Breaking into Investment Banking

Writes Suhan S (L6ths):

Sanjiv (who has an Economics degree from Cambridge) has rich experience working for the Bank of England, BNP Paribas, Lazard Brothers and the FCA.  Darren respectively has a PPE degree from Oxford, and also offered a lot of experience with companies such as BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and BNL. The point of the talk was to give us a clear understanding of what a career in Investment Banking would look like, alongside myth-busting some misconceptions held by the audience.

The pair tackled questions posed by the audience, including:

How to ace Investment Banking interviews?

What was the day-to-day life like?

Which degrees are value most by employers?

Darren and Sanjiv had some great insights into what climbing the corporate ladder entails. Darren mentioned the ‘rite of passage’ where in your first year, networking is the most beneficial activity you could do for your career. Sanjiv mentioned about how always showing interest and being willing and able to learn new things will always be an attractive attribute to any employer. Sanjiv and Darren were also able to let us know about immense competition in the job markets for Private Equity, Management and Compliance and Asset Management.

To round off the talk, Darren talked about how many people (including himself) have used their years of experience from industry to start their own businesses. Darren elaborated on the benefits of starting your own firm, such as the ability to manage your own time and your own autonomy on how you want to run your firm. He made it clear that Investment Banking had equipped him with essential skills for business success later in life.

Thank you, Sanjiv and Darren, for taking time out of your day to talk to us at Taylors'!