The financial job market has shifted significantly over the past few months. When we are asked by candidates how to gain a competitive edge in this fast-moving environment, we often suggest brushing up on your financial modeling and valuation skills through training at The Investment Banking Institute (IBI).
Over the past seven years, IBI has trained thousands of professionals who are currently working or have worked with some of the most prestigious private equity firms. We recently caught up with Aaron Hurwitz, IBI Director, for his perspective on today’s financial job market.
How does a job candidate get an edge in this environment?
I tell candidates to do everything they can to qualify themselves as much as possible. By working to give yourself every advantage, you can go into an interview with confidence and let your actions speak for yourself.
If you can prove that you are as serious about wanting a job in investment banking as you say you are, and that you’re someone who takes the initiative, then there’s a genuine reason to hire you. They will see you as someone who works hard because that is what is going to lead to success.
We often have people call us and ask, “If I take this course, will I get a job?” Well, for that type of person, the answer is probably no. These are simply the tools you are going to need and the road map to follow. We try to inspire people. But if someone is not driven or motivated on their own, there’s only so much we can do.
What type of training do you offer?
We offer the same kind of training that we would want our incoming analysts or associates to have. We have all been bankers for years. So our courses are designed based on the bulge bracket investment banking analyst training programs, because that’s where most people start in this industry. Whether people are looking for investment banking jobs, a hedge fund job or a private equity jobs, these are the fundamental skills you need. It’s the same base training that nearly everyone has had, before they branched out in one form or another.
Who are your typical students?
We get the full range, from students to long time industry veterans. The earlier in your career that you take this kind of training, the more we can help accelerate your career.
We get undergraduates because they want to use this to get an interview for a job. We get people with 1-5 years industry experience who haven’t been exposed to much financial modeling, or who haven’t been exposed to it at all.
We have MBA students coming in from all the top business schools because they’re completing their degree and realize the value of this type of training. Or if they have already completed their degree, they’re unable to find a job because they don’t have prior experience. Many MBAs think the degree is going to solve all their problems; but it’s often not enough.
For example, some MBAs think they’re going to enter a firm as an associate. But to function as an associate, you need to know how to do an analyst’s job, because the associates supervise the analysts. They’re responsible for their work.
At the next level, we have industry veterans, who have been in the business for 20 years or more, maybe recently as a managing director. Now, perhaps they may be going to a small private equity firm and they are not going to have the support in the new role that they had at a larger firm. Or they are going to have to talk directly with analysts, and they haven’t done that in years. So to communicate as effectively as possible, these people come to IBI to brush up on their modeling skills.
We also have a lot of M&A attorneys with 10 years of experience, project managers, consultants, accountants, IT people – usually with 5 to15 years of experience – who have great experience doing what they have been doing but now they want to get into finance. We have to find a way for them to leverage their past experience and move them into a position where they can add value.
Finally, we get PhD’s, people who have been in a university setting for 10 to 15 years, along with entrepreneurs who want to sell an asset perhaps, or who have built up a company and sold it and now want to make investing their business.
We get people at different stages in their careers. The one thing they have in common is that they need better financial modeling skills to get where they want to go.
On behalf of our members, JobSearchDigest.com has negotiated a special discount for IBI training. JobSearchDigest members receive $100 off the price of training simply by mentioning Job Search Digest when they call to register. Investment Banking Institute can be reached at 212-380-7027 or visit: http://www.ibtraining.com
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