Are Investment Management Careers practically ZERO now?

It is probably true. I would say it reflects that it feels a little over-staffed West Coast at the moment, as IB recruiting is quite a geographical game (folk from LA have little to no interest in a NYC job, with Stanford an exception due to its pulling power). I remember one less smart bank that I worked for circulating their recruiting school list to the whole bank before the interns finished, explaining the reasons for cutting some schools.

Who knows about Darden. I know that JPM didn't used to actively recruit S&T at Wharton because they had "bad experiences", so lots of things go in to the mix.

The being prepared to do your own leg work is key though. My job now would never recruit on campus, or even work the schools - it was all fortune through network. A good number of people achieve the same. A friend got a restructuring consultancy job from sending over 100 emails to a list of firms identified from Capital IQ. One finally bit, and after seven or so interviews he got a job no-one would ever predict possible. It is endless pitching from start to finish at business school, yet some like to cruise from the point they get in (I was kind of one until I got a horrible surprise).

Great insight, 3underscore. Thank you. +1

So, I saw this topic and wanted to add my thoughts.

My story is that I was attempting to crack into investment management, failed (okay, bailed extremely early out of the process), and found something I liked far better on accident. So, I apologize for the doomsaying I'm about to impart, but frankly, I would've appreciated a higher level of straightforwardness when I was expecting to go to school and recruit for IM. I heard a lot of, "You have a very good shot at starting a career in IM if you do A, B, C, and D." While I understand that nobody wants to be the person to tell someone they can't do something, it's extremely rough out there in IM-land, and I wish someone would've sat me down and told me the following.

However, this isn't to say that anyone's experience should be similar to mine due to 1. my lack of experience in the industry, 2. my lack of perseverance pursuing IM jobs, 3. my lack of aptitude/passion for analyzing the markets, and 4. the prevailing abysmal shape of the economy. Sure, I had "okay" experience (public accounting/transaction services consulting), put in enough hours preparing pitches, being coached, doing research, reading articles/books, etc. to be dangerous, liked the investing/markets pretty well, and could talk intelligently about them. But, that wasn't enough.

IM recruiting for the entire length of time I've been at school (50% through Q1 of my second year) has been a huge uphill battle. The people who have multiple offers and essentially their choice of firm are extremely few, and they all have great (or at least very good) backgrounds for making the transition. The other 95% of the people weren't as lucky (i.e. interned for not-fantastic firms, interned for not-fantastic firms for free, or gave up and did something else). The really successful people all have the following in common: they have relevant experience in some variety of financial services role and they're beyond passionate about the markets. To illustrate, this summer I hung out almost every weekend with the same few guys from school; every time we were drinking, my friend who has been incredibly successful in IM recruiting would talk about stocks, industries, and macro. Seriously. He's a freak. These are the kinds of guys for which IM shops are looking. I recall having the distinct thought, wow, I thought I liked the markets, but this guy is ready to foster illegitimate children with them.

Anyway, recruiting for internships did not end well for many, and I only know of a handful of people who came back from the summer with IM offers. Everyone else is still recruiting for full-time IM positions, and it seems that although the economy is doing better, most shops are still not hiring. So to conclude, if you're thinking of coming to school and recruiting for investment management - think long and hard about it, and be realistic. It's very, very difficult to recruit for it in these conditions, and you may have to forego recruiting for something else in the process.

Thanks a bunch everyone for the advice. Irishfan, man ..thanks for the upfront report.
I kinda expected this you know. So as I mentioned earlier I have no professional background in stocks or finance so I guess the situation you described is very applicable to me. And this is exactly what I wanted to hear : a realistic appraisal of the situation.
Well I've already applied so I guess I have to take a decision when I get my admission decisions.
Thank you again.

Posted from my mobile device

Thanks for the info! Its nice to have a reality check. But I'm giving you a +1 for that comment!

Thanks for the input, Irishfan! +1

Irishfan makes a very good reflection on the market, and makes me want to cover off a point. While I do think that opportunities exist if you do the legwork outside of campus, that certainly isn't to say it is in any way easy. Approaching a full career search on your own, especially one that requires so much supporting prep, alongside classes, on campus stuff (which you will always be involved in, including half-hearted recruitment), socials, family... it is a really, really big ask and very understandable why many would shy from it.

I think it really does come down to how much you are prepared to put in to making something happen, and that will be directly related to how much you truly want it.