Kickstarted My Career - I Now Work in PE

[JFH1]

Ok, strictly speaking this is about my second job in finance, which is the one that most mattered to me from a career perspective.

To get my first job out of the way, I joined a large retail bank out of University, applying – like most people – through the standard “milk round” of applications and interviews. Everyone at the time wanted to go into finance and I was no different. With hindsight, I realise that I had not analysed my motivation – you should always question why you want a certain type of job and find out what it actually involves. This will reduce the risk of a bad decision that could, at best, waste a few years of your professional life and, at worst, result in you being thoroughly miserable.

Having moved to London, found accommodation and presented myself for work, it took me only a couple of months to realise that I had no interest whatsoever in retail banking and the thought of being trapped in the sector filled me with dread. As a result, I did what I should have done earlier and looked into what would actually excite me and make me want to get out of bed in the morning. For me, the key requirements were that it should be intellectually challenging, involve decision making and not be purely sales oriented (not my strength). An additional benefit would be the possibility of moving back to my favourite city (Edinburgh), although that was not a deal breaker. The solution seemed to be – and indeed was – fund management, less sexy and certainly less remunerative than, say, stock broking, but a discipline which ticked all my requirements.

Having worked this out, I needed a plan of action. As I was motivated by the prospect of doing something I would really enjoy, I poured a lot of effort into this, including finding out in detail what the job entailed, discovering the entry routes and requirements, compiling a list of potential employers and researching what differentiated each one.

Having done my desk research, I needed to work out how I could most effectively approach my potential employers. This was without a doubt the most challenging part of the process. Just sending off CVs and hoping for a response seemed unlikely to succeed, so I decided to hit the phone as well. As I said, am not a natural salesman, so this was by far the most nerve-wracking part of the process for me, but it ultimately paid dividends. I was focusing on relatively small companies, so I decided to aim to speak to the CEO or CIO and it was surprising how many I got through to (this would not be the obvious strategy if applying to, say, Blackrock – you need to tailor your strategy to circumstances).

My blitz approach resulted in several interviews and I landed a trainee position with one of the oldest and most venerable names in Scottish fund management (now subsumed into a much larger company). While they must have thought I had what it would take to do the job, I subsequently learned that they had recently formed a JV with an Italian fund management company, so the fact that Italian is one of my languages was a significant factor in getting the job – never underestimate the importance of luck!

All this was a few decades ago and things have of course changed since then, not least the Scottish fund management environment. Nevertheless, I believe that there are several lessons that can be learnt from my experience (and I wish I had learned them sooner), namely:

• Question your motives. First, are you sure that you really want to work in finance (and you’re not just following a fashion). If the answer is yes, what branch of finance? What would you really enjoy doing, not just being able to brag about doing?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses? Be objective – ask your friends and family if you want an independent view. Play to your strengths.
• Do your research – find out what different jobs really entail. Would you, for example, be happy to give up most of your (limited) spare time to study for a CFA? This might be a requirement.
• Do your research (again) – find out which companies offer the roles you are interested in. Learn about them in detail.
• Create an action plan for getting a job and stick to it – work hard at this. Don’t give up.
• Engage with people – this is harder in the days of large companies. Network if you can. Call in favours to get introductions. Use family or school connections if you have them – this may seem unfair to others, but would you rather someone else got the job? If you can help an employer meet diversity targets in some way, use that too – the same logic applies.
• With regard to luck, remember the words of Sam Goldwyn: “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. The more you persist, the more likely you are to find yourself in the right place at the right time.

The whole process took me the best part of a year, but I then spent a wonderful couple of decades working in Fund Management before moving into my current role (more about fund management itself and my current role in future articles). I only got there as a result of honest self-evaluation and determination – you can do the same if you try.

 

[magellan1]

Thanks for sharing your career discovery experience. I agree with you that one needs a plan of action. A person with a concrete plan can achieve almost anything. It is also true that the traditional job application process is not very effective. Recently, I came across data showing that on average people need to apply to 100-200 jobs on LinkedIn or company websites to get hired. There are several reasons for that. High-quality employers receive hundreds of candidates and they can cherry-pick the one that matches best their requirements and is not necessarily the best professional (e.g. the most likely to remain in the company for a long-time, the one with lower salary expectations, etc). In addition to that, many companies create job posts to test the market and see if they come across a perfect candidate without having an urgent need to hire someone.

 

[JFH1]

Unfortunately it does seem to be more difficult to land a job now than it was when I was applying, at least in part, I believe, because consolidation has created a smaller number of bigger companies which are now swamped with applications. As a result, it is even more important to have a plan to get noticed. It is also worth questioning whether working for a large company is really what you want - a stint at, say, Goldman Sachs may be great for your CV (and your bank balance) but could a career at smaller, more boutique companies provide a more interesting career path?

 

[JustAnotherHuman1]

Thanks for sharing. I agree life is inherently unfair as no one chooses the family they are born into and so some have more opportunities than others, but I doubt anyone have ever turned down a privileged opportunity if handed to them and they wanted it, only because not everyone had access.

It is also true that quite a lot of students apply to banks in the hopes of making big money, yet don't really appreciate or even know what the job entails. Which is fine. The money/glam factor is a pull, and movies like American Psycho, the Wolf of Wall St etc don't exactly help making this career any less desirable. They can learn on the job, but is more like a catch-22: to get experience, they need a job, and to get experience, they need a job. So joining finance societies on campus is quite useful, as is talking to previous interns, attending CV clinics and talks with current professionals and learn more about their preferred field of finance this way (which as you point out, might not even be the right fit for their personality or long-term goals; but you don't really know until you try, do you).

 

[HowardM1]

Thanks for sharing. I agree life is inherently unfair as no one chooses the family they are born into and so some have more opportunities than others, but I doubt anyone have ever turned down a privileged opportunity if handed to them and they wanted it, only because not everyone had access.

It is also true that quite a lot of students apply to banks in the hopes of making big money, yet don't really appreciate or even know what the job entails. Which is fine. The money/glam factor is a pull, and movies like American Psycho, the Wolf of Wall St etc don't exactly help making this career any less desirable. They can learn on the job, but is more like a catch-22: to get experience, they need a job, and to get experience, they need a job. So joining finance societies on campus is quite useful, as is talking to previous interns, attending CV clinics and talks with current professionals and learn more about their preferred field of finance this way (which as you point out, might not even be the right fit for their personality or long-term goals; but you don't really know until you try, do you).

I think the point about considering a smaller firm from a previous poster is an interesting one, and that fits with your comment about working out what the best fit for you is.

Yes, GS, JPM, etc. might look good on the CV, but those places churn through staff at a rapid clip. If you do your research and find an interesting smaller firm that fits you well, one, you will probably learn more and progress faster, and two, when you go for the next role, you have an interesting story to tell about why you picked them and not GS, or at least why you chose to target the boutique. That will make you stand out from the crowd by construction.

Also, as others have said, life is not a bed of roses at a big shop; often, it's the opposite. Build a 20-year career at GS, and you will do well. Observe the trajectory of veterans at GS, and many will have been there for 10-20 years, but what you are seeing is survivorship bias. You don't see all the ones that got fired. I mean, at GS in particular, after a certain level, you almost have to keep moving higher, or you're cut. Many partners get made redundant – that's a fact. It might sound crazy, but it makes sense; they do their tour of duty, make a lot of money, and if they are not destined for a more senior role, they make way for the next cohort.

I also agree that the way the industry is portrayed in movies does not help. Yes, you need a certain amount of ego and confidence, but the lead characters in those movies are not good guides. As I'm sure you're aware, there will always – and I mean always – be someone smarter, luckier, better-looking, better-paid, or simply more interesting than you. That's a fact. My advice for people just starting out is to ponder on that for a while. If you can't live with it, you won't last.

The key to the game is to stay in the game!

 

[JustAnotherHuman1]

I think the point about considering a smaller firm from a previous poster is an interesting one, and that fits with your comment about working out what the best fit for you is.

Yes, GS, JPM, etc. might look good on the CV, but those places churn through staff at a rapid clip. If you do your research and find an interesting smaller firm that fits you well, one, you will probably learn more and progress faster, and two, when you go for the next role, you have an interesting story to tell about why you picked them and not GS, or at least why you chose to target the boutique. That will make you stand out from the crowd by construction.

Also, as others have said, life is not a bed of roses at a big shop; often, it's the opposite. Build a 20-year career at GS, and you will do well. Observe the trajectory of veterans at GS, and many will have been there for 10-20 years, but what you are seeing is survivorship bias. You don't see all the ones that got fired. I mean, at GS in particular, after a certain level, you almost have to keep moving higher, or you're cut. Many partners get made redundant – that's a fact. It might sound crazy, but it makes sense; they do their tour of duty, make a lot of money, and if they are not destined for a more senior role, they make way for the next cohort.

I also agree that the way the industry is portrayed in movies does not help. Yes, you need a certain amount of ego and confidence, but the lead characters in those movies are not good guides. As I'm sure you're aware, there will always – and I mean always – be someone smarter, luckier, better-looking, better-paid, or simply more interesting than you. That's a fact. My advice for people just starting out is to ponder on that for a while. If you can't live with it, you won't last.

The key to the game is to stay in the game!

It really depends on the gap between that certain "smaller company" and best-in-class brand of GS though. IMO there are better ways to stand out, for example starting and running up a side hustle. Do you have any other ideas? Lowering your standards (due to wanting to work less intense hours and hoping to get more responsibility earlier on) will also mean missing out access to the alumni network, brand name and not least, as OP points out money in return. If it's an elite boutique, the equation might look a bit different indeed.

I would add that nobody is perfect. It might sound obvious, but there are consequences to this fact. Sure, there will always be people who are better off or worse than you in some aspects of life, but then in some other aspects you might be better. There are many different metrics to compare yourself to others. In other words: everybody has different strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. And it's the unique combination/profile of those that matters. Speaking of which.. comparison is the thief of joy. Finding your "passion" as it had been previously mentioned on here, one that fits your personality or skills, is quite underrated and the time invested into "finding it" will pay off handsomely. I know it did for me, and as the saying goes, make your work and hobby the same and you will never have to work a day.

 

[HowardM1]

It really depends on the gap between that certain "smaller company" and best-in-class brand of GS though. IMO there are better ways to stand out, for example starting and running up a side hustle. Do you have any other ideas? Lowering your standards (due to wanting to work less intense hours and hoping to get more responsibility earlier on) will also mean missing out access to the alumni network, brand name and not least, as OP points out money in return. If it's an elite boutique, the equation might look a bit different indeed.

I would add that nobody is perfect. It might sound obvious, but there are consequences to this fact. Sure, there will always be people who are better off or worse than you in some aspects of life, but then in some other aspects you might be better. There are many different metrics to compare yourself to others. In other words: everybody has different strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. And it's the unique combination/profile of those that matters. Speaking of which.. comparison is the thief of joy. Finding your "passion" as it had been previously mentioned on here, one that fits your personality or skills, is quite underrated and the time invested into "finding it" will pay off handsomely. I know it did for me, and as the saying goes, make your work and hobby the same and you will never have to work a day.

I suppose my point is the very large firms like GS hire a lot of grad's and then fire a lot of them. So one way in is through the front door but there are other ways that might suit people better and give them more longevity.

I know a former partner at GS that worked for another bank in his earlier career Joined as an ED, made MD within a year and partner within 5.

Does working at a different smaller firm equate to lowering ones standards, maybe I guess it depends on the firm and what you think of as standards, believe me there are plenty that have higher standards than GS! Also plenty that pay a lot more, my mate at GS (not the partner!) is always complaining about not getting paid etc.

I'm not sure what the value is for ones own brand, to work at GS for a couple of years, as a Grad the "Alumni" won't be all that helpful at that level, better to build real organic contacts in the industry. I admit it may well vary across departments and business lines.

Agree one should put the time and effort into understanding what they really enjoy and try and match that with where they have ability but also be flexible to how that can change over time.