What do I need to know to get hired...

I have no background in finance, and I'm trying to learn everything I can about investment banking before I start to sit down and talk with people in my network. It turns out this is harder than I thought, since everything I read uses a lot of technical vocabulary, and I never took any kind of finance or econ course in college. I can't figure out what I need to know for a job, and what I don't.

My goal is to show people I meet that I know enough about finance to be a prospective hire. Basically, what do I need to read/memorize to do well as an analyst and where do I find it?

 

I've searched the forum already. I have a solid background in the humanities, a degree from a non-target, a MA in history, and some unrelated job experience. I've been told to use my connections, which are pretty good right now. Most of the stuff people have told me to read (e.g. the Journal, Financial Times) is too in depth and technical for someone with absolutely no background. What I'm really asking is what chapters in an intro textbook do I ignore, and what do I memorize? Or is there something even more basic that can tell me what I need to know.

 

And I want to do IB because I want a career. It's one of the only fields I have a lot of contacts in that also pays, and I think I have a better chance of finding a job there than I do in anything related to my degree. As bad as the finance industry is doing, it's not half as bad as anything in the humanities.

 

Despite your contacts you will have an uphill battle given the competitive landscape and number of qualified/knowledgeable candidates who are currently in the market. I think even with your contacts it will be difficult to get past 1st round interviews (assuming you manage to get interviews) given your background and work experience. What was your GPA and how non-target are we talking?

Pick up SCOOP Books Introduction to Investment Banking and Corporate Finance. Read it cover to cover and use investopedia and google to look up terms that you do not understand. This site also has some solid study guides. You should plan on spending at least 20-30 hours of solid reading/studying. Read the WSJ everyday to familiarize yourself with the nomenclature of the industry.

Also, your rationale for wanting to work in IB will not get you through 80-100 work weeks so you may want to really think about it.

 
Best Response

First, I hope that as you're trying to learn you find that you're REALLY passionate about this kind of stuff, because (A) that'll make the process much easier and (B) if you're not passionate about IB and finance, even if you get the job one day, probably sooner than later, you'll be sitting at your desk at 2AM on a Friday night and realize that you seriously hate your life.

Be prepared to be grilled on the humanities background. You'll have to explain why you want to make the switch and at the same time put a positive spin on your humanities background. I had a background in music in high school and kept an English minor in college; I think sometimes humanities are overlooked and at any rate have experience selling that aspect. Major points to consider saying are that it gives you a unique background / point of view, it makes you think creatively, and it has given you superior writing and communications skills.

I'm assuming you'd be applying to a FT position so honestly you really need to know your shit. As far as what technicals to learn I'll leave that to someone else; perhaps start by trying to read WSJ and whatever you don't get look it up on Google or Investopedia. Know that it's good to know accounting as well as finance. Once you read up leverage your contacts to get an interview.

 

Have you considered business school? It would be by far the easiest way for you to build the requisite business skill set and allow you access to a great network and recruiters. Your academic stats are solid. With a solid GMAT score you may be able to crack a top 20 school. Your work experience will obviously be a major weakness (but it has been hard out there).

Do what I said and you will at least be in a position to sit down with your contacts and have a more knowledgeable discussion.

Best of luck to you.

 

Some good advice above - going from library cataloging to banking is going to be a tough sell. You're going to need to have a really solid story of why you're making a pretty drastic career change, and be able to show genuine interest in finance.

Along with reading WSO and Vault and WSO guides, you may want to look into taking some finance coursework and potentially CFA Level I (while a lot of users disagree with the usefulness of this for IB, it can show you are committed and make you a more credible prospect). You'll want to start looking at things you can do to not just learn more but also beef up the finance side of your resume.

You might also think about casting your net wider than IB. Landing a gig in another area of finance have an interest in may help you lateral over to IB later on.

 

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