Newly Unemployed, Desperately Need Help I’m Switching Careers to Investment Banking
Hey everyone, I’m a new member on this forum but I’ve been a lurker for some time. I’m posting on here but I am at a low of my life, and I desperately want to break into investment banking.
Just as a background so you can all get more familiar with me... I graduated from a top tier Ivy League with a Cum Laude in Economics with a GPA of 3.7. I had been interested in finance during my college years and had a leadership position as captain of the economics team and as president of an investment club. I had an internship at a small physical energy commodities trading shop during college, and ended up working there as an analyst after for a full year after college.
And that’s where I am now. Sounds great and all, but let me explain what’s happened over the past couple months that has put in a very bad spot. Both my mother and my grandmother ended up getting very sick, and because I was living far from my family, alone in a big city, my inability to attend to my family had put a lot of personal stress on me. On top of that, I had some problems at work. I was the only “ivy-leaguer” at my company, and the top performing analyst, and a lot of my peers became jealous and treated me very harshly. I tried hard to work things out, and a major problem was that the company lacked an HR department to help mediate any problems. Then, I made a big mistake. I was out with a co-worker who was a family friend of the boss, got into a big argument, and I ended up being put into disciplinary leave. After months of peer bullying, I’ve had it and I resigned.
So, I moved back with my parents and I’m currently living on their couch. It’s been couple weeks and I just spent my time resting up. My folks have been fairly understanding but this is by no means a permanent option for me.
I really want to get into investment banking. It was a career choice I had contemplated during college but I decided to go into energy commodities instead. Top tier banks recruited directly from my college but I missed that chance since I’ve been graduated and working for a year. My argument with my co-worker who is family friends with my boss pretty much takes away any chances that I would get a referral from my only work experience. Going from a high of making six figures straight out of college to this low has really got me depressed. I never expected that I would be unemployed, let alone sleeping on my parent’s couch, and borrowing money from my parents to eat.
Now, I know I can get some other job to make a living. I know I may piss off some people who have had it much worse than me, and I want to be fully transparent in that is not my intention. I honestly worked my ass off to get to where I was just a month ago, and it feels like I’m back to square one after one stupid mistake of getting into that argument.
Honestly, I would appreciate any and all advice for me to get back on my feet, and pursue a career in investment banking. I’ve done my research on what it consists of, and it’s what I really want: surrounded by motivated and hard working people, learning valuable technical skills, and having great exit opportunities. However, one major problem is that I have severe interview anxiety. I find it really hard to express and show my knowledge properly during an interview. I do not have the best people skills either. I am willing to put the work in to get a job in investment banking but I would really appreciate any tips on what steps I should take, given my specific situation. Is it even possible to land into an IBD career at this point?
Much appreciated.
Preface: work in Big Four and currently recruiting into IB, so not a source of definitive knowledge on this, although have insights into the process / competition for IB roles.
On paper you sound like you could be v. strong technically for an IB role at any institution.
However, your last year is pretty important to understand if you are mentally ready. It would be important to understand whether your disciplinary action is severe (like did you have a physical altercation), because the problem is that the bank might ask for a reference and it will get into a he-said-she-said. To the extent they allege physical altercation, the bank would likely take the view that no analyst is worth the reputation risks that you could potentially cause (even if not true). So if it wasn't physical, you could win that battle, but otherwise that's tricky.
You also mention that you have issues with interview anxiety and people skills. Again, depending on which part of IB (since that's a broad term), this is problematic because analysts in front-office roles are expected to be solid with people. Not necessarily spectacular, but solid and confident is my understanding.
I was going to write out some direct pointers about recruiting, but if I'm totally honest, given your mention of anxiety, the altercation, family issues, etc. you don't sound like you're in a good place for IB, let a lone recruiting into IB imo. You're going to be pushed and pulled when you interview and it can be challenging for anyone and especially somebody in your situation.
My advice, therefore, is to consider volunteering and/or go travelling for 6 months. Get some therapy and give yourself time to grow up and mature. Then return to it. Alternatively, you could start at Big Four (where a lot of people who didn't know about it, like me, or who weren't ready for IB at 21/22 started) and move later from there. Finally, you could do a masters (maybe in Europe, to travel and gain perspective) and go for it then.
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Given it was more of an argument, it doesn't sound IB-ending. It is possible they will call for a reference, so you'll need to get your story right (see below).
An issue I see is an interviewer asking: "why did you quit?" because if you say you were bullied / couldn't handle the environment you will appear to lack the mettle and self-belief to grind in an IB setting. But if you don't say it you'll have to explain why you didn't recruit from the previous role and could make the reference call surprising or just make your history look odd (couldn't hack it).
That's why a 6-month travelling / volunteering period or masters would make sense because you really need to quit to do that. The former might make you seem a bit hippy but if you can articulate strong desire to gain perspective at this juncture and that you didn't think that it was the right set up for you and downplay the spat, it could work.
Regarding people skills, it really depends on the role is my understanding. I'm on the salesman end of the spectrum and have had feedback in M&A interviews that people are concerned I wouldn't be in the detail enough due to perception, so it varies and be ready to back yourself. As eloquence said, practice makes perfect from a performance point of view and all sorts of socialising help a young man gain confidence, too...
Take time to decide what type of job you really want. I get you're from a top uni so avoid temptation to compare yourself to others. I really think you should distance yourself from the previous job by waiting a while before you try and re-enter finance.
Feel free to PM me.
Above post is great advice.
Interview anxiety and people skills can be improved with practice. I wouldn't waste them on real interviews, find people to mock with, and improve your people skills by forcing yourself to strike up conversations with strangers - sounds weird, but it works. Networking, especially on the phone/in person, is essentially that concept. The personal issues/living alone are a concern, but those are yours to figure out, and as harrisoon said some time off/maturing might be a good idea. IB is also 80+ hours a week while trading is market-based hours, so consider the additional stress of work as well.
However, if you do end up ready for IB, with an energy background and Ivy on your resume you seem like a good target for oil and gas. I'm not that familiar with energy banking but oil and gas IB is huge in Texas and the Exxon/BP type companies also have some six-figure roles for smart kids. You would need to network with current analysts as FT spots are often limited, but that would be a way to improve your interview and people skills at the same time.
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You seem smart and driven. Start getting people on the phone and see if they have any advice or ideas for roles. I’d boil your story down a bit and focus on your strong performance at your old job rather than the details on your departure. it’s not the end of the world to have a small gap in between jobs, and now is a great time to be looking with regards to job availability.
Also being introverted is fine, potentially preferred - as an analyst they narrow down the poll based on personality and that helps one stand out, but ultimately you’re sitting at a desk 12 hours a day so introvert is really not a deal breaker if you can otherwise impress in an interview.
What did you guys argue about?
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