Post the great recession of 2008 and 2009, the financial markets have changed drastically across the globe, and so is the role of an investment banking analyst. Any investment banker currently serving a financial firm will tell you about how exhausting and demanding their job duties are.
Let’s discuss the prerequisites to becoming an investment banking analyst in the present times. Finance and business graduates will find the discussion interesting enough as it pertains to making a career in investment banking.
What Investment Banks Seek in a Fresh Graduate?
Banks and financial services firms will favor candidates that bring in the below-mentioned attributes:
- In-depth knowledge of constantly transforming financial consumer demographics.
- Firm grasp on investment risk and security analysis.
- Awareness about new banking business models that focus on being cautious rather than vigorously risk-taking.
- Familiarity with information modeling, statistics, and quantitative analysis.
Individuals that will be ideal candidates for an investment banking job role will possess a business or finance degree or an MBA. Skill-specific investment banking certifications will certainly help. However, investment banks do employ undergraduates with majors in business and finance that come from highly reputed schools.
The Tasks That Will Consume Most of Your Hours as an Investment Banker
Industry-Research: IB analysts get busy at performing tasks such as researching on varied industries such as manufacturing, health care, finance, emerging markets, among many others.
Financial Modeling: New analysts will be put on tasks that will involve tracing financial trends, analyzing revenue cycles, and tracking business performance in the highly competitive global markets.
Creating Presentations and Other Investment-Related Documents: Writing research reports, editing them, preparing status reports, suggesting books for new IPOs, creating PowerPoint presentations related to analysis on investment decisions will be a few tasks new analysts will perform in their day-to-day work life.
Accelerated Path to becoming an Investment Banking Analyst
Individuals that land the highest-paying IB jobs at Wall Street investment firms possess a few skills and qualifications in common. They are:
- Bachelor’s degree from a reputed business school
- Undergraduates with majors in subjects such as finance, accounting, statistics, business administration, and economics.
- Graduation with subjects such as options pricing and trading, bond valuations, risk management and tax laws.
What to Expect in an Investment Banking Job Interview
Get ready to get your problem-solving and analytical skills tested. Interviewers will also gauge the interpersonal skills, your work ethics, and undoubtedly, the required job skills.
Banks prefer candidates that speak more than one language, and even better will be the chances of candidates that speak multiple languages such as Spanish, Chinese, German, etc. Individuals having familiarity with social media and advanced technologies also get an edge over others.
College graduates looking to break into investment banking domain must attend job fairs organized by the Wall Street firms on Super Saturdays. It will also provide them with networking opportunities.
Closing Thoughts
Getting your foot in the door in the investment banking sector can prove to be the first step in building a lucrative financial career. Expect working long hours under high work pressure and be ready for loads of learning about capital markets and investment tactics. Get all possible things are done that are mentioned in the article, and you will conquer the biggest of forts!