The best thing to do if you left a Wall Street internship without a return offer

Not getting a return offer doesn't spell the end of a career in finance.

Bloomberg/Getty Images Wall Street interns hope to end the summer with a job offer, but those who don't still have options.

Recruiters and a career coach said that applying broadly and quickly is key to success.

Networking is still important, but plays a smaller role than in the internship recruitment cycle.

As Wall Street's summer interns trickle back onto campus for their final year of college, some are re-entering a recruiting process they'd hoped to leave behind.

For those who have finished their internships without the coveted return offer, career coaches and recruiters say the best thing is to move quickly and be realistic about where they'd be willing to work.

"The important part is to get a seat in the game, no matter where it is," David Haeberle, a professor at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, said.

"Once you're in that seat, then over time you can navigate your career or pivot your career in the direction you want to go." Not getting a return offer doesn't necessarily mean you won't get a full-time offer at a big-name firm.

Roy Cohen, a Wall Street career coach, said it's "very possible" to land an analyst position if you're thoughtful about the off-cycle recruiting process.

Circumstances matter, though, and he said that it's harder to explain your situation if you worked at a large bank that tends to give out a lot of offers.

The return-offer rate is different across years, banks, and groups.

Those who weren't invited back can sometimes scoop up a position that an intern at another firm declined, but the window typically closes by the time school starts again.

That makes speed especially important.

Both Haeberle and Meridith Dennes, managing partner at the recruiting firm Prospect Rock Partners, said that applying to a wide range of jobs in the banking industry quickly is the most important thing former interns can do when they return to school.