Rejection email 8 minutes after cold emailing
I'm an IBD analyst at a boutique, I did my internship last year at an EB but failed to convert. The team I interned in just advertised today they were hiring an analyst 2. I thought I would be a great candidate for this given I did my internship in this exact team and now have 1 year IBD experience. I applied as soon as I saw it, I thought it might be worth sending an email to one of the MDs in the team that I worked with to let him know I've applied and exactly 8 minutes (no exaggeration it was precisely 8 minutes) after emailing him, I received a rejection email from HR.
Is it safe to say the MD must have not liked me during my internship and so emailed HR once he saw my email, saying to reject me, given how quickly I received the rejection email after emailing him? Especially how it was on the same day as me applying, I've never known a bank to respond the same day as applying, they normally take weeks to respond after submitting an online application?
Note: the MD did not respond to me (yet).
yea he prob def did. If you had relevant experience and the app just came out today, you would have been left in the pool of applicants. You may not of gotten a response. Also, just curious as an incoming SA. Why do you think you failed to convert? specific reasons? also any tips on how to convert ?
I thought so. I might have had better luck if I just didn't email him lol.
Sure, the work itself as an M&A intern is very easy. What is difficult is showing you have the stamina to work under stressful timelines and long hours without making mistakes and staying positive. They know you're interns they're not going to make you build models from scratch. You'll spend most your time formatting slides and data mining - this is easy and at times you'll get bored but just don't make easy mistakes like getting the page title wrong or typing an incorrect figure.
The other main factors that decides converting is headcount, team fit and attitude. The first you can't control but you can control the second two:
Attitude: demonstrate you work hard and have the ability to stay positive when working till 2am formatting slides and whilst working on weekends (don't seem overally happy about this as that will be weird just act like it doesn't bother you).
Team fit: find people you get on well with and build the relationships with them. Stay away from the arrogant bankers. Team fit was the reason I was given for not converting. I made the mistake of thinking I could impress him rather than asking to work with someone else I might have had a better relationship with.
Hahahahaha holy shit what did you do in your internship? 99% of the time they’ll just ignore you but the MD went out of his way to reject you
Haha I know right, I was told my work quality and attitude was good but I wasn't the right fit for the team so I must have pissed him off somehow or had a personality clash with him without realising maybe..
Hard to say for sure - this has happened to me before too though. I had emailed an associate I networked with to pass a long my resume to HR for a position and applied online at the same time. Got rejected and hour later.
Really sucks, but prob best to just move on and focus on other firms.
Yes he 100% did. There’s no way a bank would reject a candidate the same day as applying, and the fact it happened 8 minutes after emailing him confirms it was him.
He must have really not liked you. Some MDs are d***heads so I wouldn’t take it personally. Best not to reach out to him again.
Not sure why you think you would be able to get a position in a group that turned you down not too long ago...
I thought because they said my work was good in my feedback they might reconsider me and also as it's been a year I thought their memory might be a little fussy on the cultural fit feedback, so that they might be inclined to reconsider but I guess not.
why did you apply? they already said you’re not a good fit for the team. it has nothing to do with you. it probably means they want certain people to be within the team. honestly I think the way they’re handling this is showing they are not best place to work for. a lesson for you is to know who likes you and would go out of their way for you. why the hell would you email the MD if you haven’t established a connection or sure he would be willing to help you?
Looking back I agree, that's a really good point and lesson to be learned.
I guess I forgot how cutthroat he was. During my internship all the analysts warned me to try stay away from him as most people thought he was a d*** but I had already been staffed with him by that point and didn't want to seem like I couldn' handle it so I stuck it out to try impress but thinking back I should have just asked the staffer to have the chance to work for others.
I should have realised this all but he was the only one I thought of that would remember me and I was kinda thinking if I just apply online my CV would just get lost in the hundreds of applications they receive so thought emailing was better than doing nothing but I guess turns out emailing was worse.
Typically I think it is optimal to email management first and then let them convey their approval to HR, whereby you might have to officially apply and fill out the HR forms.
If you apply and send an email to the manager at the same time, if HR quickly rejects you, it’s hard to go back. He can’t un-reject you very easily depending on how the HR process is defined.
Tough situation, OP, but things will work out for the best and you'll look back on this with a feeling of whimsy.
Cultural / team fit is perhaps the best indicator of long term success in banking. That's a double edged sword - on one hand, it's prevented you from landing this job. On the other hand, on the bright side, you have the opportunity to find another bank / team that will fit much better, and you won't believe how positive an impact that can have on your productivity and well-being. Cast a wide net and keep reaching out for informationals as you network. The right opportunity will land.
I would rather get rejected quickly than to not get a response or get a rejection a couple of months later. At least, you can move on to something else.
If he didn’t like you / want to help he would have just ignored your email but the fact he took the time to email HR to reject you as soon as he saw your email (which he definitely did as there is no way that it is a coincidence you were rejected 8 minutes after) shows he not only didn’t like you but he must have hated you and also be a spiteful person to do that.
Maybe you should have emailed someone in the team you didn’t have contact with as that could have been a fresh start / clean slate with the common ground of having did the internship in their team but never met so they might have been inclined to reply.
Maybe your email pissed him off? He could have thought to himself 'the cheek of this guy emailing me asking for a job after I already rejected him last year'
I once applied for an MBA internship and got the "we received your application", "we are processing your application", and "sorry but no thanks" emails all in 5 seconds of each other.
Damn sorry to hear I think in your case that is most likely an automated rejection due to you not meeting their requirements I.e maybe grades too low or you were not from one of their target schools, etc.. or diversity requirements etc
Impedit dolor incidunt consectetur. Aut vero magni repellendus. Sed occaecati pariatur vel occaecati in exercitationem.
Dolorem et est aut culpa sint. Dolor soluta autem rerum in necessitatibus. Quod unde earum perspiciatis ut similique vero sapiente. Nulla nihil dignissimos iusto qui impedit natus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...