD that recommended me, and that she would have thrown my resume straight in the trash if it was up to her. The conversation ended and I never heard from her or the bank again.

I knew from the beginning that I wasn’t the candidate that doors would easily open for. Even knowing this, it was always a punch in the gut to be told “no” - worse, to be ghosted or avoided by people trying to help me, as if they didn’t think I could handle being told the truth of my inadequacy. It was embarrassing to tell my friends and family I was “looking for a job in IB” as months turned into years and they all moved on to new roles themselves, and people stopped asking. There were times that I felt like a delusional loser, holding onto my dream despite the fact that I had nothing to show for it. There were times where I felt like, and was treated as, a leper. But I never relinquished my conviction that this industry was for me, and that I could excel among my peers, perhaps even be the best of them if I had the chance to apply myself.

Months later I landed a FO analyst job at a bank that was objectively better than the one I was unceremoniously cast out from, and is regarded by many on this board as the best/most prestigious to work at. I never thought this is where my efforts would lead me - indeed I was perhaps the most discouraged right before things finally broke my way. What made me proudest of myself in all of this is that I secured the offer without any sort of recommendation, connection, or gimmick - it was won entirely on the back of hard work, risk taking, and of course (as with all IB offers) a considerable bit of luck, without which nothing would’ve been possible.

My advice to the aspiring people on this board is to never let someone tell you that you’re not good enough. The competition out there is brutal right now, and when you get knocked down you have to dust yourself off and get back in the ring. I held on to this belief through all the headwinds I faced, and while I cannot say it is what got me the job eventually, I can say that without it, I would never have had a chance.

“It is not the critic who counts...”

“I am the Greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.”

Array
 

Haha I set my sights on the local KeyBank branch and failed. You said that I seem like an odd duck and won't fit in anywhere in finance a while back, it looks like you're prediction has come to fruition. You are the oracle of WSO.

 

Where did you go to school? I've been passed over many times despite having great relevant experience and knowing my shit in interviews because I went to a public university. Finance, particularly private equity, favors ivy league and "elite" private school candidates over public schoolers even if the public school candidate can step in day one without hand holding and perform well. It's total bullshit considering affirmative action and legacy admissions.

 

Honestly fuck recruiting.

I went through probably over 60 company interviews (actually talking with a real person), and this doesn’t include the number of rounds I went through. This is my entire undergrad experience.

From sophomore to senior, I would start hunting around September spend my entire year recruiting. Somehow I seem to get “lucky” and get an internship in late April, early May every year but it’s the most draining shit and really knocks your ego down.

Half of these were pretty legit opportunities (IB, S&T at BB, EB, MM). At that point, I was pretty fucking sure that a fair share of people were getting offers from their “real” network. The process was rigged from the start and there’s only so much you can control. Some top students would still find a way to crack it but luck is more important than you would think.

I graduated this dec and came out with 0 offers. I got so sick of this bullshit I studied my ass off to pivot to tech. After 2 dark months of studying non stop, I landed an engineering role at a big 4 tech company. I have to admit, there was some luck involved with the timing. But I worked my ass off to continue having these opportunities.

And guess what? My all in comps exceeds what I would’ve made in finance, working half the hours. Fuck this industry.

It’s funny thinking back and having done 300 info interviews with IB people. Some of them came across as not so bright. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got in because of a strong family background / diversity. Of course they would never mention that and just regurgitate generic advices on how they got in.

 

Society cant be the problem, because society sets the rules of the game. You need to adapt. Like the other guy says, ask for feedback.

Angel Checks provides background screening services for both Individuals and Corporate. We provide Pre – Employment Background Screening, Post Employment Background Screening, Business Screening.
 

Holy crap that's so much time and energy spent :( I got an offer from my first interview and took it, it's done me well so far! Went from intern -> analyst -> associate all in one place

 

I'm at 0/17 companies (Technically 0/14 since i receive an offer then the offer was rescinded the next day with no reason).

Try to bring a log book with you during your interviews, try to judge for yourself if you did well or not while taking notes of important points the interviewer spoke to you. Just keep your head down and keep improving my friend.

I was just about to give up my career in finance and just move to a marketing/sales job instead, and then i received 2 offers in consulting and ECM/DCM both FT and pays well. Get every motivation that you can get whether its from WSO success story board (my personal favorite), personal story of others and or books. Good luck !

 

I'm in my sophomore year and after getting rejected around 15 times, I've landed an FO internship at a boutique. I would say I've sent out around 400-450 emails ranging from coffee chats to straight on job asks and it's been a long process.

 

Probably a lot to remember, been working for more than a decade now. Eventually learned not to take rejection personally. My personal experience is that being in the face of it countless times can toughen you up.

 

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