SA U.K. Recruiting as a Canadian
I’m a Canadian and don’t have UK citizenship, so I was wondering whether the Youth Mobility Scheme is a practical route for completing internships in London, what the typical calibre of candidates looks like, and how difficult it typically is for Canadians to land interviews.
Would also really appreciate any tips from Canadians who have successfully recruited for London and whether there’s anything I should be doing differently compared with recruiting in Canada.
I mean EU students get SA in London all the time and there is no specific visa for them. I'm not 100% sure what visa they use. So you can technically use YMS but I don't think you have to... Using YMS though may allow you to access banks that don't sponsor so that's one advantage.
As for competition, it is extremely high for international students. Most EU students have masters in finance and multiple IB/relevant internships before doing an SA at a decent bank. The quality of candidates coming from outside the UK is a lot higher than inside the UK and so your competition is much higher if coming from outside. (This is obviously more relevant if applying for banks that sponsor. The banks that don't sponsor, competition is less, but still very, intense. I would not think of London as any less competitive than NY tbh).
There is very little concept of networking in London. While you can definitely talk to people beforehand, you're probably not going to get a referral and the most useful thing you'll get is the ability to add their name to your cover letter/use it in your motivational answers. This makes applications more random. You cannot "American dream" your way into a London SA.
Very helpful, thank you! One more question, if I was able to get IB or PE internships at Canadian firms, such as the Big 5 banks or the Canadian pensions, are those experiences commonly recognized by recruiters in the UK?
Nah Canadian firms aren't. We consider Canada to be far too polite which means Canadian interns are often never told when they're wrong and pick up bad habits which are hard to break from---
Seriously...Dude ofc they're "recognised" haha, why wouldn't they be? These are global firms with offices in London. This is not some firm in a third world country.
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