Investment Banking, Management Consultancy, Commercial Law, Accountancy & Risk Management…….

What really goes on inside those towering, shining, slightly intimidating buildings at Canary Wharf and alike? As a student in London you no doubt know of at least one person who is adamant that a career in the city is for them. But what does that really mean to work in one of the roles listed above and how can you find out more?

For a unique, insider’s perspective on a career in the City, come on The Careers Group’s long-running and successful City Course. During the week you will visit prominent City employers and institutions. You will participate in employer-led business games and listen to presentations and graduate panels about the range of City careers.

At each employer visit you will get the opportunity to meet and network with recent graduates working within the firm, representatives from the graduate recruitment teams and sometimes more senior employees. You’ll start early, work hard, and come away with a detailed understanding of how the City works.

You do not have to be studying a particular degree route in order to attend this course but an interest in working in the City and an enthusiasm to find out more is a must!

The course is a long-running event and is extremely popular with all University of London students. You will need to apply with a CV and Covering letter – further details of the application process, including a few hints and tips can be found here. The deadline for completed applications is Friday 21 June 2013.

The cost of the course is £96, which is not payable until you have been accepted onto the course and bursaries are available for those in receipt of hardship funding.

Still not sure if this is for you? Take a look at the Facebook page and get involved in some of the discussions: www.facebook.com/CareersintheCity

How to find the hidden graduate jobs in finance

Some Christmas reading for you – see this recent article on hidden jobs from EFinancial Careers here.

Want to work in finance, but not sure which roles would suit you?

If you’re considering a career in the financial sector but haven’t managed to narrow it down any further than that, this career finder developed with the School of Economics and Finance might help.

The “financial sector” is a bit of a catch-all term that covers a wide variety of roles, so having an idea of which role or area you’d like to pursue will allow you to take a much more targeted approach to job-hunting. This will not only save you time, when it comes to searching for vacancies, but it will also allow you to really research the role and build up your CV with relevant experience. Remember that the careers centre is here to offer help with finding work experience, constructing your CV and making applications.

Missed our build a bank event? Networking, commercial awareness and more…

QM alumni, now working for JP Morgan and Lazard, visited campus to share their experiences as part of the ‘Focus on Finance’ fortnight in October. Below you can read about their career paths and the importance of networking, work experience and commercial awareness.

After receiving a 2:2 degree Peter Daniel, JP Morgan, faced rejection after rejection when he applied for jobs in the City. To improve his employability Peter used his contacts to secure a job as a prop trader at Goldman Sachs. After 18 months he was recommended to work in the money laundering department. Following a stint there, Peter moved into equity derivatives, where was responsible for booking and confirming deals with clients. A well-maintained LinkedIn profile led to Peter being head-hunted by JP Morgan. Employers at the global financial firm invited him for an interview after viewing his online profile. Not gaining a place on a graduate scheme, one of the most popular routes into finance, did not mean Peter was unable to pursue a career in the sector. In fact, he was able to have increased autonomy over his career route and progression. His success shows that graduate schemes aren’t the only way to get into the sector and highlights the importance of networking both in person and online.

Many people know at least one person who could help them pursue their chosen career – even if they don’t initially realise it. Identifying existing contacts is a great way to start what can sometimes seem a daunting prospect. Find out more on how to network here.

Gautum Chhabra, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), Lazard, said that because M&A is fundamentally about accounting it doesn’t matter what degree background you have. More important is the ability to ‘get to grip with numbers’. Research and evaluation into the financial impact of mergers and acquisitions is central to the role, which involves working closely with a client’s lawyers and accountants. Findings are then presented to the internal board of the client’s company in the form of a set of projections and a business proposal. Guatam said that working in M&A meant an increased familiarity with Excel and PowerPoint (so if you are interested in this area brush up on these essential skills).

Although he suggested that the pace of M&A meant it had a shelf life for many, he argued that it provided great preparation for moving onto a career in corporate finance or investment. Gautam stressed the importance of students being knowledgeable of developments within their chosen industry. He highlighted some current issues within the sector including a squeeze on costs resulting in work being moved offshore, and increased opportunities due to new regulation in client clearing. Add these issues impacting the sector to your commercial awareness – a characteristic widely sought after by employers – as it shows them that you understand their business.  For tips on increasing your commercial awareness use the search the term in the box to the right.

Feelign inspired? Here are a few finance roles currently on JobOnline:

Graduate Accountancy Trainee, Litchfield’s

Investment Analyst, Partners Capital

Finance Assistant, Peace Bridges International

Accounting Clerk, Vardag Solicitors Limited

Alannah Francis
Careers Information Assistant
QM Careers Centre

Consultancy and finance – how to put yourself across to employers

Bain came to QM recently and ran an excellent interactive session about the world of Management Consulting.

Many of you will be writing applications for schemes, internships and insight programmes right now. So here are some insights into what Bain said about their industry and also the language that they used. Take a look at it to inform, refresh and revise the way you express yourself. Not just for applying to Bain, but for the consultancy and finance sectors in general.

I cannot emphasise how useful it is to also really think about what consultancy is and what the work involves. This, and showing you understand their terminology / language, will help elevate your application to the next level and demonstrate that you have the ability and understanding to contribute effectively to their business.

For a fantastic overview see The Inside Careers excellent information on Management Consultancy.

So, in the words of Bain…

What do Bain do?

“Bain helps Chief Executives address their most important questions”

How do they do it?

• Identify issues
• Collect and analyse facts
• Organise a decision framework
• Make decisions and take actions

In other words

• Challenge preconceived ideas
• Identify ‘adjacencies’

Skills this requires

• Analytical (quantitative and qualitative data, creativity and ideas)
• Team (collaborate, communicate and lead)
• Client (working with maturity and poise)

What does the work involve?

• A large number of Associate Consultants/Consultants go on ‘externships’ for a period of time with clients.
• The client base is largely drawn from the ‘Global 1000’ companies.
• 50% of their work is in strategy. M&A and integration projects are another major stream of work.

How is success measured?

• “Bain clients outperform the S&P 500 by 4:1”
• “Tied economics” mean that part of the firms fees are paid as a share of client results e.g. revenue
• “Results not reports” is what they deliver

How a QM student networked her way into an internship

Being a first year Economics student, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do in the future. I decided to go to the Careers Centre at Queen Mary and find out what options were open to me. This turned out to be some of the most helpful advice I had ever been given in terms of improving my CV, finding out what spring internships were available and how I could go about furthering my knowledge of economic news.

After a few weeks, I heard about an event hosted by Queen Mary Careers for the School of Economics and Finance called “LinkedUp”.  Here students would meet professionals in the finance industry who were alumni from QM. Each student met two professionals on a 1-2-1 basis and we were given plenty of time to ask questions about their jobs and if they had any helpful advice for us related to university or finding a job.

After the meeting, I felt reassured as I gained a better insight into what different working environments were like. One of the finance professionals I met  did postgraduate study at Queen Mary and now works in private wealth management. She asked me to produce a research paper on the economies of China, Japan, the US and Europe. Even though it was a tough and daunting task, I managed to get through it and after a month (it took very long, I know!), I hand delivered my paper to her. Little did I know the visit to her office would turn out to be an interview with her and the CEO of the company.  Although it all came as a shock to me, I wasn’t particularly nervous as the Careers Centre had  given great interview advice. After a couple of weeks, I was offered a 10 week summer internship which was a very pleasant surprise!

I began my summer internship in June and have learnt so much. I understand financial terms that I never knew even existed, I can question people on the validity of economic data and I have also been able to master the Bloomberg terminal. Having a meeting or two every other day with fund managers became a normal part of my internship and was probably one of the most exciting aspects, as I got to meet incredibly intelligent and attention-grabbing people. Understanding what private wealth management is about and the different investment techniques used with high net worth individuals was what interested me a lot as it is one of very few jobs that is essentially client focused.

I have to reiterate that going to career related events and using Queen Mary’s careers centre can really improve your job chances. Being in your first year and going to career events does not mean you have to make decisions about your future straight away, but in fact it will help shape your future and give you a better understanding of the options available to you. I am so thankful I went to the career related events at the beginning of my first year, as I was able to implement the help and advice I was given at my interview and obtain the first year summer internship.  Now, I have even been offered a graduate job with the company!

Ria Shah

Ria studies in the School of Economics and Finance.  If you are an SEF student, hear from her and other students who have gained work experience over this summer on 24th Oct, 12-1pm at the ‘Work Experience for SEF students’ event.  Check the careers calendar for location nearer the time.

Careers in the city – advice, information & opportunities – on facebook

If someone said, “Through Facebook, I got a job the City ”, you would probably think they were a bit looney. Well that statement is not a complete lie. The Facebook page ‘Careers in the City’ (based on the annual City Course run by The Careers Group, University of London) provides information and opportunities to students who wish to pursue City careers such as investment banking, accountancy and commercial law.

How could Facebook, the world’s most poplar website that is used daily to get into contact with old friends, arrange parties and even stalk exes, help me get a job in the city?

The answer is by providing students with information on how to apply to Internships and graduate schemes. The page also gives insight into what is it really likes to work in one the skyscrapers of London. It  shows the wide range of careers available, as keen potential investment bankers and economics/finance students are not the only types of students welcome in the City! There’s  information on other roles such as management, accountancy and risk management, which are open to students from a range of degree disciplines.

What do City employers want from prospective employees? Well, there are number of video interviews with recruiters offering the inside scop on how to focus your application and make sure you display why you are the best candidate for the job. There’s  also information about insight days, as well as articles and videos about issues affecting the City and the cooperate world. The page allows you to discuss with others and share ideas. Basically it’s your one stop shop to every thing to do with the City.

So head over to Facebook but not to update your status or look up an old friend but further your career check out Careers in the City.

Tobi Ijitoye
3rd year International Relations at QM and
Vacancy Researcher QM Careers Centre

Focus on Finance Careers Events – meet employers & alumni from the industry at QM

We often get asked why a number of our events are around finance careers at this time of year, well the simple answer is that a huge number of the opportunities in this area have deadlines for their Internship and Graduate schemes at the end of the term, and they want to let you know about them.

We’ve programmed a series of events called Focus on Finance which will run from 3 October through to 19 October which look at some of the different areas you can work in.

I’ve detailed below a list of all the events, and you might want to book in advance for most of these as they are very popular, and useful for those of you who are thinking about working in a finance organisation.

Tuesday 9 October – Routes into Accountancy – With the ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA and ICAEW this session will go over the various professional qualifications needed to become an Accountant, and also go over the types of organisations that offer training contracts in this area. I’d mark this session as pretty essential for anyone looking to work in Accountancy or Professional Services.

Thursday 11 October – Discover Risk – With the Chartered Institute of Insurance and Marsh, this session will look at the world of Insurance and Risk. This is a growing area in finance, and is one of the biggest recruiters in the sector

Tuesday 16 October – LinkedIn Lab. This session is aimed at anyone who wants to create a detailed profile and find the best way to use LinkedIn to find a job.

Tuesday 16 October – Women in Banking with Lloyd’s Banking Group. This session will look at the banking sector and is aimed at myth busting. It is open to both men and women.

Wednesday 16 October – Bloomberg Assessment Test. This is a useful test to work out what area of finance is appropriate to you. We’ve written a full blog about this, so keep your eyes peeled!

Thursday 18 October – Banking Applications with SEO London. SEO London specialise in helping people achieve careers in the City. This session is ideal for people looking to pursue their application to a Bank.

Visit www.careers.qmul.ac.uk/events for full details of the programme, and all the other events we run!

KPMG and Deloitte are professional services firms – but what does that mean?

You might hear talk of professional service firms. You might well also wonder what it is this term really means. It is surprising how many applications we see for these firms written by students who don’t really understand what is it that they actually do.

To help you decide whether you want to work in this area (and to then be able to apply to these firms effectively), it is important to find the answer to this question. But insightful  information on this topic tends to be hard to find or often jargon heavy. Even if you are not interested in this industry and want to work in other finance or City Career areas, it is an important fact to enhance your commercial awareness toolkit.

The clue lies in the identities of the major players. Word on the street has it that top billing goes to KPMG with Deloitte not too far behind. Throw in Ernst & Young and PwC and you have the 4 companies that are commonly known as ‘The Big 4′.

Simple definition

They sell not products, but expertise, to other organisations.

This means….

They provide a full range of customised advice: consultancy, risk assessment, audit, covering matters legal, fiscal, regulatory and technological. Take none of these terms at face value. “Audit” is just as likely to mean examining social or environmental issues as high finance.

What do they expect?

First of all, blood.  Newbies are expected to acquire the tricks of the trade from their seniors while simultaneously being hired out for (comparative) peanuts to client companies.  The number of hours you can “bill” is paramount. This often means going short on sleep, while remaining alert, creative and responsive at all times.  Not for the fainthearted.

Skillset?

Key requirement is commercial awareness a.k.a. an instinct for helping your employers turn a profit.  Essential to this is an understanding of marketing.  Current buzz terms are “profile”, “visibility”, “branding”.  Roughly translated: getting ahead of the competition and staying there.  Think Usain Bolt in kill mode.

What else?

The ability to pool your knowledge with your colleagues is the cornerstone of a PSF.  If you prefer to be Secret Squirrel perhaps another niche would suit you better.  This collective ethos seems to be heading one step further with the creation of professional services networks.

“Professional services firms”:  the words may not trip lightly off your tongue, but add them to your vocabulary if you’re ambitious, business minded and raring to go.

How to write a CV for banking

If you’re considering a career in banking, then this article in the Guardian is certainly worth a look. Although not published all that recently, it offers some helpful tips on how to construct a successful CV and some insight into what potential employers are looking for.

The main message of the article, perhaps not all that surprisingly, is that competition is tough. Employers want to see what differentiates you from the many other applicants, so get thinking about what skills and attributes employers are looking for and how you could demonstrate that you posses them, whether through your studies, previous work experience or involvement in societies or clubs. Remember that you can also make an appointment to see one of our careers consultants, who would be happy to offer advice on how you might look for the kind of work experience that would boost your CV as well as feedback on the CV itself.