Seeking 'Breaking In' Advice - Calling All UK Monkeys - CANCELLED

cujo.cabbie:

UKUndergrad:

The UK has a much more structured recruiting process than the US, so networking has a lot less value at the graduate level - it can only supplement an app so having the vitals is important. I looked at the threads you've started before and you seem to be looking at recruitment as a raw numbers game where you're trying to find new places to apply to and new people to refer you - this is a bad strategy if you don't learn from prior mistakes. You got rejected from the Big 4... why? What did you change? They are obviously less competitive positions than the ones you are aiming for. I might be off the mark here but I suspect there is something more intrinsic to your application that is holding you back: poorly constructed CV, inappropriate cover letter, character/interview flaws, poor psychometric testing performance, lack of ECs/personality, on top of the obvious like stellar grades and work exp. Obviously having a gap in employment history is only going to compound the problem so you need to fix that - even charity work or something?

I'm still an undergrad myself but I would recommend addressing potential flaws in all areas of your application rather than focusing on improving your network.

Thank you for your constructive reply.

My issue is (and has always been) pre-interview. Once I get an interview I almost always convert (for non-banking jobs though) but I'm unsure why I'm not selected for banking interviews.

I initially thought my CV was an issue. I paid for a professional CV check/edit (two years running, different firms each time) before submitting anything. I also asked anyone in my network who worked in the industry, if they had a few mins, could they look over it. About 40% said yes and about 30% came back with feedback with changes (which I implemented before sending it out). About 15% of the people I know said it looks good and passed it over to HR (or so they claim). Once rejected, my network tell me to just keep applying/networking, I should be fine.

I admit initially I sent out very generic cover letters/competency answers but the next time (and the next time) I applied I tailored the application to the firm including names of people I spoke to/events I went to related to the bank. Again, I got these checked by people in industry, as well as my careers office before submitting.

What was left was 'failing the online tests'. I called up HR to see if I did fail the tests and they always said no (also you often are auto rejected within a week if you failed). I paid for some practice tests too for additional practice. Places like PwC let you download a report and I seem to be scoring very highly in the tests (and by now they are pretty easy!).

When I say all of this to people they don't believe me/scratch they head and shrug/say its competitive or something else generic.

I'm not saying my applications are still perfect but I'm failing to understand whats constantly going wrong when I'm trying everything I can to break in. I feel I've been pretty resilient and done my best to incorporate feedback/improve each time but now I'm really scratching my head...

Do you convert phone interviews consistently or just face-to-face for your non-banking experiences?

You sound like you have a great profile but I am getting interviews at the moment without having done lots of the stuff you have (and I attend a semi-target at best). Maybe you are lacking a brand name on your CV? I know you said you went to a target and I would have thought that combined with everything else would get you interviews, but have you ever applied for insight days, spring weeks etc., or even prestigious brands outside of banking? I've done insight days at a few BBs and a few prestigious consultancies and this combined with useful experience at no-name shops has served me quite well so far in the process.

There is also the possibility HR note the record of your past applications and rather than perceive your consistency as a show of passion, they just see the fact you've failed in the past and that makes you an easy rejection when faced with how many trillion applications they receive. If this is practiced I am not sure what you can do to counter it, except use a different email and variations of your name (Tom instead of Thomas) to make your applications harder to link?

youjustgotlittup:

IncapableChimp:

It could well be a case that your CV is simply not good enough no matter how many times you pay someone to fix it up for you. All they can do is improve formatting and describe your experience better, they can't actually improve your experience.

This. If you get rejected time after time it probably has nothing to do with the way your CV looks but with what's on it (or rather, what's not on it). It's not a fun thing to hear but probably your university is not prestigious enough or your GPA not high enough to break in. There's also a point of acceptance. Just accept it and go find another job you'd like to do. I really don't understand why all these kids thing banking is the only job worth doing.

My university is considered a target and I have the same GPA many of my friends had when breaking in (I meet the minimum requirements). I did find another job after I 'accepted it' but do not like it hence I'm still trying. If you have alternative career suggestions I'm all ears.

cujo.cabbie:

IncapableChimp:

The UK is incredibly competitive due to so many top quality candidates from all over Europe applying, many of whom speak at least 2+ languages fluently. It could well be a case that your CV is simply not good enough no matter how many times you pay someone to fix it up for you. All they can do is improve formatting and describe your experience better, they can't actually improve your experience.

Then how do I make it good enough...?
Also plenty of English speaking students break in so I feel the language thing only applies to regional teams.
Also I have seen a good number of people with 2:2s and little/no finance (or industry) experience break in so it can't be 'that' competitive.

Get better experience, higher grades, better extracurriculars etc. It's pretty obvious. Plenty do, but these are incredibly high calibre students who are normally placed into product / UK coverage teams. Pan-European industry coverage teams (at least the BB I interned at) were dominated by non-native English speakers as they brought extra language capabilities while being on par with British students.

It really sounds like you're focusing far too much on having a 2:1 from a target. 1,000s of applicants have 2:1s or their equivalents from targets, it really means nothings. It's just a tick the box criteria. What about your experience / extracurriculars?

Possibly for back office positions but I'm calling bullshit on 2:2s getting into front office positions with no experience. Even for back office positions I'd be very sceptical of that. When I did my BO Summer Analyst position in a UK&I regional hub all interns have a 2:1 average, several had just finished their undergrad and 5 had just finished MSc Fin in a target. Unless daddy is a major client of the bank, you're not getting in with a 2:2 and no experience. Plenty of students break-in without having to pay someone to edit their CV repeatedly. It's not your CV format / wording that is problem, it's the experience on your CV. You can't pay someone to improve that. It's incredibly competitive, simple as. You couldn't get into the Big 4 (not shitting on them) and couldn't be placed by a recruitment firm, there is something fundamentally wrong with your CV. Best bet would be to do a MSc Finance in a target in London and network like a dog.