1 year agoGeneration Hexed
Finish school, go to university, apply for job, begin career. It is the plan millions of young Britons have tended to live their life by for the past two decades at least. It is expected that a good degree from a well respected university, can be cashed in with relatively minimal fuss for a world-is-your-oyster card. For the majority of today’s twenty-something university graduates it ...
1 year agoWaging war: What your job will pay and why
Increasingly, graduates find themselves at the receiving end of company marketing campaigns. Corporate branding ensures that we all know the Big 4, the Top-Tier Consultancies and the Bulge Brackets and have at least toyed with the thought of applying there. Generally, the bigger the company, the more sophisticated the courting. From entertaining final year students at luxurious dinners ...
1 year agoConsulting the experts
Consulting is a broad term which encapsulates the practice of advising companies on how they can improve their business. Traditionally, consulting firms fall into one of two camps: they either advise clients on how to increase revenues or decrease costs. The first type are commonly known as ‘Strategy Consultants’; the second as ‘Operational’ or ‘Management Consultants’. However, it i...
1 year agoThe Gateway Guide to Recession Dodging
You can always count on The Gateway to tell it like it is. Whilst many careers publications appear oblivious to the economic climate which we undoubtedly have an effect on graduates coming out of university in the next couple of years, we have always striven to give you a realistic perspective of what to expect. Recessions are common occurrences in any economy and even the most severe ...
1 year agoAccounting for the Credit Crunch
The Credit Crunch has, so far, been a crisis born in the financial world that threatens to spill over into the real world. Already financial services companies – investment banks and asset managers – are scaling back their graduate recruitment intake for 2009. Professional services companies – consultancies, accountants and lawyers – seem set to follow. There is only one subject likely...
1 year agoUBS: you & them
UBS is a leading global financial services firm specialising in asset management, commercial banking, investment banking and wealth management. It employs 72,000 people in 50 countries 1. Could you tell us about your position within UBS and what it involves? I head up a division of around 4,000 people, working closely on all aspects of strategy and day-to-day business issues. I also le...
1 year agoCareer at a bulge bracket: don't bank on it
Another day, another scary headline: “Banking Crisis”, “110,000 City Jobs Lost”. With the press thriving in its role as harbinger of the financial apocalypse, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate truth from sensationalism. So what exactly has been going on behind the plate glass and security barriers of Canary Wharf? And what does the current downturn mean for all you b...
1 year agoM&A: a good fit for you?
Interview with Kevin Smith - Head of UK M&A at Merrill Lynch...You started in banking relatively late on in your career compared to a lot of people, what would you say was the trigger for you in deciding to make the move over from working in industry?The reason lies in the difference between being on the advisory as opposed to the principal side. The company I was working for was hit ...
1 year agoA foot in the door...
A foot in the door...Given the effects of the recent market turmoil, it will be inevitable that firms will not be recruiting a large number of inexperienced graduates over the next two-three years. Competition for places is increasing by the year and Spring Programmes present themselves as an essential tool and opening for aspiring students to get ahead early within financial services....
1 year agoHow student societies can help you land your perfect job
Your university is likely to have a society for banking/finance, law, management/consulting and entrepreneurship – most of the routes students take to get into the business world. Between employer presentations, careers fairs, graduate recruitment websites and the plethora of other sources which can help you make one of the biggest decisions of your life – namely your first job, it’s o...
1 year agoBreaking into Banking: Getting your foot in the door
Malcolm Horton is currently an Executive Director and Head of European Graduate Recruitment and Program Management at Lehman Brothers, based in London. He currently oversees the recruiting, training and development of analysts and associates across all areas of the firm. Why is it so difficult for students to get their first break into investment banking? The biggest challenge for s...
1 year agoInterviews: Money Talks
PICTURE THIS. You are in an interview for that internship or full-time job with an investment bank, or management consultancy, law, or accountancy firm. Your interviewer, having broken the ice with gentle pleasantries, suddenly drops the small talk and cuts to the chase: “So tell me, what’s your view on the financial markets?” If you are serious about nailing the interview, you’d bette...
1 year agoConsulting Interviews
In order to prepare properly for an interview in consulting, you must ensure you are up to date with everything below… Personal Preparation 1) Re-read your CV – why have you made the career decisions you have? Remember that anything on your CV is fair game – be prepared to talk about it 2) Motivation – why do you want a career in consulting? Why are you attracted to this consultancy? ...
1 year agoThe Gateway Guide to Investment Banking
The Gateway Guide to Investment Banking Getting the jobIt’s all about preparation. You need to have crystal clear answers, thought out in advance, to prove your interest in and qualification for the job to which you are applying.The key topics will be: –yourself, your study and career choices and your motivationyour ...
1 year agoSee what a former LSE student has to say..
"Hank Paulson’s $700bn rescue package has run into difficulty on Capitol Hill. Rightly so: it was ill-conceived. Congress would be abdicating its responsibility if it gave the Treasury secretary a blank cheque. The bill submitted to Congress even had language in it that would exempt the secretary’s decisions from review by any court or administrative agency – the ultimate fulfillment of the Bus...
1 year agoWhat is the City?
To the great majority of outsiders the City of London is monolith. It may contain a variety of activities – many with a minimal or non-existent public profile – but these are viewed as interrelated and intercontinental. After, how often do media make use of their convenient phrase ‘the City vie’ in the context of interest rates, exchange rates and other key economic variables? ‘City’ really ...
1 year agoValuation
If there is one subject that every student preparing to interview for investment banking needs to master, it is Valuation. Or, put another way, the means of developing an opinion on what something is worth. Why is it so important and what is it all about? Everyone gets involved in a valuation at some point in their lives. Buying a house? You will want a clear idea of what it is worth, be...
1 year agoWhat’s the difference between debt and equity?
Imagine you were about to buy a house. The cost is £100,000 and as luck would have it, last week you won £100,000 on the lottery. So you have the money to pay for the house in full in cash. However, your bank has told you it will lend you ninety per cent of the price - £90,000 - as a mortgage. What’s more, your boyfriend / girlfriend has already said they are willing to invest as much as...
1 year agoHow to pass FSA exams
Note: These are the exams you need to take in the UK to deal with securities and investments; the equivalent in the USA are Series 7 and Series 63K My story Life was f*cking good in August 2005. I'd just got a Distinction in my Masters to complement by 1st Class Bachelors degree, and due to shortly start at a top investment bank with an estimated £60,000 salary and bonus in my first year....
1 year agoThe five steps to success
There's a wide variety of ways for people to get jobs in an investment bank. A few start in administrative positions and manage to work their way into the front office, whilst others have a Masters and PhD before starting. However, for university students we recommend the following as the most clear-cut, straightforward path to success in landing a graduate job. 1) Pick the right University ...
1 year agoRecommended books
Barbarians at the gate (Bryan Burrough & John Helyar) This is the story of the largest corporate take-over in American history. With a stake of US$25 billion, the battle for the control of RJR Nabisco during October and November 1988 became a symbol of the greed and power-mongering of the eighties. This gripping narrative reveals the truth behind a Wall Street gamble that sent shock waves thro...
1 year agoGuys: interviews - what to wear & how to behave
Before you even utter a word, the first impressions your interviewers will form will be based on what you wear and how you behave. Knowing what to wear and how to behave when going for an interview is an important part of landing a job. What to wear If you don't already have a good suit for interviews buy one - there's no need to go overboard and pay too much though. Ideally buy an off th...
1 year agoInvestment Banking Terminology
A Arbitrage Dealing in two or more markets at the same time (or in similar products in the same market) to take advantage of temporary mispricing in order to make a profit At-the-money In options when the strike price equals the price of the underlying contract B Bear A person who believes that prices will decline Bear Market A market characterized by declining prices Bid The ...
1 year agoIBD Internship Hell
Investment banking. Seems to have some sort of a ring to it. You can imagine saying it in a bar? Such a great introduction? "Yeah, I'm into mergers and acquisitions", it's bound to get you somewhere. And you can imagine the work, long board meetings punctuated with cigar smoke winding around the caviar as you entertain some of the most powerful people in the world, discussing a takeover of this...
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This is where you can read expert-advice - or even contribute to the nicube Community by submitting your own article. Topics focus on the recruitment process at leading firms in investment banking, private equity, management consulting, accounting and law.
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latest entries
- Generation Hexed in Investment Banking
- Waging war: What your job will pay and why in Investment Banking
- Consulting the experts in Consulting
- The Gateway Guide to Recession Dodging in Investment Banking
- Accounting for the Credit Crunch in Investment Banking
- UBS: you & them in Investment Banking
- Career at a bulge bracket: don't bank on it in Investment Banking
- M&A: a good fit for you? in Investment Banking
- A foot in the door... in Investment Banking
- How student societies can help you land your perfect job in Investment Banking