Rajul Raman

For a keen college student looking to break into the finance industry and gain work experience, an internship is a great choice. If you manage to get a place in such a coveted program, you will get first-hand insight into a top firm within a field that interests you. The company gets to test you out during a ten-week interview process and see if you are a fit for their firm.

The main aim for most interns is to get offered a full-time role from the internship. The company wants this too, as they have tried and tested their intern, so an offer means that they are happy and confident with the intern’s ability and fit for the team. Once you are on the internship, what can you do to give yourself the best possible chance of securing that full-time job offer?

Think about what you are suited to

You may love the idea of being an astronaut, but if you cannot ride the local merry-go-round without being sick, then this career may not be for you, no matter how much you want it and know about it.

Be realistic with yourself about your strengths. What kind of job will you perform well at, and what kind of job will you be interested enough in to sustain a long enough career?

You want your internship bosses to be happy with the work that you do for them, and so you need to possess the interest, smarts, and skills that they are looking for in order for them to want to work with you on a full-time basis.

You can explore different career paths within the financial services industry and learn more about each career path’s different roles by watching Fmi’s CareerBuddy videos.

Impressions count

Your first impression was a good one as you got an offer on the internship. Now you need to follow it through and show that the first impression was just the beginning of your strengths. You did a lot of research and preparation to get the internship offer but do not stop there. Now research the team that you will be joining and the firm to see what interesting things are happening there.

Ensure you know as much as you can about the company policies so that you do not turn up on the first day underprepared. Read any start pack that is sent to you ahead of time. Be as prepared as you can be when you join so that you can hit the ground running.

Set Objectives

An organized HR team will provide every team who has an intern with an objectives template to go through with their intern. Ideally, on the first day at your desk, your manager should sit down with you and go through your role during the internship and what will be expected of you. You should ask sensible questions here, do not just sit silently and nod. Show that you are enthusiastic and have done your research on the team. If there is something that you would like to get involved in, ask if it is possible. It may not be, but at least you are showing keenness.

You and your manager will set some objectives that you will be expected to meet during the ten weeks. This helps you to know what you are working towards to gain that full-time offer. There are other factors at play, however. As well as doing the work to a high standard, you must also be a team player with others who already work there. In fact, this might be an objective in itself.

If anything in this meeting is unclear, then be sure to ask for clarification.

Display a strong work ethic

Interns are often tested by being given very long and tedious tasks that can even take you into the early hours to complete. This will undoubtedly be a shock to your system, coming from a student timetable; however, you need to show how willing you are to do this kind of work and do it well. Not only will you finish it, despite it taking you hours and hours, but your accuracy will be excellent, and your enthusiasm won’t wane. No matter how dull the work seems, it would help if you come across as thankful for the opportunity you have given.

Your team will have high standards that you need to meet, but they will not be unrealistic. They know that you are an intern and that you will not know everything. Therefore don’t be afraid to ask questions; in fact, it will be expected of you.

You will also probably make a couple of mistakes. That is ok as long as you don’t make the same mistake twice and show you are a very hard worker and a team player.

Show how proactive you are

There will undoubtedly be times when you have to sit quietly and wade through the work you have been given; however, it’s not all about that. Whenever you find yourself with time to spare, go around the team asking if anyone has anything they would like help with. If you have been working on something into the small hours and it’s taken a lot out of you, and you’re tired, go to your boss when it’s done and ask if there is anything else that he/she wants you to work on before you go home.

This will underscore your willingness as you haven’t just sprinted for the door despite the piece of work that you have just completed. Things like this will be remembered. Sign up for any training that is offered to you. Ask to get involved in some more projects, so long as it doesn’t take you away from your assigned tasks.

All of these things show that you have initiative and don’t just sit around twiddling your thumbs, waiting to be given something to do.

Demonstrate your hunger to learn

You learned as much as you could about the business before your internship interview, and you should have continued to research your team and the company before your first day. That learning process should continue throughout the internship. You will learn so much more from doing the job you’re doing, but there are other ways to make the most of this and learn as much as possible. This also makes it easier for you to judge if you want to work at the firm full time.

Attend workshops, seminars any meetings that you are invited to and ask lots of questions where appropriate to help show your dedication. If you are joining a desk of the global markets division, Fmi’s Global Markets pathway is an excellent resource, as is Fmi’s Investment Banking pathway for IBD interns

Sitting quietly behind your desk for ten weeks solid, waiting to be given work will only teach you so much. As well as learning about the business, an internship should provide you with the opportunity to learn about yourself. You may find out that there’s a facet of the business that interests you more than the area you thought you’d like to work in.

Develop Your Network

Being a part of an internship at a large investment bank automatically gives you access to a new network of people. The other interns that you meet could be lifelong friends or colleagues. Inevitably you won’t all end up getting full-time offers, but even those who don’t may end up being your peers in another company later on in your career. Don’t make any enemies as you never know when you will meet someone again.

As well as the other interns, you will meet all different levels of people at the firm. Those in your team will be the easiest to impress. Ensure that you go along to any team drinks or events that you are invited to.

Get involved and try to get along with everyone. Ensure that you are seen as a real team player in and outside of the office. The quality of the work you produce is essential, but so are your interpersonal skills and networking ability.

If you are genuinely liked and respected by your team, they will put a good word in with the boss and recommend that you receive a full-time offer. They will want you to return after you finish your studies to be a full-time team member. Do not forget to network with those outside of your team also when you get the opportunity to do so. You will learn more about the company and be on the radar of more people.

Be Clear That You Want a Full-Time Role

Investment banks and asset managers have an internship program to hire full-time staff from it. However, some companies hire interns to fill a busy period or cover someone who is on extended leave. It would help if you clarified when the time is right that you would like to stay on and work for the company full time.

If you have been assigned to a team that you realize is not exactly what you wanted to do, then speak to HR about what you do want to do. You should have a mid-term appraisal and so mention that you like the company and the culture, but you feel that your skills are more suitable for another area. You should probably mention this to your line manager in the first instance so that he/she does not feel blind-sided. If you position it right, they will help you gain experience in the other team that interests you or introduce you to them so you can chat about the work that they do.

If there are no positions available at present, they will think of you if and when a position does come up. Of course, they will only do this if you do all the above points; network, be a team player, show the hunger to learn, and perform to a high standard.

And finally…

Getting a position on an internship at a top firm is an outstanding achievement. You have done well to get through the rigorous assessment process, and if you don’t get converted into a full-time member of staff, then all is not lost. You still have that internship on your CV, and it will help lead you onto other things. If, however, you really want to work in the firm and team that you have been assigned, then do all the things mentioned above and have a fighting chance.

Good luck!

It’s true – top-tier investment banks recruit heavily from ivy league schools and other target schools. Big names such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan visit campuses to drum up interest in their internship programs and full-time entry-level positions.

Networking

They put on presentations at the schools and attend careers fairs that are organized by the schools’ careers service. They try to hire the top students from those schools as they have a track record of hiring talent from them. However, that does not mean that you cannot land such a job if you do not attend an ivy league school.

If the banks do not come to your campus, then you need to get creative. Do you know anyone in the industry who can get you a meeting with someone in the area you are interested in?

Do you have any friends or family members who went to an ivy league school? If so, ask them to look through their alumni list for a contact that might be able to help you.

If you manage to establish a contact this way, think about what you want your initial impression to be like. Do not bombard them with questions but think about an intelligent subject that you wish to discuss with them or explain why you want to break into the industry, your challenges, and how you hope that this person can help you.

Once you get a response or you have an initial meeting, then do not be afraid to ask them if you can email them some questions occasionally to keep the relationship going. Be clear about what you want and how you hope that they can help you.

Prejudices

Many bankers like to recruit students from their old schools. Not only does this affirm their belief in an ivy-league pedigree that they themselves hold, but also because they see themselves in the students they hire. It has been proven that interviewers tend to interview people who are like themselves without even realizing it. They can relate to them, and it takes them back to when they were at school.

The problem with this, however, is that the banks then recruit a lot of people from the same mold, so it is good for them to recruit some people from other schools with different ways to think and approach things. Investment banks are increasingly exploring this option as a way to increase their diversity.

If you are not at a target school, your best bet is to work hard to achieve summa cum laude (a first-class degree in the UK). Banks recruit exceptional people, so if you did not attend a target school, you need to have all the traits they usually look for and more for them to notice you. Make your coursework as relevant to the industry as possible, write papers on finance, trade if you want to be a trader.

If you don’t have the funds to set this up or wish to try a low-risk way to gain experience, then use a simulator such as the ones found here. In other words, go the extra mile to stand out from the ones who have the ivy league pedigree.

Preparation

You will need to show that you have a well-thought-out and researched plan for your career, even if this ends up changing.

It is not enough to say that you want to be a trader. Why do you want to be one, what do you want to trade, and why? The kind of knowledge you need takes time to acquire as you should not just read what is going on but also think about it. Have an opinion. Make predictions about what will happen in the market and see if you are right.

It would help if you also prepared for any interviews and application processes that you will have to go through and then pass it with flying colors. The fact that you are not in a top-tier school may make some of the interviewers unconsciously look for a reason to reject you, so you need to be outstanding.

Think about and research what interview questions you will be asked. Your mental maths will be tested in a more technical interview. Usually, a bank will have an online numerical test as part of the application process, and some banks will retest you onsite. This is simple to prepare for. There are many tests online that you can have a go at.

If you really struggle to pass them, then you should rethink this career choice. Some people ask friends to take the online tests for them; however, you will be found out at some point during the process, so this is not advised.

Depth of knowledge

You will probably get fewer interviews if you attend a non-target school simply because the banks are not visiting your campus, and so you must do extra work to get yourself in front of the companies that interest you. When you get an interview, you will need to be immediately impressive; you may not get a second chance.

Ensure that you have excellent industry knowledge, market knowledge, and technical knowledge. Take as many financial classes as you can in school rather than doing the bare minimum.

Have an opinion and when you are asked about it, defend it. Learn as much of the jargon as you can for the area that you are interviewing for. For example, if you want to work in Mergers and Acquisitions, then know what earnings dilution is and how to consolidate financial statements.

Manage your expectations

Fewer people will get into a top-tier investment bank from non-target schools, and so you must be realistic about the chances of you not being successful. Think about trying the smaller banks, even if you use them as a way into the industry, and move on once you have a few years of experience under your belt.

You may wish to apply to more than one industry. Asset management, accountancy, consulting, and insurance industries have roles that you could get stuck into and build a great career in. They all have information about their graduate programs on their websites for you to research.

Another way to get into a top-tier bank is to apply for a back or middle office position rather than one in the front office. You may not land your dream job, but you could land your dream company, and perhaps you could network like crazy once you are in and move internally.

The bottom line is that you will have to work harder to get noticed by a top-tier bank than those who attend the ivy-league schools, but it is possible. If you decide that this is really what you want, then go for it!

Many students and graduates want to work in finance as it is known to be highly financially rewarding and thrilling. It is also, however, high pressured, stressful, and demanding. Investment banks often look for people who have the intellectual skills required for such a role, coupled with the psychological ability to survive in a very cutthroat environment. There are so many different careers within the finance field, from the front office to back office, buy-side to sell-side, but one of the most sought after and famous is investment banking. Investment bankers consolidate companies or assets through various types of financial transactions, or they aid transactions between the firm and the market (IPOs). We have spoken to a Vice President in Equity Capital Markets in a top-tier investment bank who has given her top tips on the skills needed to succeed in the industry. Many of the tangible ones can be measured, but some are intangible. Below is what she advises:

I’ve worked in this industry for a fair few years now. I’ve seen and interviewed many students coming through the graduate programs and so wanted to pick five critical things that these people need, not only to get into the industry but also to see them through a long career within it. Some are more obvious than others, and many of the skills can be learned or acquired.

1. Starting with possibly the most obvious one – Intellect: This job is very technical and analytical, and so you need a strong intellect with an emphasis on maths, economics, and analysis. Having this will aid you in your day-to-day job requirements; however you need to have smarts that go further than this. Your intellect needs to be curious with the ability to understand not only what you do but what the wider team does and the teams around you and how the whole puzzle fits together. Investment bankers generally get a thrill out of solving complicated problems but not just that; they like to try to create new and innovative solutions to these problems. Studying subjects such as mathematics, physics, engineering, finance, accounting and economics are good choices to hone in on a person’s natural problem-solving abilities and curiosity. Postgraduate courses like the CFA are also recommended.

2. Entrepreneurial: This one isn’t so obvious due to the rigor and structure involved in the job. It is, however, highly regarded, and those who perform at the top of their game can approach a problem or assignment in a way that may be innovative and original, developing a path for products and services. This quality is intangible and the ability to approach something in a way that is new and different is often driven by instinct; however, academics can certainly reinforce such behavior. Consider taking entrepreneurial business classes at college and some science and social science classes that can introduce a more innovative way of thinking.

3. Self-Discipline: Movies and newspapers frequently report on the amounts of money investment bankers earn and the multimillion-dollar bonuses that some of the top bankers have received. They often fail to report the grueling work and quantity of hard unsociable hours that go into getting those rewards. Whether you are an entry-level worker or an experienced MD, all investment bankers work in a highly pressured environment and are subject to intense scrutiny and demands. They need to ensure that they can perform well under these conditions in order to keep their job. Although these characteristics and traits are typically innate, learning them or improving on them in several ways is possible. You could sign yourself up for a challenging task that is out of your comfort zone. For example, if you get very nervous when public speaking, sign yourself up for the debating team. Put yourself out there, test yourself and see how you cope with it.

4. Relationship Building: This is hugely important to your career and its future, and it is tough to see on your CV.

As well as the technical skills that are required you need to have interpersonal skills also. It helps hugely if you are well-liked and get on with the people around you. You will have to learn how to deal with difficult people, including demanding clients, and yet always come across as the person who is upbeat and positive and who understands what the client wants and needs. Maintaining client relationships is crucial, as without the clients, your company doesn’t get paid so strong interpersonal skills are essential.

5. Global: We are all too aware of how globally connected the world is on every level, including business. In investment banking, it is seen as a big plus to be able to think globally and to have an insight into other cultures and countries.

Knowing how other societies are similar and different to yours and having experience of these societies is invaluable. Knowing another language or many languages is often a requirement of specific hiring desks but also having used those languages outside of the classroom and knowing the customs and traditions of that culture attached to it will be impressive on your CV. If you have studied/lived abroad, been involved in projects with other cultures and are able to demonstrate your fluency in a language at interview then this will stand you in good stead. Some languages are more valuable than others; for example, Mandarin and Arabic are sought after at the moment, as well as European languages such as French or German.

You can find more about the roles that are available within investment banking at Fmi Investment Banking pathway.

People familiar with the investment banking industry are most likely to have at the least a working knowledge of equities and equity markets. Many people entering investment banking see themselves working as a trader on an equities desk, trading a company’s shares or different types of derivatives in those shares.

Ask people about ‘Fixed income trading,‘ and you’ll probably get a few blank looks. However, there are several excellent reasons to consider fixed income trading over equities trading when considering a career in investment banking.

Fixed income trading

The Global Markets division of an investment bank generates revenues by executing agency trades and making markets.

Agency trades are buy or sell orders executed by a trader on a Global Markets desk on behalf of a client. Placing these agency orders on behalf of clients generates fees for the investment bank. These clients are typically institutional investors such as asset managers, pension funds, insurance companies, or hedge funds. Agency trades are executed on exchanges, with other investment banks, or a specialist dealer or broker.

Market making means a trader on a Global Markets desk simultaneously advertises bids and offers (also called asks) for a specific asset to the market. The revenues generated through market making are the difference between the bid and offer price known as the spread.

Fixed income trading doesn’t happen on exchanges like many equity trades because fixed income markets are over the counter or OTC. This means executing fixed income agency trades with other traders, brokers or dealers. It can also involve market making.

To see how fixed income market making works, consider an asset management client who wants to sell 10,000 corporate bonds. Each bond has a par value of $1,000. The fixed income market maker knows these bonds are trading at a discount and so quotes a bid-offer spread of $970 – $990

If the asset management client decides to execute their sell order with the market maker, they ‘hit’ the market maker’s bid of $970. This is because the bid is the price the market maker is willing to buy the bonds for, and the asset manager is selling. The total value of the trade will be $970 x 10,000 = $9,700,000.

The market maker now owns the bonds. This is called being long. A significant part of being a fixed income trader is managing their risk by selling the bonds in the market before they change in price. The market maker wants to find a buyer for the bonds willing to pay the offer price of $990. If successful, the market maker will make the spread of $20 per bond, or $200,000.

You can find out more about market making in Fmi’s Global Markets pathway.

Here are our top five reasons for choosing a career in fixed income trading.

Reason 1 – A wide variety of desks to work on

Fixed income desks are a part of FICC – Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities and include a huge range of different desks, more so than equity trading. These include corporate bonds, government bonds, credit-related derivatives, money markets, mortgage-backed securities, and more.

With all these different trading desks, career paths within FICC are wide open. You have the opportunity to find a desk that suits your strengths and attributes.

Reason 2 – Lots of roles working alongside fixed income trading

It might be you prefer working alongside traders rather than working in the pressurized role trading is. Fixed Income presents many opportunities to do so.

Fixed income sales suit outgoing, social people who like developing client relationships and discussing financial markets with clients. Salespeople need to have their fingers on the pulse with what’s happening in the market and the technical ability to be the conduit between clients and other internal roles within an investment bank.

Many investment banks consider Structuring is a separate team within fixed Income, given the complexity of some products. Structurers have strong quantitative skills, creating customized solutions for clients with specific and complex needs.

Strategy is a separate desk in some Global Markets divisions. Working in this team means you’ll develop investment recommendations for Fixed Income securities based on market fundamentals and technical research.

Reason 3 – Fixed income trading is harder to automat

In general, the simpler and more liquid a security is, the more likely it is to be automated. On the other hand, less liquid complex securities are less likely it is to be automated.”

The good news is that many fixed Income products are complex; the bad news is that simpler areas such as investment-grade corporate bonds are still being automated. In January 2021, the average daily volume for fixed income electronic trading reached a new record of $10.6bn, surpassing the previously set record of $10.3bn in May 2020, according to a report by Greenwich Associates.

Fixed income traders will not disappear. Even so, if you want a career in fixed income trading or Structuring, some good advice would be to gain competency in computer programming. Salespeople will have an advantage if they have a knowledge of quant research and algorithmic trading strategies.

Reason 4 – the macro story

If you like macroeconomics with a little bit of maths, the rates desk may suit you perfectly. The rates desk trades government bonds, interest rate swaps, futures, and structured products based on rates, options, and swaps.

This requires a deep understanding and focus on macroeconomics, as interest rates and inflation expectations are key drivers of value and price for these products. This means understanding what is happening with global and regional economic growth, exchange rates, and monetary and fiscal policies of governments.

Junior traders invest a lot of their time researching to predict changes in interest rate curves used to price fixed income securities. Products traded by the rates desk tend to be relatively more complex, so automation is unlikely soon. However, like many roles within the Global Markets division of an investment bank, having some computer science experience will be advantageous.

Reason 5 – the credit story

Credit traders execute trades involving corporate bonds. Traders on this desk execute trades of bonds issued by companies such as Apple, Tesla, or Exxon Mobile. Desks are often split between investment-grade bonds with little or low credit risk and high yield bonds with higher credit risk. Credit risk is the risk the issuer may default and is most commonly measured using credit ratings such as those issued by Fitch, S&P, or Moody’s.

Credit traders are the most micro-orientated traders within all of FICC. In other words, while credit traders do need to be aware of broader macroeconomic conditions, company-specific events are critical in assessing and valuing corporate bonds.

Credit traders spend much of their time analyzing companies and their credit risk alongside their credit research colleagues. They will look at many different types of credit ratios and stress testing these ratios to see if companies might default if economic conditions deteriorate.

Some banks are in the process of trying to automating corporate-bond trading as much as possible. While this is a consideration if you are looking for a career as a credit trader, it is happening slower than in equity markets.

Finally…. advice for fixed income interviews

Applicants will get more questions about macroeconomics than other areas within investment banking. This means having a deep understanding of GDP, yield curves, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates. You must apply these concepts to financial markets and how they impact different products within FICC.

You can access our Fixed income glossary to get familiar with the key terms and jargon used in fixed income markets and by any Financial Analyst.

Your CV is often the first impression a company gets of you, and so it is crucial that what is written on it gives the reader a positive feeling. Without a positive first impression, it is unlikely that you will proceed any further in the recruitment stage for any finance role.

We have compiled a list of the most common mistakes that people make when writing their CV. These are often very simple to rectify with a little more time spent reading through.

1. Spelling and grammatical errors

It is worthy to note that the first person reading your CV will often not be the hiring manager. It will probably be someone who is hired to weed out the people who couldn’t be bothered to use a spell checker or to read through their CV.

The big investment banks, for example, will use either an external company or a recruitment analyst to scroll through the thousands of applications received for their internship and graduate programs to reject those with spelling mistakes or grammatical errors on their application or CV. The bones of the CV are likely, therefore, never to be read.

Why do they do this? For such programs, the banks receive vast numbers of applications, so they need to whittle them down to the very best. The very best do not include people who are seen to be lazy or who do not have a good command of the English language. If recruiters were to put such a CV in front of a hiring manager, that is precisely what the hiring manager would think. The recruiter would then look incompetent for selecting such a CV.

With computers spell-checking for you, there is no excuse for having any spelling mistakes in your CV.

For any role in finance, you are selling yourself as an educated, maybe experienced person, so you should be able to write grammatically correct statements and sentences at the very least.

2. Incorrect information and embellishments

You would be surprised how many people write the wrong contact information on their CV. It is as if they spent ages writing the perfect descriptions of their achievements, read and re-read it all but didn’t think to check the most basic part of the CV, which is your name and how to get hold of you.

You would kick yourself if you knew that you had written the perfect CV but did not get a phone call or email about the job because you missed one digit on your phone number or miss-typed your email address. When reading through, do not forget to read the most obvious and most straightforward CV parts.

Incorrect information in terms of your achievements or experience is also a common error and one that some people cannot help themselves make. Writing blatant lies is simply a bad idea. In the best case, you will get caught out in an interview and so look pretty stupid. In the worst case, you could get the job based on false information, get found out to be a liar later on and so sacked, humiliated and possibly blacklisted in your industry, therefore making it harder or even impossible to get another job.

It can be easy to get carried away when trying to sell yourself. You may think that embellishing the truth slightly will never be found out. It is easier to write such things down than to say them to someone face to face. The strong desire to ‘just get that interview’ can throw all morals out of the window, but by doing this, you are putting yourself in a difficult situation as you will have to talk about those embellishments at the interview and therefore lie to someone’s face and not get caught out.

Be true to yourself and others; start as you mean to go on. If you need to lie to get a job, then perhaps this isn’t the job for you. Look at what your CV is lacking, what do you want to lie about, and then go and make it real so that the next time you apply for that type of job, you can write only factual information down.

3. Poor formatting

Many people seem to want their CV to stand out so much that they use funky fonts or colors or trendy boxes with information inside. Trying to be overly creative can be a dangerous tactic as, unlike possibly the design industry, the finance industry values simple formatting. When they talk about people ‘standing out’, this is not what they refer to when looking for people to work for them.

If your paragraphs are all over the place with different spacing between them and different fonts and sized fonts all over the place, then this will look a mess to the reader. They will also wonder if you have copy and pasted some of the content and so question your credibility.

It is easy to keep the formatting simple. Times New Roman or Ariel font, font size 12 for the main body of the CV with a slightly larger font for your name if you wish. Consider printing it out before you send it off. Look at it. Are the spaces consistent? Can you see any obvious errors?

If you can, then the people you are sending it to most certainly will.

4. Employment gaps

If you have a gap in your CV, the hiring manager or recruiter will wonder why and often view it negatively. They will undoubtedly ask you about it during an interview.

It makes a lot of sense to write a one-liner explaining what you were doing during that time. It could be studying, contract work, freelance work, traveling, etc., but writing something is better than leaving it blank and perhaps leading them to put your CV on the reject pile.

5. Keeping details relevant

Most people have one CV and use it for every role that they apply for. What you should do is tailor your CV to the role that you are applying.

This is not embellishing the truth as we advised you against above, but instead, selecting accurate information to add to your duties and responsibilities relevant to the job. You won’t be able to write down everything you studied or everything you have gained experience in, so you pinpoint the ones that the hiring manager will find most interesting.

You can also look on the company’s website and see their code of conduct; what are the keywords that they use when describing what they look for in an employee on their recruitment pages? You can use some of these words in your CV to show how much of a match you are for the company. Just remember to tailor it when you apply for a different company.

Now that you know what not to do in your CV, don’t forget to brush up on your finance skills and revise the key roles in finance with our Career Buddy videos to help you crack that finance interview and take your career forward.

A degree in finance, economics, or accounting is a prerequisite for certain banking, asset management, or insurance industry jobs. These degrees demonstrate technical proficiency in skills such as financial modeling or derivatives valuation.

On their own, however, these degrees are less likely to demonstrate other skills required for success in almost any professional role, such as communication skills, problem-solving ability, and resilience.

Many people who do not have a related degree, want to enter the finance industry. Perhaps they are graduates with domain-specific knowledge such as computer science or maths and statistics. Maybe they are experienced professionals from a Human Resources or Marketing background that want to change industries.

Every bank or asset manager wants motivated employees with strong interpersonal skills coupled with outstanding communication abilities.

The following are five ways to demonstrate to potential employers that you possess the skills they desire in an employee and the passion necessary for a successful career in finance.

We created the list in order, from the easiest to achieve, both from a time and cost commitment perspective, to the hardest.

1. Learn the language

If you are passionate about a finance career, you need to go into interviews feeling comfortable using and applying the correct terminology. You should know the difference between a stock and a swap and what terms like DCF stand for.

Learning financial terms and concepts can be achieved by reading the financial press like The Financial Times or browsing the free resources found at Fmi.online.

2. Learn through simulations

Several websites—including Fmi.online—have simulations that allow you to learn through an experiential approach.

Some simulations allow you to construct portfolios (like the one in the Fmi Asset Management pathway), trade financial instruments (like the one in the Fmi Global Markets pathway), or be involved in the M&A industry (such as can be found in the Fmi Investment Banking pathway).

By stepping into the shoes of an asset manager, trader, or investment banker, you will better understand people’s unique challenges and pressures in these roles.

3. Maintain a Financial Blog

Starting and maintaining a blog on a finance-related topic is an impactful approach to communicate your interest and knowledge. Further linking these posts to appropriate social networks such as LinkedIn will, over time, create evidence of your passion for entering the industry.

You should especially consider this approach if you consider yourself to have superior communication skills coupled with a knack for personal branding and marketing. Be prepared however, for more of a longer-term commitment – a blog loses its impact if it goes dormant after a small handful of posts!

4. Find a mentor

A mentor can be anyone in a position of influence who thinks highly of your capabilities and is willing to help you achieve your goals.

At Fmi.online, we recognize the value in mentorship. Because of this, we are in the process of establishing a network of mentors specifically aimed at helping people break into the industry and get their dream job in finance.

However, don’t hesitate to approach a contact whom you think could help you in your job search.

5. Add to your existing qualifications

If you have a non-finance degree, studying for and earning finance-related qualifications demonstrate your commitment to the industry. Enrolling at university for a relevant undergraduate or postgraduate qualification is one option that requires a high degree of time and financial commitment.

The highest level of commitment would be to enrol in and complete an MBA. Many postgraduates go down this route since its substantial finance component serves to level the playing field between finance and non-finance graduates.

Signing up for an Fmi.online pathway is an alternative and cost-effective option, allowing you to study at your own pace. These pathways have been designed by leading experts with many years of delivering training to new joiners at some of the world’s biggest and most respected investment banks and asset managers.

If you achieve these steps then you will be much better prepared for the career path that you wish to follow rather than the one that your non finance degree may have led you into.

Many people new to the financial markets come across the terms market maker, dealer, and broker. Can these terms be used interchangeably? If not, what are the differences and the attributes needed to succeed in each of the roles?

The exact definition may depend on the company you work for or the region you are in to confuse things a little. US definitions differ a little from the UK, for example. Below we describe in general what these terms mean.

Dealers Vs Brokers & Broker Vs Market Maker: Know All About It

Brokers

A broker is a person who buys or sells assets for other people. A real estate agent as a broker for properties, for example.

In financial markets, a broker will send a client order to a market where it can be executed or finding the other party to the trade directly. A broker has little discretion in making decisions as their trades are mainly governed by the instructions they receive from clients.

A broker generally never buys or sells assets for themselves. They are instead the person bringing the buyer and seller together. For large deals, a broker may call several clients to find the other side of the trade. They may also split the order between clients and the exchange for assets such as equities. Brokers often provide value-added services to their clients, like data/research service and margin management services for derivatives.

A broker earns a commission from their clients, meaning the larger the trade value, the higher the compensation they receive.

Brokers have excellent communication, negotiation, and influencing skills and possess an in-depth understanding of their clients’ needs objectives. They can successfully manage multiple work streams at once. This requires attention to detail and strong decision-making abilities. A broker must give their clients assurance that they will always act with integrity and honesty, putting their interests before themselves.

Dealer

A financial markets dealer is an individual or financial institution willing to buy a security from a client at a quoted bid price or sell a security to a client at an ask, or offer, price. The terms “principal” and “dealer” can be used interchangeably. This means while a broker facilitates for clients, a dealer facilitates trades on behalf of itself.

A dealer earns their profit from the spread between the bid and asks the price. This bid-ask spread will be small for highly liquid markets such as the currency markets but more comprehensive for less liquid markets, such as credit derivatives.

Technology has impacted financial markets in recent years, with dealers being significantly affected. Increased technology requirements, industry consolidation, and the heightened regulatory environment have increased costs and squeezed profits. Some of these technology changes are discussed in Fmi’s Global Markets pathway.

Dealers need many of the same skills and attributes as brokers. Being a successful broker is all about building and maintaining relationships with clients, so exceptional interpersonal and networking skills are needed. Many IDBs also look for people with a second language, and for electronic inter-broking, it is critical people are comfortable with technology.

Market Makers

“What is a market maker?”. Market makers are very similar to dealers because they make money from quoting a bid and an offer and are typically large banks or financial institutions. While dealers usually operate in Over-the-Counter or OTC markets, a market maker generally stands in an exchange, a place where everyone trades against everyone. Being associated with an exchange means a market maker has more requirements to fulfil than a dealer. For example, the exchange may require a market maker to manage opening auctions, meet exchange depth and liquidity requirements, and keep their quotes in line with electronic trading.

A well-known example of market makers, or market-making is Designated Market Makers, or DMMs, that stand on the New York Stock Exchange or NYSE. As a DMM, firms must continuously provide a bid and an offer for stocks that trade on the exchange, usually for specific securities. In this way, market makers ensure there’s enough liquidity in the markets. Liquidity means there is enough volume of trading so trading can be done seamlessly.

If you are wondering “how to become a market maker?” then keep in mind that market making is very technology-driven. People working within these firms often require technology and highly developed quantitative skills. It is a faced and ever-changing environment, being heavily influenced by market conditions, so a level of adaptability and resilience will help people succeed.

Interdealer Brokers

Finally, Inter-dealer brokers or IDBs, are specialist firms that work within the over-the-counter derivatives and bond markets as intermediaries between traders at investment banks and other trading houses. IDBs operate in markets that do not have a market maker – a securities or assets dealer in securities who only buys or sells at specific prices. Fmi’s Global Markets pathway has an entire chapter on IBDs and how they execute trades for clients.

Progress towards gender equality in many industries remains slow. While focusing on corporate America, McKinsey’s Workplace 2020 report highlights the disparity experienced by women in workplaces globally. Additionally, the COVID pandemic in 2020 disproportionately impacted women, especially women of color, more than men. This impact was felt through disproportionately higher job losses for women and the additional stress working from home while simultaneously being primarily responsible for children attending their schools virtually.

Not all industries see the same levels of gender inequality. Women experience higher career success in areas such as medicine, academia, and law.

The finance industry has not kept pace. A further report in 2018 from McKinsey found that while male and females in finance begin their careers on equal footing, women only account for 19% of the positions that are classified as C-suite.

Here at Fmi, we want to take the opportunity that is International Women’s Day on March 8^th to highlight several inspirational women in the finance industry. We wanted our list to be eclectic and unique, with a diverse mix of women. Our challenge was selecting only five role models. All of us here at Fmi, hope this article reminds readers of the importance of gender equality and the benefits diversity as an ideal brings to organizations.

Mary Ma (1952 to 2019)

Going back in time a little, first on our list is Mary Ma, who passed in 2019 aged 66. She was one of the few college graduates during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. After impressing the founder of the computer giant Levono in the late 1980s, she served stints as its CFO, during which time Lenovo become the world’s third-largest computer maker.

After being highly successful at Lenovo, Mary Ma left to become the managing director of private-equity firm TPG Capital. There, she oversaw several hugely successful investments in companies such as Alibaba.

Mary Ma left TPG to start her own China-focused private equity firm, Boyu Capital, in 2011. China’s private equity market was and remains fast-growing, competitive, and lucrative. Ma’s fund went up against some of the most successful private equity firms globally, including Blackstone Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and her former employer, TPG Capital. As history proves, Ma’s financial acumen and insights underpinned Boyu Capital’s success.

Ma also served as an independent non-executive director of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. During her career, she was selected as one of the world’s most powerful businesswomen by Forbes and Fortune magazines.

Mary Ma will not be on everyone’s list of influential women in finance. However, her success in a turbulent time in Chinese history deserves recognition.

Christine Lagarde – President, European Central Bank

Christine Lagarde has blazed a trail for women during a distinguished career. In 1981 she joined the international law firm Baker & McKenzie in Paris, making partner in 1987, and became the executive committee’s first female member.

After a series of executive positions within the firm, Christine Lagarde became the first woman to serve as France’s finance minister in 2007. As France’s minister of economic affairs, industry, and employment, she was a top official in one of Europe’s largest economies.

In 2011 she was appointed as the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF has a 190 country membership. It aims to foster global monetary cooperation, promote financial stability, trade, economic growth, and employment.

In 2019, she left the IMF, after which she assumed the presidency of the European Central Bank. Chirtine Lagarde has often been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Abby Joseph Cohen – Economist and Financial Analyst, Goldman Sachs & Co.

From humble beginnings, Abby Joseph Cohen was born in Queens, New York, the daughter of emigrants from Poland. As one of the most influential economic analysts in the world, Abby Joseph Cohen is known throughout the financial industry for her bold calls on the U.S. stock market.

Abby Joseph Cohen is an advisory director and senior investment strategist at Goldman Sachs, one of Wall Street’s most revered institutions. Abby joined Goldman Sachs in 1990, was named partner in 1998. This was an incredibly important moment, as at the time very few women had senior roles in any Wall Street firm, especially one as revered as Goldman Sachs. She has since served on the firm’s partnership committee.

Abby Joseph Cohen ranks with Ben Bernanke, Warren Buffett , and Bill Gross on the list of financial voices to which every investor pays attention. She is often seen interviewed and asked for her opinion with the global financial press.

Many people consider Ms. Cohen’s formidable achievements in financial services are eclipsed by those in the philanthropic and community service areas.

Jane Fraser – CEO Citigroup

Jane Fraser was born in St Andrews, Scotland, and started her career as a mergers and acquisitions analyst at Goldman Sachs in London. After earning her MBA in 1994 from Harvard, she rose to partner in New York and London while raising her young children. She joined Citi in 2004 as Head of Client Strategy in its investment and global banking division.

In 2015, Jane Fraser became the first foreigner and the first woman to serve as CEO of Citigroup’s Latin American operations. That includes running Citibanamex, a colossal assignment, including oversight of an organization with more than 1,400 retail branches throughout Mexico and over 29 million retail banking consumers.

“If people have a whole life, it makes them far better leaders and far better professionals. You have to have the courage to say, ‘This is my path’ — and the organizations have to support it,” she explained in an interview with LinkedIn.

Fraser believes that having children brought her more down-to-earth and taught her some balance. “You learn that you can’t do everything at the level you are comfortable with,” she explains. “You learn to do things at 80%. That was a game-changer for me.”

In February 2021, she took over as CEO at Citi, becoming the first female CEO of a top-tier investment bank.

Naina Lal Kidwai – Chair of Altico Capital and Max Financial Services

Naina Lall Kidwai was born in 1957. Her passion lay in Mathematics and Accountancy, and so she pursued a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi. In 1982, she gained an MBA from Harvard Business School, becoming its first Indian woman graduate from that school. She is a qualified chartered accountant and was the first woman to guide a foreign bank’s functioning in India.

Currently the Chair of Max Financial Services, she also serves on executive boards of some of the most well known banks and corporations globally. Names like HSBC, Nestleand Altico Capital Partners, as well as being Chairwoman for the City of London’s Advisory Council for India. She is also a Global Advisor for Harvard Business School.

Naina Lal Kidwai has repeatedly featured in many well known publications lists of most influential business people, including Fortune magazine, the Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine . Kidwai’s passion projects include microfinance and livelihood creation for rural women and the environment.

Naina Lal Kidwai’s life journey is proof that hard work never goes unnoticed, and hard work fruits are sweet. For her praiseworthy work and her significant contribution to India’s banking and finance sector, Naina Lal Kidwai has been awarded Padma Shri.

All these powerful women have proved gender doesn’t prove that one is better at something over the other. Their inspirational career journeys are proof that finance is not only a place for men but women can be as successful. On this International Women’s Day, let’s support and encourage all the women in our lives to pursue their careers and dream big.

Often when thinking about investment banks, people will conjure up images of traders sitting behind a wall of screens, with a telephone in each ear, shouting across the dealing room to a colleague.

The reality is that with the advent of technology and changes in regulations, trading jobs have changed, and trading desks are not the flurry of activity people imagine. However, it remains a very desirable role within investment banking with large numbers of applicants.

To impress your interviewer, you need to make sure you know how trading desks in today’s banks work.

Types of trading desks

Most investment banks will divide their Global Markets division into two main areas. Equities deal with executing trades in the equity and equity derivatives markets, while Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities (FICC) deal in the markets not related to equities.

Banks will further separate FICC into its component trading desks of Fixed Income, Currencies, and Commodities, meaning most Global Markets divisions will have four main trading desks.

Since the Global Financial Crisis, traders have been unable to use the bank’s capital for trading, a practice known as proprietary trading. Today, traders are more likely to be market makers, acting as intermediaries bringing buyers and sellers together. Often through this process or to help facilitate this process, the trader will have to hold a quantity of the asset themselves. This means they have to manage and hedge the market and liquidity risk from owning the asset.

By market making, the trader will earn the difference between the bid, the price they buy the asset for, and the offer, which is the price they sell the asset for. This difference is the spread. The trader can also earn fees from the exchange or trading platform for providing much needed liquidity in the market.

(You can experience what it is like to be a market maker on a trading desk through the Fmi Market Making simulation).

Some trades act as ‘execution only’ traders, meaning they ensure a client’s trade executes as per their instructions. These trades are known as agency trades, as the trader is acting as an agent for their client, and simply following their instructions. This does not mean the trader is not making any decisions. For large trades, which many agency trades are, execution only traders still need to manage and time the trade by breaking down the order into smaller parcels.

Execution only traders will earn fees for executing their client’s trades.

The effect of automation

Many people looking for a career as a trader are concerned about the impact automation will have on trading now and in the future.

Trading desks operating in markets with a lot of liquidity have already become highly automated. A good example of this is cash equities, which is the buying and selling of shares as most people know it. The reason for this automation is that shares are simple products, there is a lot of buying and selling daily, so writing algorithms becomes a more straightforward task.

A quick Google search for ‘cash equities trading automation’ will yield many stories of global markets divisions drastically reducing the number of traders on these desks, or closing these desks completely.

However, not all products that trade in the financial markets are as easy to automate. Trading roles in less liquid markets with more complex products, such as many derivatives, are less likely to become obsolete due to technology.

Top five skills needed for being a trader

Quantitative and programming skills – Having analytical and mathematical skills are a given. However, many people applying for trading roles today have some kind of programming, data mining, or data science qualification for the reasons already discussed.

Focus – Remaining focussed over extended periods is crucial for trading roles. As a trader, you will need to process information quickly and react to changes before traders at other banks

Discipline – One of the biggest challenges for traders is to remove emotion from their decision-making process. Studies have shown how traders make different decisions immediately following either a successful trade or a trade that lost money.

Specialization – Successful traders develop a deep understanding of the market they trade, so the ability to continually learn and gain expertise in the market you are trading in is vital

Multi-tasking – Traders will have to follow multiple trades at any time, across various platforms, while managing risk and tracking their P&L. This necessitates the ability to multi-task.

What to expect at job interviews

Interviews for entry-level trading roles are designed to test your understanding of the financial markets, your analytical attributes, and your ability to deal with stressful situations.

To test your understanding of the markets, expect to be asked what you think a typical day on a trading desk looks like, what the differences between cash equities and equity derivative trading is, and what you know about that particular bank’s trading desk capabilities compared to its competitors.

You may be asked unexpected questions specifically designed to make you feel uncomfortable. The purpose of these questions is usually twofold. Firstly to see how you react under pressure and secondly to assess your analytical and problem-solving skills. An example question could be ‘How many petrol stations are there in the United Kingdom,’ or ‘How many pizzas are eaten in New York each year.’

Whatever career path you may be considering in the financial services industry, you will need to have the following skills to excel and be taken seriously.

1. Market awareness

Watch the financial news, know what’s happening in the markets, who is up and down, and why. Understand how something that is happening in the financial news will impact the area you are interested in. Read as much relevant information as you can and ensure you understand it. Practice discussing industry news with people.

Demonstrating market awareness

You will be tested on your knowledge, so be ready. You should feel very comfortable in your market knowledge and the company and desk you are applying for. Don’t ask any silly questions that can be found online easily but also don’t try too hard for a very technical question that may end up not making sense.

2. Analytical skills

If you have strong analytical skills, you will be able to draw conclusions from data. There are several opportunities within the industry to apply these skills in complex real-world scenarios. If you get excited by raw data rather than high-end figures which don’t give you the whole picture, then you will do well in finance. You will enjoy analyzing data and being able to provide your conclusions. You may have written essays or assignments which have been technical. If so, explain how you did it and what conclusions you came to. If you haven’t written anything numerical, then maybe you have observed behaviors or trends and made conclusions that way.

Demonstrating analytical skills

If you are interviewing for a graduate or internship position, then the likelihood of you taking an online test at application and then attending an assessment centre is very high. Your analytical skills will be tested here, so look online for examples and practice tests and ask your career advisors for help. Do lots of preparation beforehand.

3. Communication skills

As well as being analytical and numerate, you will also need to be able to explain technical ideas to people who don’t have the numbers skills that you do. You need to ensure that you can be highly technical with numbers but extremely communicative and engaging when speaking to clients and other colleagues. Whatever you are good at, you should try to improve in an area you are not so good at and so if you are the kind of person who is very technical and great with analysis but not great at chatting to people you don’t know, then put yourself out there to get some practice. Try getting a telemarketing job or volunteering for a role within the university, whereby you have to chat to people.

Demonstrating communciation skills

The first impression of your communication skills comes out in your application or CV. Ensure it has no spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Anything you write at the application stage should be clear, concise, and on topic. At the interview, be confident and friendly, use eye contact, and smile.

4. Keenness to learn

Roles in finance typically involve a lot of complex data analysis and information deciphering. To advise customers and be seen as an expert, you will need to have a continuous hunger to learn and acquire new and up to date knowledge.

Demonstrating a keenness to learn

Stand out by showing that you can and want to learn things outside of your day to day work, so for example, if you are a language student, then learn how to trade on the stock market and show your versatility.

With your keenness to learn, demonstrate how much you have learned about the company and ask intelligent questions, not questions that you could have found on the recruitment pages in your own time. Show passion for whatever you have done and are asked about, and also for the role that you are applying for.

5. Teamwork

Teamwork is key. You are not an individual trader but part of a group of likeminded people working together to service clients and make money for the company and its staff. Demonstrate how you have used these kinds of skills before through group projects that you have worked on; what role did you play? How did you help? What skills did you bring, and how did you involve others to get the best out of them?

Demonstrating teamwork

At the assessment centre there could be a group discussion whereby you will be observed along with everyone else. You will be given a task to solve as a group, but more important than solving it is the way that you communicate with the others. This is what you are really being assessed here.

Author: Rajul Raman