What gets you interviews in the UK
Hi all,
Currently a student in Canada interested in working in IBD/CB in London. Want to avoid Canada namely due to the extremely limited amount of seats (tiny market) and US due to sponsorship issue. As a Canadian citizen I wouldn't need sponsorship to work in the UK for 2 years under YMS.
I'm aware that a lot of students from Europe manage to land summer stints in London. What is the process? In North America you need a referral to even get an interview unless you're from one of the targets. Is it similar in the UK? How much sway do referrals carry there?
I'm on track for a 2:1 with my uni in Canada and interning in audit at a big4 right now. Applications are opening up for SA26 in UK and wondering what my chances of getting an interview were. Is HireVue used as the primary screening tool? I go to a T5 uni in Canada but wouldn't surprised if HR / analysts in London aren't too familiar with it. What can I do to boost my chances? Network before I apply or get my application in ASAP and network concurrently? Thanks in advance!
To land interviews in the UK for IBD/CB roles, here’s what you need to know based on the most helpful WSO content:
Referrals and Networking:
Application Timing:
Screening Tools:
University Recognition:
Boosting Your Chances:
Additional Tips:
By focusing on these strategies, you can maximize your chances of securing interviews for SA26 roles in London.
Sources: International Student - Chance of getting an IBD internship in London?, Investment Banking in the UK - An Overview, IBD Barriers to Entry For Canadians and How to Overcome Them, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/investment-banking-in-the-uk-an-overview?customgpt=1, Canadian vs USA vs International unis
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Canadian working in London. Referrals not a thing here. Apply to everything and pray for the best. Consider doing a masters in EU as well. Also try to run as many internships in Canada and take advantage of offcycles to try to boost your resume.
did you work in Canada initially?
I never worked FT in Canada if that is what you were asking
OP, if you're going to do a masters, absolutely go to a UK school. EU schools place very well in their markets, but their London placement is drying up now.
F off we're full
Just to provide some color on the UK hiring scene. Networking is less useful in the UK and brand name uni/prestige matters slightly more. So focus on GPA and hard skills instead of soft skills.
Thanks, wondering what my strategy should be here. Should I simply apply and prep to nail Hirevues, is there anything else I should be doing meanwhile? In Canada you network and apply, so it feels a little weird to just apply and wait with my arms crossed.
Yeah there is really no short cut to it. You have to make sure you are able to nail every technical as soon as you get any interview opportunities. Networking only starts to work after you get your foot in the door (your 2nd job)
DEI, Doing well on online tests, not needing sponsorship, going to a target school and a whole lot of luck.
Well my university isn't really well known in the UK. Where do these biases for your university background come into play? Is it after the hirevues, seems like they send out Hirevues to everyone. Does that not level the playing field where if you do well on the HV you progress further?
No, almost everyone gets Hirevues for BBs; it's just that for most MM and EBs, Hirevues are selective.
Again, no one really knows how it works, but from what I've observed at my uni (low target), the only international students who got summers were from springs. Almost any international student who didn't convert their spring into a summer had to go back to their home to do a summer there.
I was even told by one firm that I performed very well in the interviews and would be offered a position, but due to the limit of visas the firm is allowed to issue each year, their policy is to reserve it for directors or above (this was a smaller firm, which makes sense). So you can probably imagine that the bigger firm (BBs, and EBs) reserve their visas for international students who converted from springs or international LSE/Oxbridge students.
TLDR: If you have the indefinite right to work in the UK, it's very possible from a lesser-known school. However, if you're an international student, it's much harder unless you convert from a spring or go to Oxbridge/Harvard/MIT or any top global university equivalent.
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Not impossible but going to be tough - in my time I’ve seen a handful of people come straight from a short list of Canadian universities (McGill, UofT, UBC, Ivey and maybe Waterloo). Maybe literally 1-2 a year max.
It’s usually 1 of 2 paths. Either they’re European and study in Canada for whatever reason and don’t need sponsorship / makes sense for them to be in London (in interviews they say they want to be close to home, CV has a European HS, is French/Italian/English etc). Or alternatively, they’ve actually secured a FT role in the US but for visa reasons can’t go so get offered to move to the London office by the firm.
I’m not convinced having your own visa matters for HR - my guess is from their point of view you still need sponsorship and frankly most banks would just pay for it as it’s a drop in the bucket for them besides on the cost from away from the administrative ball ache
Coming back to it then, your best bet is to find the few people in London who went to your school and get them to get you a leg up. Having internships in Canada from top firms that people here would know will also help and internships in the US would be even better but even then it’s going to be a crap shoot. The reality is that for every analyst that is reviewing CVs that know the top few Canadian schools, there’s gonna be 5x the number of analysts from Bocconoi/HEC/LSE that’s never heard of Ivey and will bin your CV. There’s also the risk that people are deeply skeptical as to why you’re applying from Canada - e.g. maybe they’re bad and can’t get any offers in the US? It’s a bit of an uphill battle but not impossible. Just gotta make sure your story is crisp as to why you want to be in London and then nail your interviews.
Thanks for the detailed response. I just summered in audit at a Big4 and was wondering if Big4 experience carries weight for IB Recruitment in the UK. All my other experiences were at smaller regional firms that people in the UK wouldn't have heard of.
Another user pointed out that recruitment from European schools is dwindling (due to them needing sponsorship post-brexit) which somewhat decreases the competition. I know of quite a few people from my school in London and spoken to some of them. What do referrals look like since everyone complains about how random the whole process in the UK is? If an analyst were to refer me does that mean my application gets a good look similar to referrals in the US or does the final decision still lie with HR?
As for my story, I was thinking of framing it as a mix personal and professional reasons:
Would these reasons be a strong enough answer to the "Why London" question?
I think your profile is probably competitive/compelling enough to get a look. But again, I just want to reiterate that the odds are not in your favour because on a like-for-like profile basis where you swap out whatever respectable Canadian university you are attending with Oxbridge/LSE/Warwick/UCL/HEC/Bocconi/St Gallen etc., you are more likely than not just going to be passed up on.
That does not mean you should not give it a shot - hell, most people’s career, including my own, just needs one person to go out on a limb for you. All you can ask for is a chance, and your profile already has that, and so the rest of it is a bit of luck.
I was to dispel the myth that for some reason recruitment from European schools is down. Sitting where I am, I’ve not seen that at all. Maybe it’s because I’m too far removed from graduate recruitment in banking, but most reputable banks will not view immigration status as a hurdle. At least the HR at my former employer did not care. This is simply because recruiting is NOT typically determined by HR but by the analyst/associate/VPs. When they are screening applications, once you’re at that stage, the VP/Associate is not going to say, “Oh, this guy is American probably needs visa so let’s choose Harry who went to Westminster”. Once you’re through that stage, it’s up to the HR team at GS/JPM/PJT/CVP to figure what needs to be done to honour the actual front office staff’s choice.
Caveat is that this could be different at some MM banks/funds where they have more limited resources and just don’t have the business need to go out and sponsor foreign candidates, which I have seen before. But frankly, most big banks don’t care.
Will add that visa is quite easy to obtain in London. The firms rlly don’t care whether you need sponsorship or not
its different if you're in EEA vs not
My EB got ppl from China and India and they all got it no questions asked. It wasn’t even brought up in the process
Everyone is saying that London is tough but I'll just give you my perspective (as a PE intern here). It's actually getting a easier for studnets in the UK. Europeans have been completely wiped out of the competition pool, with very small exceptions. The number of available spots is now in a better balance with the number of applications compared to 10 years ago. Referrals won't help and neither will networking (unless you know someone from your school in London already). You'll just need to apply more.
Do you have any internships you can leverage? If not, you'll be in a tough spot. I would particularly aim for smaller firms and hype any strengths you have (experience, skills, school activities, etc).
Interesting, I thought Europeans were ever-present in the London scene and it certainly seems like it on LinkedIn. Why the decrease in their numbers?
The only internship I can leverage is Audit at Big4, all my prior experiences were at smaller, regional firms that people in the UK wouldn't have heard of. It seems Audit / Big4 experience can carry some weight in London?
I do know a few people from my school in London. Are referrals similar to the US where they ensure your application gets a good look cuz the whole selection process seems extremely random on the UK.
Check how many of those European guys you see on LinkedIn got their positions before brexit was finished. There are small exceptions like I said, HEC, bocconi etc, but again the numbers are dwindling. The reason is obviously because they no longer get working permits. Outside of BBs, you’d be surprised that firms just don’t want to bother with sponsorship anymore. The going rates are getting higher and rules are tougher. Even international students on graduate visas have their job hunting time reduced.
I got final stage with at least a dozen of companies who have sponsorship licence only to be told sponsorship wasn’t available. It’s a big deal, but at least you get your 2 years.
Re your experience you’re obviously still fresh out of uni, name recognition won’t matter much if you demonstrate your skill set is a good match
For a EU student, do you see any more viable pathway to London?
It depends on your profile & school. Those HEC & bocconi students who sweat through several FO internships during their studies have good chances. Other than that, you’re gonna have to try very hard. It’s possible, of course, but you have a very intense competition. If I could do it, you can too
how important is doing well on oa's? i think i did ok on some but not sure if i did spectacular to pass the bar?
Pinky ring helps
bump any more tips? havent been getting traction for uk positions
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