Less competitive financial jobs

Thanks guys. As far as I can remember, I found it through indeed.com and then I applied for it using the company’s website. Basically, I will be involved in qualitative industry research. If I were to list the aspects of my profile that allowed me to land this job, I would definitely emphasize fluency in foreign languages (they needed someone who can do research on companies in both OECD and former USSR), background in finance (especially the fact that I passed CFA L1), and my informal experience in equity research. I was told that in a couple of months it’s going to become somewhat repetitive, but it’s nevertheless a great milestone for my career and in today’s job market I could not have hoped for a better outcome.

hey b_sea can you help me in involving myself in informal experience in equity research. How do you start on your own? I am gonnna be exactly in your situation next year.

Hey bluegeneP My approach was actually very straight forward. I picked an industry that doesn’t get too much analytical coverage and might be interesting for U.S. investors to learn more about. Then I wrote a couple of articles on that industry (you can find a link in my first post) attempting to apply as many analytical tools as possible. I found that reading financial statements and footnotes of the companies that you analyze is the best way to start, so I suggest you look those up first. That way you will get an idea of what’s worth focusing on in your article and how to go about your research (what themes to discuss, what factors to analyze, etc.)

Research is slowly turning into a commodity and number crunching has already become a commodity, you can’t expect less competition in these fields, you’ll be the one who will accept the price in a market flooded with oversupply. Research has cut throat competition, but a mixture of strong aptitude in research and number crunching combined with excellent communication skills will give you an edge, the combination is not easy to find while many firms are looking for it. Basically you’ll need to have a mixture of a banker’s work ethic and a consultant’s personality and presentation skills, to have an edge to charter less competitive grasslands.

I never totally understood the whole having banking experience vs equity research experience. Some people say banking experience is like some awesome gold ticket to the future. But from what I’ve seen, being the b*tch for 2 years learning how to put together pitch books, running errands, and getting good powerpoint skills doesn’t seem all that awesome. Generally the associates do the modeling anyway, so there’s no real skills learned. But as a equity research associate, you actually learn everything about an industry, become an expert of a dozen companies within that sector, modeling financials, forecasting earnings, talking with clients and investors. You learn valuation and presentation skills. I would think ER experience is far more valuable than any junior banker Anyone who has been both a junior banker and research associate chime in?

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risk management. don’t set your goals for your career too early. you will miss out on some truly great opportunities along the way. You will learn as you go through your career what you’re good at and what you’re willing to sacrifice your life for. within 5 years, your goals will most likely change.