Around 98% of the FI's that I know who did that now do not have an IR because they left it so late
Well, for me around 80% of the FIs I know who did this got the IR in time (myself included)
The FI in the current market is little use to you
I don't know any FIs currently out of work, the people who I see qualifying are getting jobs within four weeks of rating issue. There will never be a good time to get an FI rating, but this is what the OP ultimately wants to do so why not unlock that door immediately?