Viscous Circle - Finance Experience

[SimonMac]

Why are IB's so determined that candidates already have experience within the financial sector?

Some positions it makes sense to have a grasp of understanding as to what the business does, but not every job needs this

[Ruprect]

It is a sticky situation, I'll give you that...

[SimonMac]

It is a sticky situation, I'll give you that...

[TestMangler]

Why are IB's so determined that candidates already have experience within the financial sector?

Some positions it makes sense to have a grasp of understanding as to what the business does, but not every job needs this

Why not try retail banking then ? I see new people turning up all the time at various levels.

What's your 'thang' then ? PM ? Techy ?

[SimonMac]

Why not try retail banking then ? I see new people turning up all the time at various levels.

What's your 'thang' then ? PM ? Techy ?

Environment Management, keeping those damn Testers and Dev's happy!

I did some work in the finance division of The Co-Operative Group but I don't think it will be enough to count as finance experience

[TestMangler]

Environment Management, keeping those damn Testers and Dev's happy!

I did some work in the finance division of The Co-Operative Group but I don't think it will be enough to count as finance experience

You did ? You know a bloke called Andy Wood ?

PM me and I'll give you a contact or two. So happens that environment Management and test management is my thing too.

Drop me a Pm if you're interested. I know of roles going right now in West Yorks and possibly Edinburgh.

[northernladuk]

Different industry sectors have different cultures and different goals and attitude to customers and in each industry their customer can be vastly different.

The culture in the NHS is vastly different to almost anything as an extreme example. Their needs are different to a bank's customers and different again to a telco's. An appreciation of this can make a big difference to the way you deliver. What works in one sector doesn't work at all in another. The tools they use are subtly different for the same reason. They way Pharma's sell is very different to the way a bank sells and although they may use the same CRM it has to reflect that difference to work.

The assumption if you have experience in a finance means you already have a grasp of the requirements in that sectors so can deliver a better product suited to your clients needs.

The problem comes when they start picking people based on history and not based on skill. Defense and SC is a perfect example of that and would assume IB's would be similar. You get preference for a role you are not as skilled at purely because you are cleared or worked in an IB which obviously has it's flaws.

I do agree though to be passed over just because you don't have experience is a pain in the ass and almost a cop out to help people that can't interview properly but by the same token if you in the 'club' it's great.

[doodab]

I think a proven track record of being able to handle the IB corporate culture is quiet an important aspect of it.

The other is that a lot of their systems are very industry specific and highly integrated. If the role is dealing with some off the shelf package that isn't industry specific then they might not expect financial industry experience but if you are looking to go in as a coder then you are going to need a good understanding of banking systems and how financial markets & institutions work to be useful.

[craig1]

I think a proven track record of being able to handle the IB corporate culture is quiet an important aspect of it.

For me, that's the key. Based on my experience, I know that I can manage almost any project outside of construction or a regulated project (e.g. pharmaceuticals), even then, given a go I think I could do a decent job. That's not what the client sees though, if they know their industry has a high turnover rate and an awkward culture, they want an individual who has proven they can hack working in that culture and isn't going to get fed up and walk out after a few weeks.

Unless you get a lucky break, as a contractor you're not going to find it easy to get a contract in investment banking unless you've got some directly equivalent experience.

[theroyale]

Why are IB's so determined that candidates already have experience within the financial sector?

Some positions it makes sense to have a grasp of understanding as to what the business does, but not every job needs this

Building a group of elites then keeping others out. Every society however egalitarian on the surface tends towards this - a society made up of tech hirers and contractors is no different.

Bring everyone in, then the risk of undercutting on rates isn't too far away. And the elites don't want that. Not manager, hirer nor contractor.