Advice Needed: How to Switch from Equity Research to Corporate Finance

I am currently employed in equity research at a regional firm and am interested in making a switch to corporate finance. In addition to the fact that my firm is struggling to compete and the analysts that I was hired to support have left the firm, the outlook for equity research as a profession appears increasingly grim (particularly for someone from a non-target school), making it seem prudent for me to make a change sooner rather than later. Note that while most research associates would be taking a pay cut if they switched to corporate finance, my firm is paying below the market, so a switch to corporate finance would actually be a pay INCREASE for me.

However, despite obtaining some interviews with Fortune 500 companies in my area, I have not yet received any offers, only rejections. Therefore, I was wondering if there is anyone here that has made this switch, and if so, how did you go about doing it? Also, what factors were most difficult to address when making the switch and how did you address them? For me personally, factors that may be hindering me are:

  1. Only six months of full-time work experience (but multiple years of internship experience)
  2. Lack of experience working as a part of a team (other than when I was in college)
  3. Perception that corporate finance is a step down from equity research

Other information: I majored in both finance and accounting in college and graduated with a very high GPA, so definitely no issues on the academic front.

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