Student looking for a path into Investment Banking
Hi All,
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. Thanks for taking the time to read this, I will try to be as brief as possible in order to not waste your time. All input is much appreciated.
For a long time I have been interested in investment banking as a career path and I am posting this in the hope that you guys will be able to advise me on things I can be doing now that will be able to offer advice on what I can do to become a better potential candidate for banks in the future.
A little bit about myself:
- 17 years of age, I am in my penultimate year of school.
- Studying Maths, Further Maths & Economics at A-Level. Hoping to achieve 3 A*’s
- Going to study Economics at university (Or economics and management if I get accepted into Oxford.)
- I try to read the WSJ cover to cover every day
- Keen reader, love to read around finance.
- Currently, I work as a web developer and consultant, I contract my services out to large multinational PLC’s. I currently am working with a recruitment firm to develop a bespoke web system.
- Was involved in politics for a period of time, running local campaigns during the 2015 general election. Unpaid.
I would be immensely grateful for any general tips for getting into investment banking.
I have made a list of questions below, if you feel you could answer any questions, please do!
- What things can I be doing now to help strengthen my CV?
- What books might you recommend to me?
- To what extent do mentors exist in the industry? How can I find one? When should I look for one?
- Realistically, how hard is it to get an offer at a BB?
- Is there any point at networking at my age? I was interested in attending a WSO event, would I be told to go away?
- Would it be cheeky to give out my LinkedIn?
Thank you for taking the time to read this thread.
Oops - one last question I forgot to ask:
Will my current job help me or hinder me in my application? Should it play a big part in my CV?
We're similar. Unlike you, I never studied, but did well in high school finals. Where I live, I am in a semi-target UK based University in Dubai but globally mediocre one. I am dreaming of transferring to UK or Canada after 3rd year. Any scope over there brother? Do they give scholarships to international students?
Doh. I also forgot to mention I am in the UK!
First off, you should start by changing your name and picture to something that isn't you.
Thank you.
he is right, you wouldn't believe how small the IB world is
Thank you, I wasn't aware that this is what people did here. Looking back it should have been obvious.
Second, be yourself. No need to say you do things that you don't in an attempt to impress people (ie. read the WSJ cover to cover...)
Hehee, I can show you the pile of printouts on my floor.
Every morning I wake up at 6, iron a shirt for the day, make a coffee, download the pdf and print it off, read it and I'm out the door for 08:00.
I genuinely enjoy reading it, although I admittedly skip life & arts section usually. Although you are probably right in pointing out it's not impressive or too believable.
Just don't let that become the refrain for your life. Study hard, crush your exams, get into the best university that you can, and don't forget life & arts & fun or you're headed for an early burnout.
Thank you, though. I shall take that advice on board.
Also, if somebody wanted to share their personal reading list with me I would be interested to see it.
For now, aim to nail your A levels and get into a target uni. Also, apply for A level insight days/weeks at banks so you have a good chance for spring week applications.
Thank you! I have applied to a few insight days prior to this post.
To the extent that you know someone (friend of a friend), mentors can be a big help through guidance and pointers and establishing a knowledge base that makes you sound like an insider
Fantastic, should I start looking to reach out to people? How receptive do people in finance tend to be to this sort of thing? I know my step mum is friends with an ex MD at Goldman. Might that help?
Also, is it too early to reach out now?
Don't reach out now, you're still in high school. Just focus on getting as high marks as you can and learn about finance on your own time. Your priority right now should be getting into the best university possible. Then focus on learning finance and making connections
Thank you for your advice.
Some good reads for you: - Barbarians at the Gate (Bryan Burrough) - What They Don't Teach you at Harvard Business School (Mark McCormack) - Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street (John Rolfe)
Heya! Well I am also going to major in Economics and Finance and have an offer from a strong semi target ( think Bristol/Notts, i couldnt get into target uni to do economics as i am from non traditional background). Well i research a lot about investment banking and try to go through WSJ cover by cover and also spend my time reading bloomberg. Well i would suggest you to start reading the intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham and also i found securities analysis a good one. I also loved More Money Than God which is kind of a history about hedge funds and all that good stuff and also I am planning to read liar's poker which kind of seems a good one.
LinkedIn was super flop for me. It maybe because i tried it out in India but i could get 2 to 3 response but the responses didnt went far. So i would suggest not to try it out right now. PM me, and we could discuss about it
Thank you.
Bump
You looking to break into IB too? IF so, let's keep in contact.
I'm not an avid reader, but Michael Lewis' books are great.
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