I wish I did bud. I’ve been in your shoes more times than I care to admit and it hurts. Getting better dealt is a hard pill to swallow in all aspects of life whether it be a job, relationship, and so on.
Lick your wounds then get out there and keep on hustlin. It only takes one yes to untie all the no’s you’re hearing.
Damn the luck, bud. Keep your chin up. Best of luck in your search.
Don’t get too hard on yourself. In a different era, you would have gotten your dream job. Too many fighting for too little right now. Keep fighting, continue improving and make yourself more marketable.
I have been interviewing for a very senior post at a regional bank for the past 6 months (in a different country). I got accepted for the job and received the offer letter two months back, signed all the docs and started the transfer process (this involves a lot of degree and job experience attestation and leglaity stuff). Things were going very fine and smooth, except that just two days ago I got a call from my new place of work saying that the country’s ministry of labor rejected my application (the minitry’s approval is required after an offer is extended to an international candidate) for job nationalization purposes, and subsequently the job offer was automatically void and they couldnt do anything about it. They wished me good luck in my future career and that was that.
Thankfully I made sure not to resign from my current job until everything was cleared out with the new one.
If you think your case is shit, just remember me.
Keep your head up and move on, when one door closes another opens.
If you’re getting to final interviews, you’re close. You will get in the door. Just give it time and don’t stop chasing it. Its a brutal market right now and that you’re getting interviews at all shows you’re a quality candidate.
First, you should also consider kicking butt in your current role and hopefully getting into the best business school that you can. From that point onward, getting into IB will be much easier.
It is pretty impressive you have made it this far, especially coming as an off-cycle hire from a non-target school without IB background. Nevertheless, as a second suggestion, I would take the feedback to heart when they say they wanted to go with someone from an IB background - obviously there is no substitute for experience but if I had to guess, you probably have room for improvement in at least showing you’ve done everything you could in this area. Perhaps you might want to shore up on your modeling and accounting skills and ability to talk about a deal process. There is no way you can possibly be overprepared for this sort of stuff, in this day and age.
Or, maybe it really WAS simply that they wanted to go with someone that had prior IB experience and that was no knock on you. It could be a million different things. I’ve been passed over for jobs where no feedback was given at all. It happens. But you want to minimize your chances of being denied, and so I’ve offered up two suggestions above.
Thanks guys I appreciate the feedback and support. I’m definitely taking everything to heart and trying to improve so I can land a gig soon. I feel for you YoMo. I’m a believer that doors open and close for a reason, and it may suck now, but keep working hard, persevering, and eventually you’ll get something.
Thanks Numi - that’s good feedback. I’m definitely going to find some models to practice a bit more but the firm said I was pretty sound from a technical standpoint. Although you never know if they are sugar coating it. There were a couple questions that were a bit tricky so I think there’s room for improvement.
Sorry it didn’t work out for you. As others say, experience tends to land the job. it’s rather ironic : needing experience to get in, and yet can’t get in to get the experience needed in the first place.
the takeaway is that the pool of candidates is always a lottery. and in the case of a competitor better than you in the expereince side, you need to hope he/she has a weakness (whatever it could be), and that you are better in that area and hope its enough to land you the job. as dumb as that sounds, you simply can’t control other candidates, only yourself. So definitely keep improving what you can, and keep trying.
the odds are stacked against you at the get-go, but maybe one day that window will present itself.
Hey guys! I’m still grinding with these job interviews and I have a question. So, here’s the situation: Over the last month I interviewed with an investment bank and I passed the phone interview, met with four people in person, meet with one of the top executives, built a financial model for them, and then after everything they asked for my references about a week ago. Sounds promising thus far. This week they contacted my references; however, they spoke to my references on Tuesday and Wednesday.
How soon should I expect to hear from them regarding the job? I would think it should be a quick turnaround if they are giving me the offer, right? I mean what else to they need to do? I am slightly worried about the background check. I am completely clean; however, I got a drunk in public back from my college days (well it was like a or two year after college at a big fall weekend event with big name artists and bands), which was dropped (so no charges), but could that hurt me at all? Like could they see the charge on my record and notice that it was dropped, but have concerns? Sorry, if I sound anxious. I’m just worried that a stupid mistake 4-5 yrs ago is going to prevent me from getting the job. Thoughts?
I appreciate the help!
-DP
Kid you’re fine. Relax. Rest assured were all pulling for you!
So much of job hunting is luck. I found that out this semester. Interviews where I felt went awful resulted in campus invites, and interviews I thought went well resulted in denials. no telling what the people are looking for. Just keep chugging, man. It only takes one yes. Dont settle or give up. That next one right after you give up might be the one.
Follow up after a week and reiterate your willingness to work there.