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

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Reply 320

Greatleysteg

Any particular reason why my post just got completely blanked?

Reply 321

Debris

Greatleysteg

Any particular reason why my post just got completely blanked?

I reckon because they think you should be able to figure it out yourself. All over the IB forum you can deduct that Oxbridge graduates are front of the queue for IB. You have good ECs and a plethora of As at A level so why bother asking? You obviously have a very good chance. If your knowledge of IB is weak then trawl around firm's websites to get a vague idea of what they do. Then apply to "Insight" stuff to get a more detailed idea.

Reply 322

Admonitor

Having seen the modules I can take this year, would it be advisable to take a maths module with my course (see sig), bearing in mind that my "mathematical background" consists of A level Physics? This for areas like M&A. Cheers.

Reply 323

Redeyejedi

If you think you can get a 2.i in those modules, then go for it. If you have any doubt regarding your ability to get a 2.i in those modules, stay the **** away. Not, in my experience, worth the hassle.

Cheers.

Here are my credentials

A-levels not particularly brilliant:Maths (A),Psychology(B),German (C)
Studying Economics at Leeds and am going in to my 3rd year and finished my second year just 2% short of a 1st.

Ive had a part time jobs in the Retail sector for 4 years which is sales target orientated which Ive often achieved.

Gained some work experience with a Hedge Fund, helping with equity research-using Bloomberg and spreadsheet analysis etc

Have taken part in a corporate social responsibility event helping to build a climbing wall in an activity park for underpriveleged children in the Leeds area.

Helped to raise £606 for Aids by having my head shaved and organising various events at school

What are my chances of getting a position in Risk within an IB?

Reply 326

Redeyejedi

A-levels not particularly brilliant:Maths (A),Psychology(B),German (C)

First problem you have hear is that you may not get through the auto-filters most banks use to filter the sub-320 UCAS points. Some are 300 UCAS + but most are 320-340 minimum. Try..you never know, but on this stat alone (which, granted is only 1 element of the application form) you're probably going to struggle..to be blunt.

Gained some work experience with a Hedge Fund, helping with equity research-using Bloomberg and spreadsheet analysis etc

This is good! Was it a big-name Hedge Fund or No-name. What type of spreadsheet analysis? Can be a real positive, IF you sell it correctly, and actually picked up some stuff, rather than just sitting there, doing the inane tasks. Did you actually do any modelling/fundemental analysis? If so be prepared to explain it...in depth.

(As an example I did an internship in Transaction Services at a Big 4..who work closely with IB M&A Groups. Mentioned EBITDA....Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization and was quizzed about the different facets of the metrics...not fun if you didn't think they would ask you and you had forgotten all but the actual acronym EBITDA.)

Helped to raise £606 for Aids by having my head shaved and organising various events at school

IMO its a nice thing to do, but for the purposes of IB's this is essentially irrelevant.

What are my chances of getting a position in Risk within an IB?

Just my opinion but for Market Risk you've got no-chance. They want some proper quant heavy guys for this department, anything less than Economics at a top uni just ain't going to cut it. (Obviously Maths and Physics etc etc are ideal for this type of role...but also saw Economists etc as well. Alot were MSc and Ph.D level educated)

Credit Risk - Again limited. But more likely than Market Risk.

Operational Risk - More likely than any of the other disciplines BUT there are very few of these jobs going in the city as the actual line of service is pretty niche.

Try anyway. Who knows.

Best of luck.

Reply 327

bamboozled123

Hi, after posting my question in the wrong place I was re-directed here, perhaps someone can help me.

Currently, I am about to enroll In Management Science and Business Law(BA) at Strathclyde University and just wanted to know if it is possible for me to enter investment banking with such a degree.

Other names for Mangement Science are apparently business analyst, operations manager, risk manager and operational research - the reason I say that is because most people I have talked know the degree as one of the terms or another

Thank you
Bambooled.

Reply 328

Mantha

Okay am I good enough to get into Retail Banking?

I'm aiming for a BBC at Law, Psychology, and English Lit. Um not sure about a degree. Something like Marketing/Psychology

Reply 329

Fatton

Manchester BA International Business,Finance and Economics
Aston BSc International Business and Economics
Reading Bsc Finance and Investment Banking
City (Cass) Bsc Investment and Financial Risk Management
City Bsc Economics

can i get into IB only with one of these ? can get entry in an top 5 uni for an MSC or MBA(oxford for e.g) ?

PS:Maths at AS level only

Reply 330

uthinkilltellu

re fatton: you haven't started/selected your degree yet and already thinking about masters. A lot can/will happen in the next 4/5 years - just aim for the best course/uni mix.

i'd personally choose cass, though.

Reply 331

jack1123

About to start PPE at york, did a work placement in 06 at PWC headoffice london, then this summer did a 2 week work placement at santander headoffice london in credit risk and have been invited back next summer, between my 1st and 2nd year, for a full internship on the trading floor, then hopefully get an internship at a BB between my 2nd and 3rd year, what do we think?

Reply 332

WokSz

Quick question regarding age: does it matter how old you are when you graduate from University? Obviously I'm not saying 30+, but around 25-26?

Reply 333

Inter-Company

WokSz

Quick question regarding age: does it matter how old you are when you graduate from University? Obviously I'm not saying 30+, but around 25-26?

not at all

when you intern/work at an IB you'll work with people from all over the place from the world - eg. American students and EU students (who have 4/5/6 year degrees), people who have had to take military service after college and hence older when graduating, people who have taken masters (of 1/2 year lengths) and people who have had 2 year gap years before uni going traveling etc etc

basically no one cares about age and in fact the older than the standard 21 candidates have always been more maturer in my experience, which will always be a plus for employers

Reply 334

HigheR

GCSEs: 4As 4Bs 1C
ALevels: ABB
Degree: Econ/Geog UCL 2.2
Experience: zilch

Any chance :frown:

Reply 335

uthinkilltellu

not with 2.2. sorry. although you could speculatively apply to a few boutiques, and/or go to a recruitment agency.

Reply 336

Admonitor

When you complete the online tests (verbal/numerical) does anyone know what sort of level they're looking for? For verbal/abstract I'm falling into the 95+ percentile, but numerical is more like 75-80th percentile (in practice tests). I know no-one will be able to give a definitive answer on this, but would the scores like that for numerical reduce my chances at all?

Reply 337

uthinkilltellu

no. I think the cut-off is something like 55-60%. I'm not sure how the online numerical tests can file you under 'percentiles', unless you are the last person to do the tests.

Reply 338

Admonitor

uthinkilltellu

no. I think the cut-off is something like 55-60%. I'm not sure how the online numerical tests can file you under 'percentiles', unless you are the last person to do the tests.