I would recommend reading the articles about lateral hiring, Master’s, and MBA programs because you’ll have to use one of those at this point since you’re already working full-time:

https://mergersandinquisitions.com/lateral-hiring/
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-masters-programs/
https://mergersandinquisitions.com/mba-investment-banking-recruiting-process/

The biggest issue is that the IB hiring market is currently terrible, so you might have to wait for a recovery. Also, it’s incredibly difficult to find roles in Canada because it’s a tiny market. If you can go to the U.S. instead, you’ll find a lot more openings there.

Yes, another year of consulting might work. Other options might include something at the Big 4 firms (you may be more competitive there with consulting experience) or something like corporate banking at a commercial bank. But, again, you might need the German language for that if you plan to stay in Germany. I wouldn’t even bother with roles like AM or PE for now because you usually need more experience to have a good chance there.

Thank you Brian for the explanation.

So, I have switched roles frequently because they were not permanent positions (work student positions, internships, and assistant positions but with a short-term contract – even though I tried to extend or get the full time job).
The idea of getting into CD or this RE Analyst position is mainly because I am currently not having any finance-related project as a Consultant (not doing any financial analysis, financial modeling, or valuation) and I heard from some people that I need to move fast to a finance-related job before it gets too late for it. I even thought to start another master program, so that I can be able to apply for internships in IB, AM, PE.. (but this is the last option).

So, in case I cannot get the CD role and RE Analyst position is not the best option as you described, any back door suggestion for my situation? As I am still not working in a finance-related role, do you think that working 1 more year as a Consultant (Enterprise Process Consulting) could be the best option if I cannot get the CD role?

Thank you once again!

Corporate development is more relevant if you can get that role. The Real Estate Analyst one could also work but definitely makes your profile more real estate-oriented and is less good for generalist AM and PE.

I think you have some good experience, but it all looks a bit “scattered,” so it might be difficult to come up with a coherent story. The biggest issue is that you’ve switched roles frequently, so it would help to stay in one specific job for 1-2 years.

Great content as always!
I have doubts when it comes to find the right career in Finance plus I come from different backgrounds. I like financial modeling, company valuation, equity analysis – although they are different, my interest is either Asset Management or Private Equity. Here is my profile at 31 years old:
– Bachelor of Metallurgical Engineering (not in the US), then switched career to Finance
– Master in Finance from a non-target University in Europe
– Experience: 3 months part time job in Commercial bank, 3-month Capstone Project in a boutique Investment Bank (doing Equity Valuation for an oil and gas company), 9 months Portfolio Management Assistant (Quantitative AM, focus on climate change), 4 months internship in a boutique M&A (cross border deals), and now 1 year Consultant for a Fortune 200 IT Solutions company (no finance, more business process).
– Studying for CFA L1
– It has been difficult to move to jobs in AM or PE, main reason I live in Germany and still need to become fluent in German (most jobs in finance require it). While I cannot get a position, I am trying internally to move to Corporate Development (Sourcing and Execution team which evaluates M&A deals for the company). Also, a friend has recommended me to join his company as a Real Estate Analyst for a leading European REIT firm (commercial and residential RE).
Based on what I have described, in your opinion, which of these two options could be a good option as a back door to later try to move to a generalist Asset Management or a traditional PE, if it is possible?

Thank you Brian
Best regards

If you’re in university and just completing your first internship now, sure, you can win an IB role after graduation. Your age matters less than when you graduated university and the amount of internship/other experience you have. A career in sales is very different than IB and offers different advantages/disadvantages, but I wouldn’t choose sales just because you think you’re “too old” or something like that.

Sure, you could, but I’m not sure that it’s actually easier to get into management consulting without relevant experience. But this site does not specialize in management consulting, so maybe this is doable.

Hi Brian, the reason that I want to do consulting first is because currently I have no finance related internship or full-time job. Hence I think it’s easier for me to get into consulting (which doesn’t have so many restrictions for work experience and background). So my current plan is get into consulting first, during consulting role, I would try to network to get into IB. If still cannot, then I would quit consulting and then do MBA to try to get into IB. Want to check with you, is this an achievable plan?