Transitioning from Consulting to Finance

Looking to get some advice on how to approach a career switch. I graduated this past May from a semi-target and started in a consulting role this past July. Its a financial services consulting firm and while the role may be interesting for some, I don't find the environment or work we do as intellectually stimulating as I would like in a job. The firm also seems to be in a transitory period where there is a lot of turnover and lack of focus towards new hires (I have not had any formal assignments/client coverage and my training supervisor was let go two weeks into my program)

I want to switch onto a fixed income desk, ideally in credit research. In undergrad, I took MBA level classes in equity research, distressed debt, and hedge funds, where we had to do independent research and analysis, which really built my interest in the industry. I had accepted this role last fall as it was an expiring offer, while I was taking these classes and just feel uninterested and out of place in what I'm doing. As a side note, I interviewed and landed a position at one of the credit rating agencies, but did not hear back from them before my offer expired.

I'm curious as to what kind of experiences/advice anyone here has as to ways to get out of an unrelated industry into something that I'm interested in and want to pursue the rest of my career in.

 
Most Helpful

I wouldn't call the two industries totally unrelated but the hurdle you may have is 'selling' your story at interviews. I haven't done the transition but I would approach it by saying you found consulting interesting but the practical side left you with little exposure to the hard finance which you wanted to do and now are choosing to focus on that by applying to banks.

 

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