Will passing the Series 7 and 63 exams help me find a job in IB?
I'm a graduating senior just starting her job search (kind of late, for personal reasons).
I am currently completing an unpaid full-time IBing internship. They have offered me a job upon graduation but as much as I've loved my experience I would like to start out at a bigger firm.
Before they offered me a position, they offered to sponsor me for my Series 7 and 63 exams (although correct me if i'm wrong, but I don't believe sponsorship for 63 is required?) in order to "help me find a job", and I viewed this as a nice form of compensation for my hard work all fall.
My question is whether I should go ahead and accept their offer of sponsorship, or wait to hopefully find a different position and have them sponsor me if necessary, or for a different exam like the 79.
I was thinking that it might be a nice feather in my cap so to speak and demonstrate that someone has already vouched for me. While I have good work experience, go to a top school, and have excellent test scores and references, I do not have a competitive GPA (again for personal reasons), and this really worries me. Would the exams help me stand out?
Thanks!
Others, feel free to disagree, but no one really cares about these things. No one is "vouching" for you, its really just a formality and a pain in the ass one at that. The only difference this exam makes is it usually means you're out of commission a day or so before your exam and if you're not licensed you' re not supposed to go to client meetings (which, at least in my experience, many people don't even observe).
agreed with marcus, nobody gives a shit.
Jim Young: Okay, before we get started, I have one question, has anyone here passed a Series Seven exam? Man: (raises his hand) I have a Series Seven license. Jim: Good for you. You can get up too. Man: What? Why? Jim: We don't hire brokers here, we train new ones. That's it Skippy - pack your shit, let's go.
And yes sponsorship is required
should just do it
it would be nice to bring up in interviews as you mentioned - firm "vouched" for you thus demonstrating their "investment" in you as an employee/individual
Ummm... no, don't ever say that in an interview. I hope your being sarcastic.
oh and WTF do you have to lose?
If you have the drive needed to succeed in this industry you probably wouldn't be on here asking if you should take it or not. I am not trying to be a jerk but just want you to know the type of people you will be competing against for jobs.
Assuming you have the drive but had a temporary lapse in judgement when posting this question... It is true that having these certifications typically isn't anything that will set you apart. They are compliance requirements and not equivalent to doing something like taking the CFA. However, in your case I think you could use them to show drive and interest. If you had the certifications listed on your resume you could work into an interview that they were not required at your summer internship but that they were offered as an option. The fact that you had the drive to undertake something like this as an intern when it wasn't required demonstrates strong interest in developing your investment banking career.
Considering you already have a job offer and that your GPA isn't competitive, I would recommend not passing up on that job offer unless you already have another offer. Most firms don't care if you have a lower GPA because of personal reasons because there will be plenty of people with competitive GPAs that can demonstrate they overcame personal problems and still make the grade. From a firm's point of view, if you allowed personal reasons to affect your GPA performance then you would likely allow personal problems to affect work performance.
Merger Mandrill:
Thank you for your response.
I'm concerned about my lower GPA holding me back. I am aware that I wasn't totally on top of things earlier in my college career and I didn't realize until late in the game that I had an interest and passion for finance. I added economics as a second major my 2nd semester junior year, an ambitious undertaking, and then took time off from school to do a great internship this fall, worked my butt off, really impressed my superiors and got a job offer out of it. I think I have more than enough drive to do this, regardless of my GPA. I have never used my past problems as an excuse at work either in my interview or in the office (or even mentioned them) and have always taken full responsibility for everything I have done. This is just something I will have to overcome and that I think I'm well on my way to overcoming.
I guess my question is, what would be a good way to demonstrate that I'm a great candidate that would help me get an interview. I ask about the Series exams because I want any boost I can get, but obviously do not want to waste my time when I could be doing something far more valuable.
Any constructive advice for someone in my position?
Est magnam eveniet mollitia voluptatem error placeat autem ut. Adipisci sapiente ut quia delectus excepturi.
Qui sed voluptatem nihil aut eius ut libero. Voluptatibus aut fuga est tempora illum ab vel maxime. Similique molestiae et qui harum ut voluptas qui.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...