Transaction experience in London – What are my chances?
Dear fellow monkeys.
I would like to ask your advice to hopefully get some clarity around my chances of making a career transition to London, where I can get transaction and valuation experience.
I am from a Scandinavian country (Norway, Sweden, Denmark), have a M.Sc in Economics, passed all levels of the CFA, and I have combined 4 years of Australian banking experience. The bank was Australian based, but international exposed and the roles where from the back and middle office both as Analyst. The middle office role was a good gig, but I unfortunately do not have work experience with valuation or financial analysis. Hence, I have spent around 12 months of working on financial modelling and analysis provided online, so I got a decent grasp on DCFs, multiples, accounting, etc from this.
I ended up quitting my job and return to Europe, as I wanted to be closer to home again. I have now been looking for relevant work in my native country for 6 months, but found the market here to be a bit soft and shallow. I am getting some interest here, but it is still a bit slow and after 6 months I am definitely ready to go back to work.
My question is therefore, what are my chances to get an offer from London for an Analyst role with decent transaction exposure, while applying from Scandinavia? I am here thinking particular about Leveraged Finance / M&A, but also broader for roles with valuation exposure in the financial sector. How are applicants outside the UK viewed? How is the market in general for this work at the moment? Is it too late for me to break in? (I am turning 31 in a month). Is there some way I can raise my profile to increase my chances? Should I consider other industries/sectors/roles?
Your thoughts?