THE CFA INSTITUTE PUBLISHED AN ASIA-PACIFIC CAREER GUIDE: 2014 CAREER ADVICE. THERE IS A SPECIAL SECTION ON KICKSTARTING YOUR CAREER DEVELOPMENT WHILE STILL IN COLLEGE. IT OFFERS EXCELLENT ADVICE AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BY STUDENTS PREPARING FOR FIRST YEAR POSITIONS AND INTERNSHIPS.
You don’t have to wait until you have completed your degree
and received your diploma to prepare for your career. While still in school,
there are several steps you can take to set the stage for a successful entry
into the finance and investment industry.
NETWORK
Seize every opportunity to meet people who have experience
in the finance and investment industry and learn from them. These opportunities
may come in the form of career events, seminars, conferences, and lectures at
your university. Networking is more than just exchanging name cards. It’s about
striking a connection with the people you meet, and nurturing and leveraging
those connections. Introducing yourself and asking questions to a school
alumnus who’s now a senior banking executive may be intimidating. But think of
it as practice for the real world.
Your ability to conduct yourself with ease in social and business
settings shows your confidence and you can only build up that confidence
through practice. Outside of school, don’t hesitate to reach out to relatives,
family friends, or friends of friends who work in the industry. Even if you
live well outside a financial center, you can hone your networking skills with
your local business community.
DO SOME DUE DILIGENCE
So you have decided on a career in finance. But which area?
There are many fields in the industry and myriad roles. Research these fields,
find out as much as you can what professionals in those fields do, and the
skills and qualifications required. If a CFA designation is typically required
for the job you’re angling for, prepare for the CFA Program as early as
possible.
Keep yourself up to date on industry developments so you
know how to position yourself in the job market. Read the financial news — it’s
always a good conversation starter in networking events.
BE ACTIVE IN CAMPUS ACTIVITIES
Employers not only judge you based on your grades or
relative experience, they want to see a well-rounded person. Your
extra-curricular activities can demonstrate your leadership abilities, time
management skills, collaborative skills, resourcefulness, and other soft
skills.
One way of showing employers your serious interest in the
industry is to join the CFA Institute Research Challenge — an annual global
competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and
intensive training in financial analysis. Considered as the “investment
Olympics,” the competition is held in three progressive levels — local,
regional, and global. CFA charterholders mentor students as they assume the
role of research analysts and are tested on their ability to value a stock,
write an initiation-of-coverage report, and present their recommendations.
SEEK INTERNSHIPS
Fresh graduates are understandably short on work experience
when they join the job market. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have
zero work experience. One credible way of demonstrating your potential is by
getting yourself an internship at a financial institution or company. Many of
today’s leading global business leaders spent time learning the ropes as
interns: Microsoft founder Bill Gates was a U.S. congressional page, Xerox CEO
Ursula Burns was once a mechanical engineering summer intern at Xerox, and JP
Morgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon interned at Goldman Sachs in the
1970s.
An internship in a prestigious bank would look good in your
resume, but more important is what you learn in the process. What were your
responsibilities and what business functions were you exposed to as an intern?
Don’t just spend your internship photocopying or fetching coffee for the team;
be proactive in finding meaningful assignments.
Large international banks have highly competitive internship
programs, but you don’t have to limit yourself within this circle. There are
many other banks and companies that can offer you a place. Oftentimes, you just
have to take the initiative to look for these opportunities by contacting
organizations directly, even if they are not advertising for interns. It’s a
chance to hone your ability to market yourself to potential employers.
Internships may lead to a full-time job offer.
FIND A MENTOR
“Mentors and sponsors are hugely important in careers. We
know that people who have them do better,” says Sheryl Sandberg, chief
operating officer of Facebook. Some people are lucky enough to stumble upon
good mentors early in their careers, while others have to seek them out. Sheryl
Sandberg’s own mentor was her Harvard University professor Larry Summers, who
later became U.S. Treasury Secretary and her boss. If you did your networking
homework well, you would have a good group of potential mentors to start with.
Mentors and sponsors are people who can offer you practical
insights and advice, and can help open doors for you in the industry. They
don’t have to be influential figures in the industry. A university professor, a
family friend who has years of experience in the finance industry or your
supervisor at your internship or summer job may be a potential mentor. It all
depends on the kind of relationship that you are able to establish with them
and the value that they can add to your career development.
