www.efinancialcareers.com/students | Careers in Financial Markets 2014
7
the checklist
Stick to these rules to succeed
1. Make sure you’re well-rounded Banks don’t want autobots. You need to show commitment to finance, but have other interests to show your softer qualities.
2. Keep the degree finance-related Banks will teach you what you need to know about the industry, but economics or finance degrees tend to be the most likely to get you through the door.
3. Get an internship Internship conversions vary from 65-75%, depending on the bank. It’s the easiest route in, which is why places are fiercely fought for.
4. Make friends and influence people
Network like crazy, get to know who’s who and leverage any contacts you have - nepotism is still alive and well.
a sly phone call to an investment banker friend or family member. “The more competitive the industry, the more important it is to call on every contact you have,” says one 25-year- old banker. “If you’re up against thousands of applicants, you’d be stupid not to leverage every connection.” Young investment bankers we spoke to were full of nepotism horror stories. “Of all the people I know from university who went into banking, a considerable percentage were helped along the way by somebody they knew,” says one. “I know somebody who didn’t get a place on a summer internship programme at a big investment bank, but a phone call was made by Daddy and he was given a place.”
Although your contacts can make that crucial difference, gone are the days when they could get you straight into a job. “On the whole, your connections can help get your application noticed and maybe get you to the interview stage, but after that it’s up to you,” says the investment banker. And with well-funded graduate recruiters at investment banks scouting universities for the top talent, getting connections is no longer something that only the super-privileged can do. “Go to every single banking presentation there is and introduce yourself to people. Join societies like the finance society or entrepreneurial society as they’re also good for connections.” Just because you don’t have friends in high places now, doesn’t mean you can’t make some.
Boost your chances with internships
And if networking can get you a summer internship, but not a job, that’s not something to be sniffed at. “The vast majority of my year group did an internship before getting their grad job,” says another banker, who himself did an internship at the bank where he now works. “I’d say 80% had done an internship at some point.” (For more information on internships, see The Rise and Rise of Internships on p14).
Work out what your bank wants
According to the young investment bankers we spoke to, the HR line about looking for people who fit with their company’s culture isn’t total rubbish. “It really is true that you might not be the right match for a bank – you might be perfect for Lloyds, but not for HSBC. They want to find the right fit,” says one. “Having an entrepreneurial spirit endeared me to the bank I work for, but I don’t think it would have meant a lot to other banks.” You can work out what a bank is looking for by dissecting the company’s website and analysing what the media says about them. Most companies will be reasonably open about what they value – whether it’s sporting excellence, charity work or top grades.
Learn to sell yourself
And once you’ve worked out what they want, you need to persuade them that you’ve got it. The importance of talking the talk is not to be underestimated. One banker says he was able to
smooth talk his interviewers: “I said that I might not know everything about financial instruments now, but I’d certainly work as hard as I could to find out, if I got the opportunity – which wasn’t true at all.”
75%
The typical conversion rate for summer interns in investment banking. It remains the number one route to a full-time position
Learning to sell yourself will continue to benefit you throughout your career. “I work with somebody who was a trader at three different banks,” says one investment banker. “He lost money at each one, but he still kept on getting rehired because he’s such a smooth talker.” Apparently, it is possible to fake being the right person for the bank you’re applying for: “There’s a lot of duplicity in the application process – people get jobs at top investment banks knowing that they want to leave after five years.” But, he says, 95% of people who get jobs are genuine. In the end, it’s always easier to get into investment banking if you actually do have ‘passion’, ‘hunger’ and ‘dedication’.
geTTIng In
InvesTmenT bAnKIng
FInAnCIAl servICes
EMPLOYERS
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