The Finance Blog - An Introduction to the Team

Introduction to the Finance Sector

Every year, several hundreds of our Business School students are looking to join the Finance Sector post-graduation and you may be one of them! The Finance Sector team, which is part of the Careers Department, is here to help you successfully go through one of the most competitive recruitment processes. Luke, Sophie and I will support you through the year to navigate, research, apply and prepare to enter this fast-moving market. Anita, Our Employers Relationship Manager manages the Business School’s relationship with Finance and Fintech employers. Her role is to connect students and employers, and to provide insight into the world of Finance through employer and student led events.

Our key Team messages are:

1. Don’t hold back on your efforts when looking for a job in Finance
2. Always include a plan B and C in case you do not get the job you had in mind
3. Networking is your best option to position yourself for competitive roles
4. Never get tired of upskilling your finance skills and reading financial news as Commercial Awareness is one of the top skills that finance employers are looking for in candidates!

How do we support you?

As the recruitment deadlines for Finance graduate and internships programmes start earlier every year, applications will start to open from this July, so we focus a lot of our support during Autumn Term.

Our flagship events, called Finance Super Saturdays, are run at the beginning of September (4th and 11th of September this year 2021) and presented by professionals from the industry. These 2 days, covering Careers on the Buy and Sell sides, will give you an amazing overview of the Finance world and help you discover which areas would be more suitable for your profile – registration opens in August.

At the beginning of October, we run our MSc Finance Careers Week, this is when we invite employers and professionals across the Finance Industry to give you a more specific taste into the kind of role, responsibility, and type of employers you may be interested in. For example, last year Moody’s Investors Service gave a workshop on credit rating, Bloomberg offered skills-based sessions, and we also ran a Women in Finance Panel inviting key female leaders in the Finance industry.

During Spring term, you will get the chance to join activities which aim at opening your career prospects such as the Alternative Careers in Finance panel and increasing your networking efforts with the Alumni Spotlight sessions and Panels.

We also be offering the continuous support through the year, especially on topics related to Finance Technical Interviews through Webinars and small group sessions for example.

Some things to think about if you are considering the Finance Sector:

• What do I really know about this specific area/role in Finance and who could I talk to investigate if this area/role is really for me? – think about reaching out to our Alumni Community.
• What are my finance skills and knowledge and especially my gaps? – consider taking on specialised courses like Wall Street Prep.
• What can I learn between now and September to upskill myself and be more competitive? – Technical skills and strong commercial awareness are in high demands for most finance related positions.
• What Plan B or C could I consider as an alternative or as a steppingstone toward my career goals? – think about other departments, roles, and employers.
• What other activities (extracurricular, students club, leadership role) can I consider during my programme to make my profile more competitive? – Employers are putting a lot of emphasis on team working and leadership skills that are often developed outside of the curriculum.
• What kind of position would be most relevant to your profile and what are the recruitment deadlines and processes? – consider between an internship, an experienced / direct hire role or a structured program.
• What do you know and more importantly, what don’t you know about your target companies? – think outside the box, do not rely only on company’s websites.