How important are academic results?
Academic results are crucial. Banks favour students in the top 10th percentile,
although Elizabeth Ong, head of HR at Deutsche Bank says outstanding achievements in other social, day-trading, sporting or community activities can open opportunities for people in the 10-20th percentile. Any lower than that and your chances are extremely limited.
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Do I need a maths or business degree?
“No,” says Deutsche Bank’s Ong, “We take students from all disciplines.”
“No,” says Gordon Kir, head of Asia Pacific campus recruitment at Credit Suisse, “We look at all majors and do not only focus on math/business degrees. Hiring grads from various backgrounds helps to add diversity in the workplace, so you will find many different concentrations in banking, ranging from engineering/hard sciences to liberal arts/economics.”
But Cleo Higgins, HR manager at Rothschild’s says a mathematics degree helps, especially when combined with accounting: “Accountants always hit the ground running here: they have an understanding of modeling because of the intense work they have done on spreadsheets and profit and loss. Many of our people have accountancy backgrounds, and we actively look for chartered accountants to fill positions.”
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Do banks recruit post-graduates?
Appointments are generally made from graduating students, although MBAs will always be considered. Postgraduate work that is specifically finance-related will interest banks, particularly in fields such as engineering, law and business. Kir at Credit Suisse says maths and science graduates are also in demand. An MBA increases your chances of a job, particularly at more senior levels – associate and above. Morgan Stanley’s head of graduate recruiting Andrew Le Lievre, says MBA graduates are very valuable commodities in investment banking and are often taken on with big sign-on bonuses (US$40-50k).
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I haven’t done an internship, do I still stand a chance?
“Yes,” says Cleo Higgins at Rothschild. “There are not enough internships to fill all banking vacancies so anyone has a chance.” But it seems to depend once again, on the bank. Emilie Everett, head of graduate recruitment at UBS says the bank commonly fills half its graduate requirements from internships, and Elizabeth Ong at Deutsche Bank says the bank can fill all its positions from people who did internships, although in any given year, there might be graduates joining who did not do an internship.
Kir at Credit Suisse says an internship, or related work experience, always helps but is not an absolute necessity. “If your CV displays a strong educational background, extra-curricular activities and general work experience, that will also be looked upon positively,” he says.
Got a Question?
Can I apply for several positions in the same bank?
In general you can apply for one internship or one graduate entry at any bank.
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Can I apply if I live outside Australia and do I need a work permit?
Australian immigration regulations require that people applying for permanent positions have permanent residency status. See www.immi.gov.au for more details.
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What are your best interview tips?
In the interview process, be neither too timid nor too
bossy and make sure you include all members of the team in role-plays. Don’t try to hide weaknesses instead of admitting them: let someone else’s strengths prevail.
At this level, says Morgan Stanley’s Le Lievre, banks are looking for two things: commitment to the firm, and a combination of leadership and teamwork. Try a few role-plays with other students, and have people watching prepared to be remorseless in their analysis. If this is the career you want, prepare for it.
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Can I take a gap year?
Not a good idea. According to Goldman Sachs JBWere, taking a gap year is seen as a commitment to rest and recreation rather than powering on with your
career. It also puts another year of graduates into competition with you and,
unless you spend the year doing internships in related companies, studying
the market or trading, it will put you behind them. That said, banks will still consider you after such a break, but if it is longer than 12 months, your chances of even getting a
look-in are slight.
Got a Question?
If I am offered a job, where will I be based and when will I have to start?
While global banks operating in Australia, such as UBS, Credit Suisse, HSBC, JP
Morgan, Deutsche or Morgan Stanley, might offer you a job in Hong Kong, Tokyo or
London, it is probable that the position will be in Sydney. As the Australian
academic year ends in November, job offers are issued over the summer and
graduates begin work in February.
Got a Question?
What’s an exploding offer and how do I handle one?
An exploding offer is one that expires after a relatively short period of time. Most banks require you to respond to a job offer quickly. But
according to Morgan Stanley’s Le Lievre, banks are finding that it is in no
one’s interest for graduates to accept jobs they don’t really want, or
subsequently resent because they accepted an exploding offer.
Emilie Everett at UBS, says graduates should be wary of any institution that tries to rush them into accepting an offer. “Graduates should be able to complete the recruitment process with as many banks as possible so they get the best idea of which bank they want to start with. It is respectful to the student.”
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What career opportunities are there?
The opportunities are brilliant. Banking is an industry where people move around a lot and get poached by other firms. According to Le Lievre, most Morgan Stanley graduates who leave do so “because other banks offer them fabulous opportunities”.
Every bank in Australia has vacancies and, since Australia is a net exporter of
bankers, local branches compete for people to come and to stay, so job offers
are abundant and generous, for anyone with a few year’s experience.
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What about work-life balance ?
Banking hours are seen as killing, although some areas are better than others, and Australia is generally seen as better than the US or Europe for letting people have a life. There are several reasons for this, not least the fact that banks in Australia know that many of their brightest people will be lured overseas. The promise of a better work-life balance in Australia is one of the big draws to keep them.
But hours are still an issue. Gordon Kir at Credit Suisse says normal working hours for an investment bank are generally 9-6pm, but 12-16 hours a day is more usual. Sales and Trading staff are very much dictated by the markets that they cover while investment banking staff are based on deals/projects. “It takes huge commitment,” says Kir.
”It’s a pressure cooker,” says Morgan Stanley’s Le Lievre.
Got a Question?
If I start in a back office role, what chance is there of moving to the front office?
This very much depends on how big the bank is.
Very small ones with a specific function, such as Rothschild (which specialises only in M&A and Capital Markets) or Calliburn or Carnegie Wylie do not move people from back to front office jobs. It is a somewhat different story at the big globals. At Credit Suisse, for instance, many front office bankers start their career in other functions such as product control, risk management, operations and IT. “Although these departments do not always have formal training/onboarding programs,” says the bank’s Gordon Kir, “they do take grads into entry level positions every year and chances for mobility are good.”
But Elizabeth Ong at Deutsche indicates that it is not an easy transition. “We encourage all candidates to determine where they want to be, then put all effort into getting into that particular division. The thought that you can get a role in the support functions then move in a year’s time into a revenue-generating role is not likely. There are some exceptional examples when this has happened although it is not an easy path.”
Got a Question?
I haven’t got a place on a graduate program, is there another way in?
Gordon Kir says graduate programs are a sure way into an investment bank but most definitely not the only path. “Recruiting will tend to happen all year round due to changes in hiring needs, so opportunities to join are not necessarily limited to the official program.” But again it depends on the bank.
Rothschild in Australia does not at present have a graduate training program, so not having been on one is no bar to employment, although the bank’s HR manager Cleo Higgins says experience of some kind is always preferable. She says that the bigger the bank, the more likely it is that you will be disadvantaged by not having been on such a program.
Elizabeth Ong, at Deutsche Bank says: “If you don't get in on the graduate program, you can always apply to us as a lateral hire, however, we tend to only hire candidates who have experience through this channel. The graduate program is the only entry level opportunity when you are fresh out of Uni.”
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