The "Am I good enough for Investment Banking/Consultancy?" Thread

Yeah cycling is good did you race individually or as part of a team? As part of team would be better. Computer clubs are also fine you just have to come up with a way to make it relevant on your CV.

The way you use your stock portfolio depends on what you apply for. There is a danger that someone might decide to test you on your knowledge (most likely if you are going into an equities related role) and so by 'bragging' about it on your CV it may set you up for a fall. I am not saying you'll do this but if you are perceived to have the attitude "I bought some shares that happened to go up in value so give me a job," then it is likely that they might have a bit of fun with you or just toss your application in the bin. Going off at a tangent when I was interning last year my team was making an experienced hire, in one of the interviews the interviewee said "I don't know if you know what a swaption is but..." The two interviewers then proceeded to make the remainder of the 30 min interview essentially a verbal test on swaptions. The lesson is unless you are fully confident that can go toe to toe with someone on the ins and out of managing an equity portfolio then handle it with care.

The safest way to play it is to be modest and say that you follow the financial markets and keep up to speed with developments in order to manage your stock portfolio which you do partly as investment but also as a learning exercise.

As far as your job goes I suppose it just shows that you are reliable.

Yes it has been part of a team and not only during uni, for several years beforehand.
What you have told me about the portfolio thing is really helpful as I would probably have done exactly what you are saying looks bad. Thanks a lot for the advice.
On a side note, I checked your profile, were you on university challenge?! wow!

Yes it has been part of a team and not only during uni, for several years beforehand.
What you have told me about the portfolio thing is really helpful as I would probably have done exactly what you are saying looks bad. Thanks a lot for the advice.
On a side note, I checked your profile, were you on university challenge?! wow!

. I've got an internship down with Bain this summer (dad's contacts)

Is your Dad the CEO of Bain? Didn't think this kind of thing was possible in big-time banking/consulting...

easily possible. lots of people around at the big banks who are interning or shadowing because they (or more likely, one of their relatives) know someone

Ok after reading this thread I have a couple of questions.

1) Are academic grades/institution really that important? Surely if you have what it takes and truly are smart with money; can you not get into a bank somewhere and work your way up? Or would your lack of grades/right University hold you back to much?

2) Would a master's in finance at London school of business and finance be worth doing, to get a job in banking and ultimately IB? Also, the degree would be from Portsmouth University either a 2:1 or a 1st. Other grades are BTEC in IT grade DM and only a few GCSE's between A-C. Also, two week unpaid intern at Orange's finance team

I know people will say I have no chance because of the uni/grades etc, but worth a try

Thanks for the advice

You are going to struggle to get FO roles coming from Portsmouth with no A-levels. You might be able to get interviews for BO roles likes Ops if you have some good experience (like Orange) and some good ECs. So I suppose on what sort of role you want to do.

Ok this question wont help my case but what does FO, BO and Ops mean?

Also, what about the master's idea at LSBF, will it help?

Thanks

As well as university and course comparisons, we seem to be getting a lot of threads asking "Am I good enough for IB/C" with something about someone's grades, university, extra curriculars, work experience, etc. This thread is for all those questions.

FO - Front Office (Revenue generating roles generally)
BO - Back Office (Support Functions including Operations)

There are some good videos here that explain the different jobs.

http://www.careerplayer.com/careers/banking-and-investment.aspx

Before you dive into a masters I suggest you do research on the industry and decide whether it is for you.

Urgh, what a boring way to live life

Ok thanks for the help, say I decided the industry is for me would a master's help or not? And is LSBF a respected educational institution?

Again thanks for the help

If there is any other places to help my research it would be much appreciated if you or anyone else could give me an idea of the best places to look

Thanks

So is wasting time posting on a thread that doesn't interest you

investment banking is so rubbish


just get a normal job like normal people you nerds

FO - Front Office (Revenue generating roles generally)
BO - Back Office (Support Functions including Operations)

There are some good videos here that explain the different jobs.

http://www.careerplayer.com/careers/banking-and-investment.aspx

Before you dive into a masters I suggest you do research on the industry and decide whether it is for you.

Shutup and start collecting the rubbish you wasteman.