A Masters in Finance straight out of Undergrad?

Originally Posted by otc

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Have you tried to speak with any of these interviewers about why you got tossed?

I have. They never get back to me. Doesn't help that all my rejections happen through email, so I can't put them on the spot like I could if they had rejected me through a phone call.

Originally Posted by otc

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What kind of stuff are you applying to again? I don't know that getting more school is necessarily the right answer for not finding a job...have you looked at industries you had not previously considered or didn't know existed? Econ consulting or litigation services...I've also heard good things about people working at data providers (capitalIQ/factset/Thomson/etc). As to your question in the other thread...my post graduate unemployment was not by choice (I hadn't applied as hard as I should have during school...and when the option to stay at the place I was interning fell apart, it was pretty late). I was glad I did it though, and it worked out far better than it otherwise would have (I love my job and would have been not so happy and underpaid at the position I was aiming for as an intern). IIRC, I kept looking but not super hard until graduation (2nd week of June) and then basically cranked out 2 weeks full time at my internship to bring the new girl up to speed and get some extra cash and then I bailed for a month of vacation (family for the 4th and then europe for 3 weeks) where I didn't do any applying. Only then did I really get back into applying in earnest. There weren't a lot of great opportunities coming up around this time of the year...the people who knew they needed people had already hired them, and there hadn't been time for them to discover that incoming new employees with july/august/september start dates had accepted other offers so they should do some more recruiting.
I actually did apply to Capital IQ and got an interview. Unfortunately, didn't get past the first round and was rejected after. My best friend's GF, however, got an offer from there and accepted it. The pay is a lot higher than I expected.. around 60k including bonus.

Work on your interview skills. As someone else pointed out, if you are making it through the first interview then you are qualified. You are probably competing against similarly credentialed candidates so you need to win them over in the interview. Find out as much about the prospective company as you can beforehand etc.

Is there an alternative to getting quant experience that admissions will acknowledge that doesn't involve traditional college courses?

Another option to consider would be a CFA. That being said, I'm not really sure what the pros/cons are as opposed to a masters.

I just had a ******* dream where I got an email from the last company I interviewed at, saying that there was a mistake and that they actually wanted to give me an offer. I was so ecstatic that I screamed and celebrated. Then I proceeded to call my parents and tell them the good news. So I walk downstairs in the dream and see a HUGE python with its fangs showing, dash towards me. It chases me all the way to my bedroom where I attempt to shut the door on it, but alas, it is too strong and I get pushed back and cornered in my room. That's when I woke up and felt like **** because of the snake and because I don't really have a job offer. Looked up an interpretation of being chased by a snake: "A dream of being chased means that you are troubled by something and feel you must run. You cannot fight whatever this trouble is. Chasing dreams are usually about fears or anxiety." "To see a snake or be bitten by one in your dream, signifies hidden fears and worries that are threatening you. " Gee.. I wonder what that fear and anxiety are about..

Originally Posted by phreak

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Is there an alternative to getting quant experience that admissions will acknowledge that doesn't involve traditional college courses?

Do RA work...I know lots of people who took RA jobs with professors in the econ department or the business school. Depending on who you work for and what you tell them you want to do, this can get you a lot of experience working with data--you won't be doing most of the "thinking" about what to do with the data but you will learn how to work with it.

I am going to play devils advocate for a minute here, and I dont know you from adam, so dont take this terribly personally, but have you thought that YOUR the problem in these interviews? I mean you have been on a ton of interviews and cant close the deal. Take a long hard look at yourself, how you present yourself, you package, your dress, your confidence, your attitude. I struggled in college to land an internship, I was a douchy frat boy who thought that made me the ****. I knew I was qualified, I knew I was smarter than anyone, but I had such a ****** attitude and presentation. Once I realized that it was more important to present myself better, and I made a few adjustments, I had no problem landing a gig.

I am not saying this is whats going on here, I dont know. But take a look. You have had posts on here before about how you cant get a job, and how your resume sucks, and how your all depressed. Learn to look on the positive, to be positive, to project confidence. You will do fine.

Realize that each of these final interviews are likely 4-8 people for a single position. The reality is that getting a job out of college right now is HARD. Don't get down on yourself. The fact that you have had so many interviews means you are doing something right. Just keep working hard.

You will eventually have an interview that you completely nail. You will know it, and you will get the job.

Originally Posted by jgold47

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Once I realized that it was more important to present myself better, and I made a few adjustments, I had no problem landing a gig.

+1...

I am pretty shy and reserved when I meet someone new and I am sure this hurt me in interviews. I worked on it and honestly, I felt a bit fake during some interviews (forcing myself to behave in ways that I wouldn't normally act within 15 minutes of meeting someone). I know that I was perfectly qualified for jobs that turned me down--for some of them, I am doing the exact same job for a competitor and doing very well at it--so the rest of it came down to presentation.

Originally Posted by GreenFrog

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It pretty much looks like I'm going to be unemployed upon graduation after 20+ interviews and 8+ final rounds.. I've never felt so downtrodden and useless before. EIGHT rejections. But beyond that.. does anyone have any insight into getting a master's in finance after undergrad? This is something I just literally thought of so I haven't put much research into it (I am right now, but I also know some people ahve done this on SF so this is part of my research). What has it done for you in terms of job prospects? Which programs are the more highly regarded ones? I'm thinking top 25 because there's no chance I'll be able to get into a top 10 program. I go to a top 25 university and have a mediocre GPA (less than 3.5, greater than 3.0). Double major in economics and psychology. I had one internship the past summer in marketing consulting. Any tips/insight are appreciated!
What do you mean by Master of Finance? Can you give me some examples of the programs you refer to, schools and deparmtents and programs, i mean. Also, especially for things like MFin, or MFE or things like that--how significant is the school's prestige factor. I'm sure we can all agree that the school's reputation does not mean it has the bestest program out there, but with terminal degrees like MFin which will be with you and your career for the rest of your life----does for example a MFin from Princeton, or MFE from Columbia---although you will learn less and get less career placment help than, say, MFE from CUNY Baruch or MFin from Boston University---when you do finally land that job and join the firm and work--do you think that Princeton or Columbia will mean so much more for the rest of your life than CUNY Baruch or BU?

Originally Posted by GreenFrog

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I just had a ******* dream where I got an email from the last company I interviewed at, saying that there was a mistake and that they actually wanted to give me an offer.

I was so ecstatic that I screamed and celebrated. Then I proceeded to call my parents and tell them the good news. So I walk downstairs in the dream and see a HUGE python with its fangs showing, dash towards me. It chases me all the way to my bedroom where I attempt to shut the door on it, but alas, it is too strong and I get pushed back and cornered in my room.

That's when I woke up and felt like **** because of the snake and because I don't really have a job offer.

Looked up an interpretation of being chased by a snake:

"A dream of being chased means that you are troubled by something and feel you must run. You cannot fight whatever this trouble is. Chasing dreams are usually about fears or anxiety."

"To see a snake or be bitten by one in your dream, signifies hidden fears and worries that are threatening you. "

Gee.. I wonder what that fear and anxiety are about..

quit interpreting dreams and get out there sir.

Yeah, I have little knowledge of the field, but I'm not sure how much of a boost that a "top 25" mfin would be. However, I don't think straight out of college will necessarily be a minus?
In any case, for this Q, wallstreetoasis might also be able to offer insight.

If 20 interviews and 8 final interviews, definitely not the school or grades that's holding you back for what you're looking for. Have you done mock interviews with your school's career office or career consultants?

Do you have any foreign language skills? Would you be open to moving overseas?

Don't get discouraged--many of us have been there and survived.
Over the past couple years, I've sent out probably 500+ resumes without even an interview offer. Fortunately, I was able to convert 2 of the 3 interviews that I got (yep, 3 interviews out of 500+ applications), both of which were pretty much dream jobs. (neither asked for my transcript, natch).

Is going back to your summer employer not an option?

And these days, it seems that post-graduate full-time "internships" are not necessarily something to be avoided and a mechanism that some respectable employers use.

Originally Posted by GreenFrog

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I just had a ******* dream...

Looked up an interpretation of being chased by a snake

As a Psyc Major, I would expect you to know that dream interpretation is a load of crap...


Stick with it. Have you been applying out of area?

go for a CPA and profit.

"There are 350,000 CPA's in the United States today and half are going to die in the next 10 years."