Working in a bank

Why should they hire a SIM-UOL grad if they have ivies and oxbridge grads applying for the position? The only advantage you have over these ivies would be relevant deal experiences esp in Asia given your basic grounding in English and Mandarin through previous hires/internships.

This is what I recommend:

Start from regional boutiques as a summer analyst, get deal experience from mid-market banks and eventually move laterally to BBs as an associate.

Keep in mind a lot of hard work is required - knowledge on valuations models, proficiency in Excel - as in being able to use Visual Basic to program marcos, familiarity with Bloomberg/CapitalIQ/Thomson, familiarity with financials etc etc. You will learn most of the concepts in school (precedent transactions, comparable multiples, CAPM, DCF, Gordon's growth etc) BUT learning how to apply them in rl (Excel modelling, explaining to your MD etc) is on a wholly different league.

You NEED to do well academically. SIM-UOL is fine, but at least a high 2nd upper/1st class degree. Anything lower is a no-go as you'll be pigeonholed into the 'dumb' applicant pool. Also, you NEED to brush up on your industry basics (who are the BBs, who is KKR, Blackrock, Carlyle Group) as well as your overall presentation/interview skills.

Google wallstreetoasis.com to see your competition. S'pore kids are nowhere near that level. Try if possible, crash NTU/NUS/SMU networking fairs and introduce urself to recruiters/bankers. of course some might get annoyed but you'll make a good impression as u're from a different school who bothered to attend. Get their business cards as well and follow up.

For interviews, assuming u've done well enough to land one, expect tough local competition from ntu/smu/nus kids who know their pitchbook/valuation stuff. (Some are as clueless as the guy next door though, and get kicked out early)

Oh and for regional boutiques dun expect a high pay. The most important takeaway is the deal experience. Dun complain about the working hours too. 2-3am workdays are common. Sometimes u'll even end up pulling all-nighters and surviving on Starbucks just to get the pitchbook out.

Oh and don't listen to some of the bs that the people here are spouting. Horizontal xfer from BO/MO is almost impossible. Dun count on it. Only way into FO is not to end up in MO/BO in the 1st place.

Seems tough? Well if you are hungry enough you will get there, no matter how high the mountains are or how deep the sea.

Study hard, work hard and enjoy life.

[ericgohjunhui]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why should they hire a SIM-UOL grad if they have ivies and oxbridge grads applying for the position? The only advantage you have over these ivies would be relevant deal experiences esp in Asia given your basic grounding in English and Mandarin through previous hires/internships.

This is what I recommend:

Start from regional boutiques as a summer analyst, get deal experience from mid-market banks and eventually move laterally to BBs as an associate.

Keep in mind a lot of hard work is required - knowledge on valuations models, proficiency in Excel - as in being able to use Visual Basic to program marcos, familiarity with Bloomberg/CapitalIQ/Thomson, familiarity with financials etc etc. You will learn most of the concepts in school (precedent transactions, comparable multiples, CAPM, DCF, Gordon's growth etc) BUT learning how to apply them in rl (Excel modelling, explaining to your MD etc) is on a wholly different league.

You NEED to do well academically. SIM-UOL is fine, but at least a high 2nd upper/1st class degree. Anything lower is a no-go as you'll be pigeonholed into the 'dumb' applicant pool. Also, you NEED to brush up on your industry basics (who are the BBs, who is KKR, Blackrock, Carlyle Group) as well as your overall presentation/interview skills.

Google wallstreetoasis.com to see your competition. S'pore kids are nowhere near that level. Try if possible, crash NTU/NUS/SMU networking fairs and introduce urself to recruiters/bankers. of course some might get annoyed but you'll make a good impression as u're from a different school who bothered to attend. Get their business cards as well and follow up.

For interviews, assuming u've done well enough to land one, expect tough local competition from ntu/smu/nus kids who know their pitchbook/valuation stuff. (Some are as clueless as the guy next door though, and get kicked out early)

Oh and for regional boutiques dun expect a high pay. The most important takeaway is the deal experience. Dun complain about the working hours too. 2-3am workdays are common. Sometimes u'll even end up pulling all-nighters and surviving on Starbucks just to get the pitchbook out.

Oh and don't listen to some of the bs that the people here are spouting. Horizontal xfer from BO/MO is almost impossible. Dun count on it. Only way into FO is not to end up in MO/BO in the 1st place.

Seems tough? Well if you are hungry enough you will get there, no matter how high the mountains are or how deep the sea.

Study hard, work hard and enjoy life.

Thanks for the advice. I'm in a major dilemma now as I will be completing my degree next year and I will be 26. I have no relevant experience as I'm with the RSAF now. My Bond will complete this year august. Isit better for me to leave this august and look for relevant job that is able to give me the experience while continuing studying part time or should I just complete my studies den look for the job as a fresh grad. Really kinda bother about this. Any kind advise? Thanks

why work with the bank? you slog as hard as a financial advisor

Circle of Financial Advisors Singapore

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why should they hire a SIM-UOL grad if they have ivies and oxbridge grads applying for the position? The only advantage you have over these ivies would be relevant deal experiences esp in Asia given your basic grounding in English and Mandarin through previous hires/internships.

This is what I recommend:

Start from regional boutiques as a summer analyst, get deal experience from mid-market banks and eventually move laterally to BBs as an associate.

Keep in mind a lot of hard work is required - knowledge on valuations models, proficiency in Excel - as in being able to use Visual Basic to program marcos, familiarity with Bloomberg/CapitalIQ/Thomson, familiarity with financials etc etc. You will learn most of the concepts in school (precedent transactions, comparable multiples, CAPM, DCF, Gordon's growth etc) BUT learning how to apply them in rl (Excel modelling, explaining to your MD etc) is on a wholly different league.

You NEED to do well academically. SIM-UOL is fine, but at least a high 2nd upper/1st class degree. Anything lower is a no-go as you'll be pigeonholed into the 'dumb' applicant pool. Also, you NEED to brush up on your industry basics (who are the BBs, who is KKR, Blackrock, Carlyle Group) as well as your overall presentation/interview skills.

Google wallstreetoasis.com to see your competition. S'pore kids are nowhere near that level. Try if possible, crash NTU/NUS/SMU networking fairs and introduce urself to recruiters/bankers. of course some might get annoyed but you'll make a good impression as u're from a different school who bothered to attend. Get their business cards as well and follow up.

For interviews, assuming u've done well enough to land one, expect tough local competition from ntu/smu/nus kids who know their pitchbook/valuation stuff. (Some are as clueless as the guy next door though, and get kicked out early)

Oh and for regional boutiques dun expect a high pay. The most important takeaway is the deal experience. Dun complain about the working hours too. 2-3am workdays are common. Sometimes u'll even end up pulling all-nighters and surviving on Starbucks just to get the pitchbook out.

Oh and don't listen to some of the bs that the people here are spouting. Horizontal xfer from BO/MO is almost impossible. Dun count on it. Only way into FO is not to end up in MO/BO in the 1st place.

Seems tough? Well if you are hungry enough you will get there, no matter how high the mountains are or how deep the sea.

Study hard, work hard and enjoy life.

This guy is right.

Deal experience > degrees.

Also, don't cry if you work until 4am at night. Big-4s work until 4am but only get 3k a month, so consider yourself lucky.

BO/MO->FO = Impossible

I suggest all prospective white collar slaves start looking at regional botiques ->> MMs and then BBs, and if you are lucky BB-> PE/HF --> GOD

[ericgohjunhui]

Originally Posted by Ex-BBer

This guy is right.

Deal experience > degrees.

Also, don't cry if you work until 4am at night. Big-4s work until 4am but only get 3k a month, so consider yourself lucky.

BO/MO->FO = Impossible

I suggest all prospective white collar slaves start looking at regional botiques ->> MMs and then BBs, and if you are lucky BB-> PE/HF --> GOD

So is it advisable for me to leave the force in aug to look for the relevant job that provide the right experience while doing my part time degree at the same time?
Anyway what does MM stands for?

MM = mid-market banks

BB = Bulge-Bracket Banks (big-name investment banks)

PE = Private Equity

HF = Hedge Fund

Note: There're different classes or prestige of 'boutique' banks. Rothschild is a top-notch investment house which is boutique, yet highly reputable.

Cheers

[ericgohjunhui]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

MM = mid-market banks

BB = Bulge-Bracket Banks (big-name investment banks)

PE = Private Equity

HF = Hedge Fund

Note: There're different classes or prestige of 'boutique' banks. Rothschild is a top-notch investment house which is boutique, yet highly reputable.

Cheers

Thanks for the classification. Sorry for my ignorance but can i check what type of banks are under each classification? Thanks

Originally Posted by ericgohjunhui

Thanks for the classification. Sorry for my ignorance but can i check what type of banks are under each classification? Thanks

Don't mind me chiming in but google actually gives u a pretty good idea.

BBs are firms like Barclays
PEs are firms like KKR and Carlyle

correct me if im wrong.

[ericgohjunhui]

I'm in a major dilemma now as I will be completing my degree next year and I will be 26. I have no relevant experience as I'm with the RSAF now. My Bond will complete this year august. Isit better for me to leave this august and look for relevant job that is able to give me the experience while continuing studying part time or should I just complete my studies den look for the job as a fresh grad. Really kinda bother about this. Any kind advice? Thanks

Originally Posted by ericgohjunhui

I'm in a major dilemma now as I will be completing my degree next year and I will be 26. I have no relevant experience as I'm with the RSAF now. My Bond will complete this year august. Isit better for me to leave this august and look for relevant job that is able to give me the experience while continuing studying part time or should I just complete my studies den look for the job as a fresh grad. Really kinda bother about this. Any kind advice? Thanks

Dear Eric,

How long have you been with the RSAF? Before you quit your job with the RSAF, have you given careful thought to why are you quitting? Are the reasons due to pay (low?), or working hours (high?), or lack of respect (rank, esp when talking to senior officers?) etc etc etc?

If the reasons are a combination of the above, then my advice is not to quit your job. In ib, especially with a boutique, you start out with super low pay, approx 50% of what your peers get in BBs, you work like a dog during the day and when your wife/kids are sleeping, and you have no pride when your MD barks at you to fetch coffee from the nearest starbucks every morning.

the only valid reason for you to quit the RSAF is that you have 0 future staying with them. Exciting promotion opportunities are only provided to scholar-officers and all others are mere stepping stones for them to command and control. In contrast, successfully landing a job in ib and eventually PE/HF would almost guarantee you a 6-figure annual salary before you hit 40. Hell, even way before that for those that start early.

Now the only question is how HUNGRY are you to get a job in IB? Are you desperate enough to quit your job, desperate enough to study hard in school and desperate enough to venture out of your syllabus and learn the relevant skills (see above post)? The decision is yours to make, not anyone's.

Yes? you think its easy?

Talk only and no action would only get you as far as the nearest bus stop instead of the CBD. There is a reason why a career in FO is so lucrative. They recruit from the best by the best. If you dont start out among the best, work/study your ass off to get to the best.

P.S. judging by your level of knowledge you wont even survive the initial resume/CV screening, not to mention the subsequent interviews, aptitude tests and assessment centres. If i were you, I would think twice before quitting the RSAF. Its possible that you end up working/studying your ass off and still NOT land a FO role.

The best bet for you now is to graduate with a good honours and apply to a masters program(NOT MBA, you cant get in) in a target school in the UK/US. I know some BBs recruit from schools like warwick, lse and maybe nottingham/manchester. NYU would be a good bet too.