Having Trouble Finding a New Job in Finance

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  ShamelessBargains on 05/03/2015 - 11:43

  +1

  A career in Investment Banking will definitely require a Bachelor of Business if you want to progress fast.

  The problem with the job market lately is that overqualified people are applying for entry level jobs making it harder for everyone else to find employment.

  Financial Planning is now recommended to have a Bachelor of Business as well.

  You could do the Bachelor in 3 years full time at uni and work part-time at NAB which would could work rather well.

  I think you should also look over your cover letter and resume making sure it is professional and targeted specifically at the job you are applying for.

  Good Luck, the job market is tough lately!

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  jwing0001 on 05/03/2015 - 11:52

  1) Which district you are in atm?
  2) Finance include different thing not only investment bank~You can try superannuation, mortgage and managed funds.
  3) 76 job within 2 months is normal in my past painful experience (150+ job in 2 months time) which only 3 of them interview and luckily I got the SHXT job…
  4) What field you are working in NAB right now?

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  SoBargainVerySave on 05/03/2015 - 12:19

  I'm working in retail banking with NAB. I got an offer to join AMP financial planning while I was with NAB but refused because I didn't want to leave NAB so soon, I regret that obviously.

  I'm trying to get into managed funds, analysis, admin operations etc. I'm very tech savvy and have advanced computer skills, use some of the platforms that they use for analysis/research and have back office experience but it doesn't seem enough to land a job.

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  esty on 05/03/2015 - 13:41

  unfortunately uni would probably be the first step, there are a million graduates every year going for the same role as you. Usually the first resume culling criteria is "are they degree qualified", (of course im talking about this issue at hand).

  Since youve done a diploma, you should get exemptions on some subjects which could potentially know a year off the degree, making it only 2 years. And you're still young. And if it helps, i finished my bachelor degree at 27 :).

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  geek001 on 05/03/2015 - 14:22

  I don't know if this helps, but I know some investment bankers in Southeast Asia, it's a pretty tough field to crack and I have only seen 3 types of investment bankers, people who are well connected and knows rich people to invest money with them, people who are extremely good at climbing the corporate ladder by aligning themselves with the right people and generally also extremely good networkers or a maths geek. I guess if you want to be an investment banker, you have to be either one of these people. Going to uni won't guarantee you an investment banking job at the end. It's a very long hard road ahead and sometimes, what is moral and what is not becomes very blurred. Good luck.

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  sweefu on 05/03/2015 - 14:57

  +1

  I work in finance, and have a few close mates in investment banking. My 2 cents:

  1. Breaking into investment banking without a bachelors degree with MINIMUM Distinction average will be impossible. If you want to be an investment banker, go to uni and study a math focused commerce degree, and potentially law.

  2. Getting into an analyst role anywhere will also be virtually impossible without a degree, but if you can prove you are an absolute gun with excel you might find someone smaller willing to take you on WHILE you study.

  3. Before you go to uni, (which is realistically essential if you want to work in any finance related field) decide what you actually want to do. That way you can work towards it properly while studying. There are many paths to success, investment banking is just one.

  4. Don’t stress out about not getting the jobs you are applying for. When I finished uni I went backpacking for 13 months, and got back to Australia broke with no job prospects. I ended up working in customer service for a fund manager, and networked like crazy to get into an analyst role (with another company).

  5. If you do decide to go to uni – enjoy it. Uni can be a lot of fun.

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    hayne on 06/03/2015 - 13:36

    +2

    Sweefu, this is an insightful post.

    On top of all of this - OP, you haven't stated why you want to be in investment banking. Hopefully it's not because you like the sound of it but aren't 100% sure what it is.

    What's your ultimate goal? How much do you really know about the day-to-day work? Is investment banking the goal, or is it a stepping stone for somewhere else? Because it's incredibly hard to get into, a gruelling slog and most people burn out. Keep the following in mind.

    1) Fewer than 1% of applicants get in for junior analyst roles. This is after a large chunk of people cull themselves (e.g. realise that without at least a Distinction average at a top university that they won't get an interview). Not uncommon for the interview process then to be 6 to 8 one-hour interviews one after the other, followed by a couple more rounds.

    2) Expect to work 100+ hours on a regular basis. One of my mates didn't have his first weekend off until 6 months into the job. 7 days a week, 15 hours a day is not uncommon. Neither is finishing work at 4 am and being back at 8 am. From memory, a Merrill Lynch intern died from overwork in recent years. This has led to nominal measures such as analysts getting at least one Saturday morning a week off.

    3) Moving over as an admin assistant to an investment banking role is pretty much impossible in my view and harder than going to uni and taking that path (which is hard enough as it is). I've never seen this happen. I did see it happen at one of the Big 4 accounting firms - but the admin assistant was required to go to uni as part of that transition. So you're back at square one.

    4) Retention rate is low. Most people don't do it for more than 3 or 4 years and a lot move on after 2 years, partially due to burn out and partially because it's an up-or-out industry (i.e. if you don't get promoted within a certain period of time, you don't stay). Also, IBs tend to overhire in good times and then are trigger happy when it comes to laying people off in bad times.

    There are many other roads in finance and if you want to take a path that doesn't require exemplary academic credentials, then financial planning is another path that's potentially lucrative (but not easy either - the emphasis there is on your ability to build a network). Sales/broking also requires a different skillset and could be a career worth exploring.

    If you're interested in finance, I assume you're intimately familiar with Wall Street Oasis, Wet Feet guides, Vault, Monster, etc. But if you're not, definitely worth spending some time on those sites and/or buying some guides to get a feel for what investment banking and other finance careers involve.

    Good luck with your efforts.

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  isthisreallife22 on 05/03/2015 - 18:48

  I think your best bet is to work your way up inside NAB. Get yourself a profile - maybe see if you can write articles for the NAB blog, or get on some staff interest groups for various projects going around the place, just to show that you have a valid and useful opinion.

  In my experience working at a large financial services group, once you've built up a bit of a profile, it can be pretty easy to move around.

  Internal IT departments at places like NAB are always looking for people to help them understand the way the business works better - I'd see if you can just find a way to influence one or two projects, maybe a high profile one like a new mobile app or something, and the world will then be your oyster (may not get you into investment banking immediately, but it will definitely open doors)

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    sweefu on 05/03/2015 - 23:00

    To extend on what kcbworth is saying, if you choose this route [staying at NAB and working your way up], they may pay for part or all of your studies in the future.

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  strikerzebra on 06/03/2015 - 09:18

  I work for Westpac and what I've found is if you want to progress you career you can't just apply for jobs, you need to network within the business and get someone to refer you, go buddy with someone and show interest, you almost have to bug someone but not to that extent so they know you are really passionate and want to succeed until they give you an opportunity.

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  Eca1 on 06/03/2015 - 11:00

  Lots of great advice given. Networking is important as is continual study and learning, even some free Udemy courses and MOOCs can help, but a Bachelors Degree should be the ultimate goal. Is there anyone in NAB who could be a good mentor to you? Someone who you could share your aspirations with and who could advise you. Preferably your mentor would be a manager or a person who is already on a role that you wish to do.
  Every best wish.

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  SoBargainVerySave on 13/03/2015 - 09:54

  Just an update: I've been contacted 3 times so far and 2 rejections were due to the 4 week leave I have planned in june this year (not my choice grandma is ill). The other was because they wanted someone to start immediately.

  I'll just wait til I come back in july then try again, otherwise uni it is.