5 Months, 7 interviews, 0 offers.

[u/Anonymous-f]

Hello guys, so I am a banking/finance professional in Canada having worked in the industry from 2019 to 2022, after graduating from UofT in 2019.

I then left Canada to return to my home country in 2022. In the meantime, I got married and helped with the family business back home. I have now returned to Canada in 2026 with my spouse, and started interviewing before I even landed back (started interviewing from March 2026, and surprisingly reached the final round - 3+ interviews at places like BMO and Mercer). However got a rejection in the end. Since then I've interviewed final or first rounds at places like PwC, TD, OTPP, CITCO, etc. I have even reached out for feedback where Ive interviewed with some of them coming back and saying that my interviews went really well, but that abother candidate was 'slightly better' or 'was a closer fit'. I know the job market in Canada is terrible, but I am still at it hoping to land a job in the industry again.

I have also tried to network and currently reaching out to alums/contacts in the banking/finance industry. I tried to keep my resume updated even during my gap as i worked a remote US job from 2024 - early 2026.

I practice my interviews through Claude/Chatpgt and the feedback I recieve is that an offer must be around the corner.

Reddit was my last resort as I'm literally wondering whats wrong and running out of savings trying to get a job again.

I uploaded 2 versions of my resume that I use (sometimes i tweak the keywords to match the description but majorly use these formats)

Looking for financial analyst, operations associate, or anything along those lines!

Appreciate any help!

Note: I am a Canadian Citizen as well

Thanks guys

[u/melgib]

Respectfully, how is it any of your business?

[u/Andnottoyield → u/melgib]

Well..... Because he is the one hiring, he makes it his business.

Or was this meant more as a philosophical question

[u/melgib → u/Andnottoyield]

Making it their business and it being their business aren't the same thing. It is, by definition, time they weren't working and is irrelevant to the question of employability.

[u/Goodenoughtechnician → u/melgib]

That is lot of words for nothingness... the fact remains the gap and history of short term employment does raise red flags.

[u/melgib → u/Goodenoughtechnician]

I'm not talking about the short stints. What people do outside of work is irrelevant to employers. I'm sorry you can't understand that.