How to break into Sales and Trading?
Hi everyone, I’m about to start a Master in Management-Grande Ecole in the top 3 French business schools (I plan to pursue the financial markets and fintech track). I came from an accounting background (did my bachelor's in accounting in Canada). I did my internships in both financial accounting, audit, and financial service companies. I want to explore and develop a career in SnT (preferably in sales because I’m not tech savvy, and from what I know coding skills have become increasingly important for traders, but I would love to learn about both Sales and Trader’s side). I’m new to this area, so could you please share some insight about the industry and the job? Like what the day-to-day job looks like, the career development, what it takes to be a good sales (or trader) in SnT, what excites you the most about the job, what kind of candidates are they looking for, and what the skills/knowledge/qualities needed to be equipped for this job (and to secure an internship)… If SnT doesn’t work out, what are my plan B options in relevant fields? Could you please give me some advice on how to form and train market sense? And what should I do to prepare myself for the 2026/2027 BB summer analyst internships? Thank you so much for your time and input! I really appreciate all your comments and help!
Coding skills are absolutely the most important skillset. If you can come in with a CS background but also a CFA level 1 or 2 completion, or minor in finance or business then this will make you a strong candidate.
Thank you for your input!
I know that coding is one of the most essential skills to have, but is it just for traders or both sales and traders? Is coding skills equally important for sales in SnT?
I didn’t come from a CS background, but I’m planning on taking some Python and VBA courses (it might be hard to reach the very proficient level, but familiar with these tools and perform basic analysis); would that be enough? Adding to that, do you think if I major in fintech (and financial markets) with CFA level 1 or 2 completion will make me competitive enough?
Sales is all about ability to make connections and make people feel comfortable but you will need this alongside a strong fundamental understanding of global macro, politics, trends in the markets etc. Where I work as a market maker our sales dont offer much value as the clients they represent are already onboarded and we already trade with them. I cant really recommend the sales route over the trading/market maker/quant route but the fact of that matter is that with every year that goes by there are less and less active trading desks in the market and thus less open positions. Lot of people try to get roles in trading and then get bumped down to sales but the impression I get when this happens is that they are largely unhappy in these roles as the typical sales role for a trading shop is just not what it use to be 10 years ago.
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