Case Study: From Unemployed LSE Student To Investment Banking Analyst
This article is written by Hassan Akram, the CEO of City Careers Coach. We help students enter the world’s most elite finance careers through our experience as elite finance recruiters. Hassan has spoken at Harvard, MIT, and Yale on this and writes in the Times of India on getting into elite careers. He’s recruited for elite corporate careers, including investment banks, corporate law firms, and venture capital funds. He has also interviewed 1,000+ professionals from Goldman Sachs, Kirkland & Ellis, and McKinsey. 100% of our clients are successful at the CV stage. 95% secure at least one corporate career. Our highest client starting salary is $180,000 at 21. We have an in-depth understanding of passing recruitment processes for elite, high-paying, and prestigious finance careers.
Check our case studies of client-securing offers. Here’s Dhruv who secured multiple offers at investment banks and a hedge fund, Aryan who secured an offer at an investment bank, and a client who requested to stay anonymous client at a boutique investment bank in the M&A division
***This article is aimed towards university and MBA students looking to enter elite corporate careers, such as investment banking, private equity, and venture capital ***
*The client has requested privacy in this case study so all personal details have been anonymised.
Getting into investment banking is exceptionally hard. Statistically, it is one of the most competitive careers internationally. Goldman Sachs, the elite bulge bracket bank, has an acceptance rate of approximately 1.5%.* However, getting a career as an investment banking analyst is transformative. It transforms people’s professional, personal, and financial horizons. And of course — it is among the top 0.1% of best-paying careers internationally.
*Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/05/goldman-says-record-236000-students-apply-for-internships.html
In this case study, we’ll explore how City Careers Coach, an internationally regarded firm that has spoken at Harvard Business School and specializes in helping clients get into the world’s highest-paying and competitive careers, helped a client secure an investment banking role with a starting year one salary of £150,000 in the City of London.
*Our client in this case study has requested anonymity.
BACKGROUND
Our client had recently graduated from a top London university with a first-class honours degree. However, as you may be aware, having strong academic credentials is by no means a guarantee of getting into an elite career such as investment banking. Thousands of graduates secure this degree classification but are not successful.
*36% of students in the U.K. graduated with a 1st class honors degree in 2022. Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/676995/university-degree-awards-uk/
They sought a career in this industry, but were well aware of how difficult it was to secure a role as an investment banking analyst. Having studied at an elite London university, they were intimately familiar with the competitiveness of the industry, as many of their friends had applied and been unsuccessful. They themselves had also applied multiple times without success, and were feeling discouraged.
They decided to work with City Careers Coach, and their program was administered by an expert recruiter — Hassan Akram, the CEO of City Careers Coach. He had worked as an ex-investment banking recruiter in the City of London, helping candidates from elite investment banks like Goldman Sachs move into private equity and venture capital.
The Process:
Over the course of 8 months, they worked together on a unique and tailored program, which began by developing her brand and tailoring her profile to succeed as an investment banking analyst during the CV review stage. This stage took multiple sessions to create and develop. Why? Simply put, investment banks receive well over 100,000 CVs, and if a CV isn’t strong enough, the recruitment process ends. With this in mind, they collaborated with Hassan to develop a strong profile, resulting in a powerful CV. The CV went through 8 drafts and 402 revisions, which required a significant amount of work. However, it ultimately paid off as they started to receive interview offers at a rapid pace.
Firstly, the individual received tailored guidance and support from Hassan on a one-to-one level in all aspects of her development, including technical and motivational interview training. During these sessions, Hassan went into great detail, helping them to practice and excel at delivering their investment banking interview answers. For example, in addition to being able to confidently explain the merits of a Discounted Cash Flow Model in valuing a company, we also focused on their vocal tonality to ensure it was strong and added extra gravitas to their responses. We also developed detailed and compelling interview responses to the standard — but often most difficult — questions asked in an investment banking interview, such as why investment banking, why this particular firm, and why not any other career. As experienced recruiters who have interviewed over 10,000+ people as talent acquisition professionals, we know that many people struggle with these questions. To help them excel, we used structured frameworks and responses based on City Careers Coach’s proprietary frameworks and McKinsey principles.
Lastly, the individual was introduced to key contacts to boost their profile and provide them with a better understanding of the industry and how to excel. For example, we arranged an exclusive one-to-one networking session with an individual who formerly worked in one of the world’s most elite industries and is currently a member of Forbes 30 under 30. This interaction provided her with unparalleled confidence to excel in the recruitment process for an elite investment bank.
Client has secured an investment banking analyst role in the City of London and is now in the career of their dreams, earning in the top 0.0001% of individuals for their age group and with exceptional career prospects.
They now have the option to enter the ultra-elite fields of venture capital and private equity, where compensation levels can comfortably exceed £10,000,000 or, for the highest performers, more than £100,000,000.
- Source: https://www.ft.com/content/eda4fea9-05c6-47ce-9a4e-8771f402f1e9
- Source: https://www.efinancialcareers.co.uk/news/2022/10/jobs-at-cvc-private-equity-firm
We also forecast them to achieve an annual salary including bonuses of £1,000,000 by the age of 35.
- Source: https://www.efinancialcareers.co.uk/news/2019/05/md-pay-investment-banks
- Source: https://www.efinancialcareers.com/news/2022/01/goldman-sachs-vp-pay
Thanks to the guidance and support provided by City Careers Coach and Hassan, the individual was able to secure an investment banking role with a starting year one salary of £150,000 in the City of London.
CONCLUSION
This case study demonstrates that, with the right guidance and support, it is possible to secure an elite role in investment banking. City Careers Coach, with its experienced recruiters, provides a comprehensive program that can help individuals showcase their skills and experience, build relationships with key contacts, and ultimately break into the front office. This success story serves as an inspiration for anyone looking to transition into the investment banking industry.
Please visit our blog on The Times of India for guidance on entering elite careers: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/author/hassan-akram/
Check our case studies of client-securing offers. Here’s Dhruv who secured multiple offers at investment banks and a hedge fund, Aryan who secured an offer at an investment bank, and a client who requested to stay anonymous client at a boutique investment bank in the M&A division
ABOUT US
Want to also secure a career in venture capital? Click me to book a consultation
We help students secure the world’s highest paying finance careers.
‘Really clear and structured frameworks. Genuinely world-leading. I’m a former private equity investor and was impressed by the depth of their knowledge for elite careers, such as private equity and venture capital. Can’t wait for them to come to HBS again.’
‘I honestly had never heard about City Careers Coach. But they honestly blew me away with the truly personalised nature of the programmes. I got spring weeks at investment banks, hedge funds, and I secured experience at a PE fund. I have a summer internship at an investment bank coming (BNP Paribas). I’m fairly confident I’ll convert this to a full-time offer through the firm’s internship conversion programme.’
‘City Careers Coach was incredibly helpful in my CV recruitment process. I had gathered useful pieces of recruitment information from various sources prior to meeting Hassan, but he was able to bring it all together to help me have a clear picture of what a good recruitment strategy looks like. Beyond being extremely knowledgeable, Hassan, the firm’s CEO, was incredibly flexible, friendly, and willing to help out in any way — I would highly recommend Hassan to anyone looking to break into elite finance careers.’
City Careers Coach is an international network of freelance finance recruiters. We are from investment banking, corporate law, and private equity backgrounds. We provide premium, bespoke, and personalized 1–1 career development programmes. These are for university students looking to enter elite corporate high-paying careers. We have an exceptionally strong track record. 100% of our clients pass CV stage. 90% of our clients secure at least one internship or graduate role. And our average client starting salary is £150,000.
Check our case studies of clients securing offers. Here’s Dhruv who secured multiple offers at investment banks and a hedge fund, Aryan who secured an offer at an investment bank, and a client who requested to stay anonymous client at a boutique investment bank in the M&A division
Please visit our blog on The Times of India for guidance on entering elite careers: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/author/hassan-akram/
