"I didn't convert my banking internship. I'm taking a year out"

Last summer, I was an intern in a US investment bank. I didn't get a job offer, and now I am delaying my graduation and taking a year out.

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This wouldn't have been my choice, but in the circumstances, it seems the best thing. I'm chilling with my family, applying for off-cycle internships and getting ahead of my course for next year. 

If hadn't taken this year out, it was likely that I would graduate without a job and then be forced to pay tens of thousands of pounds for a Masters. I didn't want to do that - even with the Masters, there's no guarantee I would have found a job.  I'm not the only person in this situation this year - a lot of my friends didn't convert their internships either. It was a brutal summer.

By taking a full year out of college instead, I don't have to spend that extra money and I can apply for off-cycle instead of simply summer internships. Everything that I hear suggests it's easier to convert an off-cycle internship because a firm has longer to get to know you that way. I also want to work on the buy-side and private equity firms seem to prefer off-cycle interns. 

I'm lucky in a way. My parents live in London, and so I can live with them and I don't need a full-time income immediately.

I'm hopeful that the next recruitment cycle will be easier and that this year out will transform my prospects without me having to pay for another course. I wasn't really surprised that I didn't convert my internship last summer - I had a good time and got on with my team well, but it didn't feel like a natural click for me. I guess that happens sometimes. 

Lorella Sabino is a pseudonym

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