好文章，与大家共享！转载自Financial Times：BANK CAREER DEMANDS AN MBA STRATEGY
By Neil Courtis Monday, February 25, 2008 For many, an MBA is a path to a
new career. And for those targeting investment banking, top business schools
certainly offer a springboard. But to what? With fear of recession rising and
banks reeling from huge credit write-offs, potential business school applicants
need to appreciate that they may face a more competitive job market when they
graduate. Banks, in particular, may hire fewer and be less willing to take
risks with those they hire. Career changers more than ever need a strategy.
First off, applicants need to pick the right school.
Recruiters at investment banks have never been short of résumés. Time is
limited and leading business schools appeal because they provide a filtered
talent pool.
Many banks will visit only three to five schools in Europe
and a handful more in the US.
Accordingly, a career switcher going into banking really needs to get into one
of these top schools. If you have a particular bank in mind, look at the
schools' annual graduate employment data and see which ones banks favour most
for their MBA hires.
But read these statistics carefully. Many step from
business school into the financial sector, but many come from there in the
first place, too. Career-switchers need a strategy to compete with their more
experienced peers.
Advance preparation is key. Investment banks usually
recruit primarily through internships. Many expect to make all their offers to
those they have seen perform as summer interns and will only return to recruit
full-time if their offers are not accepted. In Europe,
where one-year MBAs are the norm, this creates a conundrum: often candidates
are being interviewed for internships only weeks into their first finance
classes. Banks make allowances, but personal study helps. The Vault Career
Guide to Investment Banking is a popular interview preparation text. Talking to
alumni is even better.
So what are investment banks looking for? In many ways, the
same things as all employers: good academics; a clear career progression at a
prestigious firm; language skills (increasingly important); and, for some
special teams, strong knowledge of a particular industry. But ideally banks
want to see something exceptional. Investment banking is an intensely
competitive and increasingly commoditised business and banks look for people
who will give them an edge.
“We want entrepreneurial ability,” says Gaynor Arnold, a
former banker who now heads Lehman Brothers' investment banking recruitment for
Europe. “Some evidence from a candidate's life
that shows they have pushed themselves outside their comfort zone: perhaps
starting a business or even doing something philanthropic.
“We want people who can step into a difficult situation –
perhaps dealing with an unfamiliar product or a particularly tough client – and
have the personal drive to survive and succeed.”
And candidates need to show they understand this work
environment. MBAs hired as first-year associates work gruelling hours (80-90
hours a week even as interns) and have to face starting again near the bottom
of the food chain. Importantly, this means getting along with those who have
been promoted internally after three years of hard labour as analysts.
Candidates who show they are prepared for these demands are obviously more
attractive.
Conversely, those with lots of managerial experience or
family responsibilities may have their work cut out demonstrating that they
have thought about how they will cope with the long hours and initial lack of
status.
According to Sandra Schwarzer, director of business school
Insead's careers service, some introspection is in order. She says: “If what
you really enjoy is managing people, you need to be aware that it is not a big
part of most roles.
“However,” she continues, “if you like quantitative
analysis and juggling multiple projects and the excitement of being where the action
is, you may thrive.”
Regarding quantitative skills, banks clearly require some
level of numeracy. If you cannot find a short cut to calculate 12.5 per cent of
64 you should probably look elsewhere.
However, MBAs are not being recruited as quantitative
specialists (banks look to PhDs and stars from the natural sciences for these
roles). Banking remains a people business and networking is a crucial skill.
Not only for the job itself, but so that you can get to know the people you
might be working with and understand if the job is for you.
But how to strike the balance between charm and
ingratiation? Anyone who has watched a clutch of job-hungry students surround a
potential employer at a drinks reception will know this is not an easy balance.
A little bit of human courtesy can work wonders: something as simple as asking
a glassless recruiter if they need a drink can mark you out from the ravenous
crowd.
Reading the headlines, potential business school applicants
may wonder whether to make the leap at all. However, the picture may not be so
grim. While belts are being tightened, no bank wants to repeat the mistakes of
the recent past according to Mark Pettman, a director at Michael Page Financial
Services. “In 2002,” he says, “banks let too many junior people go and
struggled to replace that capacity in 2004 when the market was picking up.”
This cyclicality could even be an advantage. Those
considering business school now are still 18 months to two years away from the
job market. In that time some skills, notably risk management, may well become
more important, and the market as a whole may dip and turn up.
According to Mr Pettman now might be a good time for MBA
study. “You get out when the market is tough and come back later when hopefully
things are looking up,” he says.
Time to start downloading those application forms, perhaps?
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发表于 2008-4-10 11:22:00
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