QUOTE(keelim @ Nov 24 2010, 06:01 PM)
Don’t be misguided by the forum for real. Ignore posts from the interval of 7am to 2am (+1) - Generally. Opportunity cost for IB-ers to post at this forum is just too high - Generally.
For BB/Tier-1 Corporate Finance, forget about the qualifications needed besides your Degree. Leverage on the internship. Your best cut to being an Analyst in CF is probably from internship/job placement in the campus, unless you’re some private banker’s client’s - children. If you fail this stage, go to Plan B or Plan C, or Plan D.
Plan B entails a reputable B-school. As you are aware of, you probably will be in your late 20s to early 30s. Getting an MBA will open doors to interviews at campus.
Plan C covers Big 4 CF. Generally the experience is quite similar except for capital market experiences and size of the deals in the pipeline.
Plan D involves being a specialist in your industry. This master of trade is demanded by the IBs.
Either Plan A,B, C, D, or E….CF requires you to be ‘smoky’. In the sense, never answer “I Don’t Know” and smoke all the way, of course with substance.
Some good advice there. Thanks.
Anyway I'm fresh from uni, so I'm still in my early 20s. =)
I guess I'll try plan B in the future after getting a few years experience.
Mind explaining more about plan A? I've applied for BB but I'm not putting much hope on it.
Is MY Tier 1 IB experience better than Big 4 CF or the other way round? Which is more credible for BB IB?
QUOTE(gloomberg @ Nov 24 2010, 09:55 PM)
First of all, what is ur motivation behind getting into an IB? Money? Glory? Just make sure u have what it takes, i.e. relentless stamina, working late till 4-5am(when there's project, and this is frequent for big IB), adept to analyzing business, living in solitude, tough mentally and physically, great communication and client servicing skills, pro in excel, and one thing u realize when u're in it, unrealistic business valuation (cuz it all depends on ur client's satisfaction to get the deal done).
I've met many freshies, but a lot of them are super stuck up although they knew nothing. literally nothing. nil. well, if this is the attitude when they meet their clients, keep it up. Yea, glorified job, but there's a price to pay for it. In the end of the day, what matters most is not just your technical skills, but also your ability to maintain good relationship with clients (so that they continue doing business with u?), although many people didn't know that their clients can be next to them when they least expect it.
I'm really interested in the area and I enjoyed my internship very much. I like the challenges put upon me and I find value in that. Well, the money really is a plus for more motivation in this case, I wouldn't deny that.
I'm sure I'm capable of performing at this area and I also realise that I have to polish my communication skills but that can be trained as I get more experience.
QUOTE(fino_abama @ Nov 24 2010, 10:53 PM)
Monash is a good enough university. No harm trying to apply though. From time to time, try to furnish your resume/CV to make it more attractive to HRs.
As long as you get a chance to work in an IB, it's okay if you get rotated between departments. The most important thing is being able to show to your future bosses your interest and capability in CF. Networking is very important in this case.
Good luck.
Yeah I've applied for graduate positions but the competition is really intense. It's good if I'm able to land it but I wouldn't be sad if I couldn't.
I'm afraid to be rotated into the commercial banking side of the business. LOL. I have a basic understanding of their hiring practice so I think I'll go for the alternative route. That's if I decided to join them down the road.
Anyway, from ur advice, u reckon local IB is better than Big 4 CF experience? Thanks.
QUOTE(kinwing @ Nov 24 2010, 11:50 PM)
Read from your reply and know you did intern at MY, but you said you don't know which IBs are the top tier in MY? Not going to mention which are the top tier IBs in MY since someone could have mentioned in the previous thread, so you have to stop whinning
and go verify those information or google search.
Btw, IMHO it would be recommended to go for CF division of IBs, of course it would be best if you can join the best local IB.
I got another question is that since you have gone through your internship in a local IB, you should have come to know someone from another IB or work in the same industry? It could be indeed easier for you to get a CF job via connection and reference.
Share you my experience that I did an internship in a local IB before. I was attached to the CF division. I was confirmed by the bank once the internship completed, though I left the bank and join an application engineer firm later. Four years later I bored with the engineer job and finished the CFA study, I back to work in CF via through peer reference. As I still keep in touch with my ex-CF colleagues, and a lot of them are promoted to be AM, AVP or even VP and they are spread all over different IBs or commercial sector (CF is a "small" world), and with their reference I only went through for 1st interview to show face and get the job offers.
U reckon local IB is better than Big 4 CF experience?
Maybe we're talking about different company here or maybe they have changed their system. Before this I heard it's possible for a fresh graduate to join as an executive but I think they've changed their policies. Fresh graduates must now go through the MT program and be rotated. That's from what I understood. Correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks.