IB in Europe

In Europe/London, is it possibile to get into IB straight after bachelor? 
I know that on Wall Street most analysts start to work just after their undergrad. Does this apply also in Europe, or an Msc can be considered as mandatory?

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My 2 cents. I feel like that's where UK and European unis differ the most. A UK bachelor from a target might be enough to get your foot in the door; a bit tougher if coming from Continental Europe (unless you go through the spring week route) given that you would be competing with MSc students with better CVs, prior internships etc.

Also, take into account that some (if not most) banks have quotas based on nationality rather than universities (i.e. 10 places for french speakers vs. 10 places for HEC). So let's say for example that you're an Italian studying in the UK, you might be in the same pool vs. Bocconi graduates with 3 internships and so on

So to recap, is it double? Of course, many people did it. Is it tougher if coming from Continental Europe? Most likely.

 

Wrong… in top BB/EB I was always the only one with a Bachelors (or we were 2 max) EVEN in spring weeks. You have to je in mind that everyone from top French, Dutch, Deutsch, Italian, Spanish etc schools mostly want to go to London, and they all have a masters. Just chose our SA in my team so I saw all the CV passing by: 100% masters holders. In my previous intern class? Only masters. Analysts pool? Mostly masters.

 

aight so this is probably for some dog shit bank. Every spring week or analyst class is mostly uk kids that are undergrads. Have the exact recruiting picture for incoming springers/SAs at top BBs and EBs in London and you are seriously retarded if u don't think British undergrads are the overwhelming majority.

 

Did UG in the US, couldn't find an IB gig locally (West coast), recruited in continental Europe (because London was already full), and got placed in NYC. The EU countries I wanted to be based in wouldn't take me on because the Masters was missing. They felt a bachelors wasn't good enough in comparison to the other applicants.


Eventually did my Masters afterwards after I started working.

 

Yes, it was IB and also FLDP, with a bachelors. No internships or anything, and out of unemployment with no previous finance work experience.
But, I wouldn't recommend doing what I did, it was a huge issue back then and not a straightforward process.

London was my first pick, but I was located in Los Angeles and had the disadvantage of distance and no networking, also didn't know anyone. Plus, London recruitment was full within the first week. Like, everyone wanted to work in London.

European banks didn't want me on their own roster because their hiring profile back then was different, and everyone who did study in their countries had either a Masters or a comparable local degree (so two years more of education, at minimum. there were even PhDs in my application rounds).

I ended up in NYC and it all worked out, but only through a diversion through a European recruitment cycle.

It wasn't easy.

 

In my experience, the key to land a full-time offer in Europe is the Summer Analyst programme which in turn requires that you get invited to the interviews.

CVs usually benchmark against other applicants if the applicant (I) is studying in the penultimate year at a target university with good grades and (II) for continental European candidates, has at least one highly relevant internship, e.g. Audit / Transaction Advisory Services at Big 4, M&A at tier 2 bank / boutique.

Biggest problem for Continental European candidates is the relevant internship as most only complete these internships towards the end of the undergrad and, hence, are in their masters / gap year before masters when they get the offer from the BB.

If you land the relevant internship after Year 1 in Undergrad, you can easily get into a BB after Year 2 and start after Year 3.

For Brits, having Oxbridge (plus the other usual suspects) on the CV is usually enough to land the Summer Analyst role.

 

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