Case Study: How An LSE International Student Secured Hedge Fund and Investment Bank Offers
Case Study: How This International Student-Secured Hedge Fund and Investment Banking Offers
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.
***This article is aimed towards university and MBA students looking to enter elite corporate careers, such as investment banking, private equity, and venture capital ***
Dhruv Mathur, a first-year student from the London School of Economics, approached us with the goal of securing a highly coveted front-office career in the investment banking or hedge fund industry. Despite being a brilliant student at one of the world’s most elite universities, Dhruv faced significant competition from students at institutions such as the University of Oxford, Harvard, and Yale. Acceptance rates for elite finance careers can be as low as 1%, making it an incredibly competitive field. He recognised that he needed help to stand out from the crowd.
Dhruv was a standout client who excelled in our programme
In order to give himself an edge, he decided to work with City Careers Coach in one of our world-leading programmes, which was led by me, Hassan Akram, CEO of City Careers Coach and an ex-investment banking recruiter.
We were having to decline offers! See below
I have designed frameworks that have helped clients achieve year-one earnings of £150,000 after graduating from university. Additionally, I have spoken at Harvard Business School to the MBA class on how to secure elite careers.
The offers kept coming!
Solution:
To help Dhruv stand out in the highly competitive field of investment banking and hedge funds, we implemented a 12-month roadmap that consisted of a three-pronged strategy: brand development, CV development, and interview preparation.
First, we worked with Dhruv to develop his personal brand, focusing on his strengths and creating an application strategy that targeted the most desirable and high-performing careers. This was followed by our world-leading CV development programme, which has a 100% success rate. We reviewed and redrafted Dhruv’s CV eight times, resulting in a final version that he described as ‘exceptional.’
He had a lot of interviews…
This exceptional CV formed the basis of our application strategy, resulting in interview offers from every firm Dhruv applied to, including venture capital firms, investment banks, and fixed-income boutiques.
We honestly find it hard to keep track!
Next, we prepared Dhruv for interviews through a detailed interview program, where we structured and refined his answers to ensure they were effective and clear. We adapted his motivational answers 12 times and restructured his competency answers 15 times, using City Careers Coach’s proprietary principles.
Finally, we made strategic introductions to individuals in the hedge fund industry to further enhance Dhruv’s understanding of the terminology, attributes, and qualities needed to excel.
Of course!
Results:
Dhruv’s efforts and hard work paid off, as he achieved the following results with our help:
- 2 investment banking offers in the sales and trading division, including at Barclays and BNP
- 1 hedge fund offer at Point 72
- 1 venture capital internship
- 1 fixed-income focused fin-tech boutique
- More than 10 interviews at elite organisations, including venture capital firms, investment banks, and others
- Interviews at each institution he applied to
Through our world-leading personalised career development programmes, led by an ex-investment banking and private equity recruiter, we were able to help Dhruv stand out and secure offers from some of the most prestigious firms in the industry. As Dhruv said, it was “the best investment he ever made.”
Please visit our blog on The Times of India for guidance on entering elite careers: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/author/hassan-akram/
ABOUT US
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 personalised 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. 95% of our clients secure at least one internship or graduate role. And our highest client starting salary is £150,000.
Please visit our blog on The Times of India for guidance on entering elite careers: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/author/hassan-akram/
