Career help

Here is my situation…

-Living in Canada

-Just finished undergrad in Economics

-Wrote CFA level I

-Canadian securities course

-Completed a courses/certifications in financial modelling, excel, and Bloomberg

-No relevant work experience (data entry, distribution clerk, and worked in a kitchen at restaurant, was a labourer, and then a quality inspector) *italics are jobs in high school

-Open to pretty much any positions right now

Now, I like to think that im doing fine except my work experience. Ive basically tweaked my resume work experience to ‘what I learned while working’ which can be applied to a finance position (i.e teamwork or communcating) instead of what I accomplished at past jobs because its difficult to measure the accomplishments (i.e sales).

Someone has suggested that I go work in retail for a few months and then apply to be a teller at a bank and then start the climb. If I don’t have to do this is, id obviously not.

So, I guess my question is what should I be doing going forward?

Thanks in advance for any help, greatly appreciated!

For godsake don’t go to work at retail, then teller at a bank. This will get you no where. Finance is a huge field, what are you trying to get into? Do you even know? That would be a place to start.

What sort of jobs are available at your university recruitment office?

Most interested in private equity and investment banking. I really like researching, so a role like equity research is something that really im interested in. The institutional level is where I would be most happy Id think, so jobs in portfolio management, research, trading. Open to anything though, really just want to get my foot in the door.

Not a whole lot in the finance and banking division

Which of those jobs are you qualified for? You must have at least some idea of your quality as a graduate, and what sorts of positions you should be aiming for as a result.

In general, I don’t know what to say, other than apply for everything, reach out to all industry people you know, and prepare for a lot of rejection.

Oh, and have someone with actual work experience review your resume. I can assure you, if you did it yourself, no matter how good you think it is, it is terrible.

I would avoid being a teller- that position will be the same as a milkman or phone operator in the short future.

message me.

What you described here is a bit all over the place. 3 different, but similar fields. IB tends to lead to PE. It’s rare for ER to go to PE because you don’t have transactional experience (i.e. deals, M&A, etc…). They all require analytical skills and generally a good deal of intelligence.

I was (and probably still am in many ways) quite clueless to what some other finance fields actually do when I first started out. As such, I suggest you research a lot more about what these fields actually do and start working from there. CFA is not as highly valued in IB/PE (though I think that is changing somewhat) while it is becoming standard for ER…

ok

I have done quite a bit a research from when I posted this. I think going into WM or AS is something im very interested in as of now. I think it also may be a little easier for me too. I think starting out as in an analyst position and working my way into a PM position is something I would like to do.

I have done quite a bit a research from when I posted this. I think going into WM or AS is something im very interested in as of now. I think it also may be a little easier for me too. I think starting out as in an analyst position and working my way into a PM position is something I would like to do.

Well, good luck with that – you’ll need it. Your chances are pretty close to zero.

Apply to TD Waterhouse for their Investment Representative position since you already have your CSC then move up to become a Senior IR then apply to a middle office job at an investment bank that`s where your CFA will come into play, somewhere like Wood Gundy CIBC would be an ideal place for investment banking positions.

CIBC wood gundy is not an investment bank, nor are there any investment banking roles there.

I actually just had an interview with a large wealth management company for a financial services rep. It went well, I am pretty confident I will get the job. It isa great starting position for some like me with little experience. It will also give me some time to do my CFA.

I meant investment management firm. Investment banking is always in the back of my head for some reason.

Exactly! I really don`t suggest that you start as a teller with your CSC, you can put it into use.

Most people don’t stay in this position for very long. Within a year they have moved on to a different role.