WallStreetOasis.com » Forums » Industry Specific » I-Banking Bullpen

US to UK

I was wondering if any of the posters here from the U.S. had any experience applying for London finance positions. I will be applying for summer internships next year, and would love to work in England. What difficulties would I face? Visas? Priority towards English/EU citizens?

No votes yet

An American friend of mine

An American friend of mine is doing his SA at a BB in London. He applied there during his study abroad in the UK at a top target. Visa seems to be a non-issue. The only question is whether the bank will be willing to fly you over to London for an interview, when it is really easy for them to just tell you to apply to the NY office instead.

They have no problem flying people in from Europe/Middle East/Africa/Russia, but not sure how it would work with a yank who studies in the US.

they will fly you out if w/o

they will fly you out if w/o question, if they are interested

I've seen plenty of kids

I've seen plenty of kids flown over. (I'm based in the UK, not American).
The bank may get you to interview in NY first and may fly you over just for the superday, but it varies.
More and more American grads are coming to London so you won't be a novelty. All banks should have an appropriate system in place.
Tip: get in touch with more senior Americans in the London office. They are usually unashamedly keen to push for fellow Yanks.

transatlantic's picture

I second all of the above

I second all of the above comments... visa isn't a problem, they'll fly you over if they want you, and definitely contact senior Americans already in London.

The good news for you is that most London offices are genuinely interested in hiring Americans (as opposed to NY offices hiring foreigners). In recent years, a few London banks have sent recruiting teams on tours of US targets during fall recruiting. JPM is particularly active in this respect, visiting over a dozen US schools last October. Don't know about internship recruiting though.

"...most London offices are

"...most London offices are genuinely interested in hiring Americans (as opposed to NY offices hiring foreigners)."

Could you clarify what you mean here? NY offices are more interested in hiring foreigners than they are in hiring Americans? Or the prevailing attitude in NY offices is a preference to not hire foreigners?

UK is a more international

UK is a more international city, all sort from all parts of the globe work iin UK BAnks

I have seen countless US Citizens... even though more so at US Banks

There was a "leak" printed in the UK press when Moody's Rating agency were called before top government official to discuss the credit crises

one senior Govt official said something along the line of.... "these foreigners" (refering to the french people)

transatlantic's picture

clarification

nauru wrote:

"...most London offices are genuinely interested in hiring Americans (as opposed to NY offices hiring foreigners)."

Could you clarify what you mean here? NY offices are more interested in hiring foreigners than they are in hiring Americans? Or the prevailing attitude in NY offices is a preference to not hire foreigners?

1. Most London offices are genuinely interested in hiring Americans. 2. Most NY offices are not very interested in hiring foreigners. Indeed, some NY offices don't hire foreigners at all.

User login

Invite a friend

Recommend WallStreetOasis.com to:

Poll

What will be the next institution to go?
Goldman
0%
Morgan
0%
UBS
57%
Deutsche Bank
0%
We're done with failures
43%
Other
0%
Total votes: 7