IB path in the UK (London) for an undergrad at a top target?
Will be starting E&M at oxford this fall. what are tips and things i should know over the next 3-4 years to shift the odds as much in my favour as i can? for example: what exactly are spring weeks and how do i use them? when, for what roles, and where do i apply for my first internship? how do you even get an internship with nothing on your cv? what skills should i pick up (coding, excel, modeling etc)? and just generally a general overview of how i should be approaching this through uni.
main reason i'm a little worried is because oxford isn't really known for being as career driven as say an LSE, and i've heard that the academic rigor and general environment can sometimes make it easy to get distracted from the IB application process.
Hi,
Congratulations on getting your offer - tremendous achievement.
Great questions. In a nutshell, approach the applications very seriously, and treat it with (at least) as much importance as your actual academic work. For Oxford in particular, do NOT get complacent - you're absolutely at a top target university, but you will be competing with highly motivated and extremely smart and well-researched students at other top universities.
Some ideas below for how to approach this.
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1) Be involved in finance / econmics-related societies and attend their events, particularly career-related. I can't comment on specific societies at Oxford of course (I didn't go there), but you can research in advance and they'll be pretty obvious in fresher's week.
2) Do a Spring Week. To answer your question, these are basically mini-internships (but no real work - just more like guided insight weeks). Apply early and apply broadly. Get advice from people in societies. Don't faff about, get your CV sorted and send those applications out rather than hesitate. You should be applying to investment banks if that's your target career path, and all of the major banks run spring week. We all get the joke that you don't have any real experience on your CV, but make sure to dress it up with everything else here (+ maybe something creative like volunteering or a side hustle).
3) Get a role / leadership position in a society, or found one (probably more a Year 2 than Year 1 thing), but in your first year there'll be elections towards the end of the year so be aware of those.
4) Network A LOT - in the UK this isn't a "must-have" for applications, but it's certainly additive. Your mission franky is references and name-drops I'm afraid. But if you have genuine questions about the industry ask them. People love original questions (and talking about themselves). Try to find people who you have something in common with (same hometown, university, course, etc.) and be personal.
5) Maybe look at courses to brush up your technicals to prepare for interviews, but you can self-learn these. As far as courses go maybe look at BIWS or WSO - not a formal course as such, but something to educate and prepare you for assessment centres, and indicate some interest in the sector.
6) Find some extra-curricular (ideally, relevant) activities for yor CV.
7) Some of the societies I mentioned above run investment or stock-pitching programs. It's been a while since I graduated so, honestly, I don't know how these work, but I see them increasingly on CVs.
8) You probably stand a good chance with Consulting so do explore this too
I probably forgot some things so hopefully others add.
thank you so much for this reply, i've found it difficult to find advice for absolute rookies.
do you think i should try and learn a language? i've heard being a fluent speaker in french particularly is helpful at several banks. same for coding, excel etc (even if i'm not looking at quant necessarily).
and should i be looking for real work experience (maybe as a result of the spring week?) in my first year or is it more of a year 2 thing.
and finally, (sorry i realize these are a lot of questions) if i can't find super relevant internships or whatever this summer and the next, would it be worth doing an internship at a very small Wealth Management/Asset Management Fund where i have family connections?
Learning a language is definitely a nice to have, but it's hugely time-consuming. In IB, your language skills will be assessed in a very binary way. Either you're fluent, or not. "Intermediate French" isn't helpful (I mean, it doesn't hurt, but it isn't going to move the needle for your applications). Longer term of course, it helps a bunch.
I'd learn XLS only in terms of tech skills. Nobody in IB at least to my knowledge uses anything more complicated (I know a little VBA and it occasionally comes in handy, but only very occasionally). Spend that time working on your true interview technicals and knowing how a DCF works, etc.
The path is usually Sping Week in year 1, which hopefully converts into a Summer Analayst position (as in, an 8 - 10 week employed role at an IB over the summer between second and third year - if you don't have an offer on the back of your Spring Week, then you'd be applying in Summer / Autumn 2026), and then hopefully that Summer Analyst role converts into a full time job offer. If you can find an Internship / Summer Analyst role between years 1 and 2 that's amazing, but it's hard unless you have good connections or are from a country where that is more normal.
Absolutely it would be worth doing a less relevant internship rather than none at all.
You're in a great position as an incoming Oxford E&M student—London IB recruiting is highly accessible from your background, but success depends on proactive planning. Here's how to approach it:
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1. Understand the IB Timeline
Year 1 (Michaelmas & Hilary terms): Apply for Spring Weeks, which are short insight programs over Easter break. These are critical—they often lead to fast-tracked interviews for summer internships.
Year 2: Apply early (July–Sept) for Summer Internships (the main pipeline to full-time offers).
Year 3: Either secure a return offer from your summer or apply for off-cycle/full-time roles.
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2. Build a Competitive Profile Early
CV Building (Year 1):
Join finance societies (e.g., Oxford Finance Society, student-run funds).
Consider relevant part-time roles or volunteering with budgeting/project responsibilities.
Anything shows drive—retail jobs, online courses (Excel/PowerPoint), competitions (e.g. AmplifyMe, WFS).
Skills to Develop:
Excel and PowerPoint are must-haves.
Learn basic financial modeling and accounting (Coursera, YouTube, WSO resources).
Coding (Python, VBA) is a bonus, not a requirement.
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3. Application Strategy & Networking
Apply early—many firms recruit on a rolling basis.
Networking isn’t make-or-break in London, but it helps—reach out to alumni, attend firm events, stay active in finance societies.
Practice for aptitude tests (used widely in UK IB recruiting).
Prepare for behavioral and competency-based interviews (strengths/weaknesses, teamwork, why IB, etc.).
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4. Managing Oxford's Environment
Yes, Oxford can feel less career-focused than LSE or Warwick, but plenty of students break into IB from there.
The key is discipline and early planning—don’t wait until second year to start thinking about careers.
Use long vacations for self-study, internships, or side projects.
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Summary
Start early with Spring Week applications and use them to pivot into a summer internship in Year 2. Balance Oxford academics with steady career prep, and focus on tangible skills like Excel and accounting basics. Join societies, stay organized, and treat each year as a stepping stone.
wow this is exactly what i was looking for, thanks. just copy pasting some questions i asked the other person who replied above:
do you think i should try and learn a language? i've heard being a fluent speaker in french particularly is helpful at several banks. same for coding, excel etc (even if i'm not looking at quant necessarily).
should i be looking for real work experience (maybe as a result of the spring week?) in my first year or is it more of a year 2 thing.
and if i can't find super relevant internships or whatever this summer (before my first year) or next summer (the summer of my first year), would it be worth doing an internship at a very small Wealth Management/Asset Management Fund where i have family connections?
NGL my entire response is pure chatGPT with no input from me. Was curious whether it would produce a sufficient answer. Case closed I guess. Tempted to do the same with your Qs but I won't.
Start getting your CV/CLs, interview answers down now (plenty of time) so when you start university, you don't fall behind with University work/socialising.
I'd like to echo that for networking part, it's particularly helpful to answer cookie cutter questions like why firm why division, but certainly not for CV pushed since HR holds significant power here and recruiting process is super super random
Aim to get into Oxford alpha fund - it has the best placements out of any student society in europe
most major buyside /prop trading shops are represented and sponsors them (IB asw ofc)
^ Second trying to join OAF. They run a bootcamp that will be useful for gaining essential skills in finance and meeting motivated and hardworking peers.
industry became so competitive that even an Oxford student needs to grind for those roles, which was unheard of decades ago
Please search '20 London Questions FAQ WSO' in Google. That pretty much sums up everything you need to know. Once you have done that, read the LSE BIG guides.
oh my god the LSE BIG guides are so helpful, i just looked them up, that's EXACTLY what i was looking for. thank you.
Echo what most of the above commenters said that 90% of it is just having a good CV and applying early. Use the WSO CV template, prepare your cover letters in advance and check the Trackr every day and just apply immediately whenever something opens.
You should also enjoy your time in Oxford and make connections with as many people as you can. This means meeting people outside of the immediate corporate/finance circles.
In a few decades, many of the people you meet will be very powerful in the country and leaders of their own respective fields (both within and outside of the corporate world). You have three years in arguably the best place in the UK to form these long-lasting relationships early. If you make MD one day, you will be able to leverage all of this.
I recommend Bridge, Atik (not sure if it's shut down now), or Bullingdon for nights out. Turf Tavern is a great place too. Avoid Oxford Union politics, but attend their events to network and make friends.
i 100% plan to be socializing and networking a lot at oxford. i've heard my course in particular is considered to be less academically rigorous (relatively obviously) which opens up a lot of time for networking and building those connections. thanks for the tips, i plan to go out and put myself out there as much as i can.
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