- The EduFin Project
Top 7 Tips for international students to get investment banking jobs in UK
While the popular opinion seems to be that UK job market doesn't offer many opportunities for international students, in our opinion this is not true.
In any new country and recruitment market, you need to know the rules of engagement and corporate culture, as well as strategies which home students use to gain advantage during graduate recruitment process.
Investment Banking or Finance Jobs in UK are extremely competitive. As such, International student will need to ensure that they have a strategy that will make them attractive candidate (as compared to home candidates who know the culture, recruitment process and have network within companies) and give them the best chance during the job search.
In our view, the top tips for international students who want to secure an investment banking job in UK are:
Proactivity: Take a proactive approach in recruitment and ensure you understand the recruitment process for your chosen sector/sectors. This means understanding when the application process opens, deadlines, various stages in recruitment.
Be prepared: Make sure you are prepared with your resume and draft of cover letter. Also ensure you have done your research on the top 5-10 companies you want to apply to
Focus on Fit: Given majority of your working life you spend with your colleagues, cultural fit is seen as essential in UK. Understand UK corporate culture and ensure your cover letters shows how you are good fit for the roles you are applying
Network: This means going to networking events, hustling on LinkedIn to meet recruiters for smaller companies, following up with people post networking for internships and full time roles. This requires the person to be social and well read, more on this below
Do your due diligence: Ensure you have done your research on the organisation and sectors you are applying to. Keep up to date with news in the sector. Also, apply your research in the resume and cover letter by doing tailored applications and making sure resumes and cover letters are well formatted and error free
Be consistent: If your aim is to get a job and compete with global candidates for a job in UK, then be ready to put in time at least 1–2 hours daily during the recruitment season
Be persistent: This is the most common skill among international students who have received job offers in UK. Job hunting is hard and especially harder when you are new to country and don't know the culture and format of hiring. Ensuring you can keep the motivation and keep on putting in persistent hours and applications until you secure a role is key
The above we appreciate is hard and hence candidates don't succeed in getting a job in UK however with a strategic and well planned approach, UK offers amazing job opportunities for international students with good culture and economic benefits,
If you are an international student interested in a career in finance or investment banking in UK? Book your free 30 min appointment now with us to see we can support you in forming a strategic plan to get your dream investment banking job in UK., We provide end to end handholding for international students on a 1-on-1 basis tailored to your objectives to maximize your chances of getting a coveted investment banking or finance job in UK. Book your appointment now www.edufinproject.com