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HOW does this sound for a first job: £35,000 to £45,000 basic salary plus a
joining bonus (a golden hello) of £5,000 to £10,000? To die for? Perhaps,
but the top financial employers aren’t charities — they pay extremely well
and in return expect you to break delicate parts of your anatomy in the
course of duty.
A career in the City is an attractive proposition for many with its
high-adrenalin assignments and generous pay packets, but it is worth looking
beneath the gloss before commiting yourself. In this series of articles we
will give life in the City a reality check by talking to both recruiters and
the recruited to find out what life in the Square Mile is really like.
Stress is a fact of life, but in the City it is contagious and can encourage
some pretty unhealthy habits. It is no coincidence that the City is
Britain’s busiest centre for Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous and
Gamblers Anonymous. One 43-year-old consultant who has chronic fatigue
syndrome and has just quit the City says: “Many employers provide
comprehensive private medical insurance, which includes a free trip to The
Priory if things get out of hand. The trouble is, as soon as you’ve been
given a clean bill of health you’re back at your desk facing the same
situation that led to depression and compulsive behaviour problems in the
first place.”
This is no place for the sensitive or for those who value their free time. For
investment bankers and market analysts the day starts so early you’ll be
eating breakfast the night before.
Overtime is obligatory, typically an additional 10 per cent to 20 per cent of
your normal working hours, and it’s usually unpaid. Then there’s the
mandatory socialising. Graduate trainees are expected to participate with
enthusiasm in a range of team-building exercises and events — great fun or a
ghastly prospect, depending on your mood and attitude.
If it sounds tough, it is. An actuarial consultant in his late thirties, who
recently moved into investment banking, says: “I hear so many graduate
trainees say that they’re planning to do five or maybe ten years in the City
and then get out. The problem is that it’s all too easy to get trapped once
you get used to the money and the lifestyle — the smart flat, kids in
private school and high-maintenance partner. It might look glamorous from
the outside but the reality is that they’re financial handcuffs.”
Still interested? Then you could consider doing an internship, which is where
you work for your prospective employer in the summer holiday before your
final year at university. Work experience will help to boost CV and job
applications, because it will show that you are keen; it will also give you
an insight into what life is really like in the sector.
Some jobs require specific qualifications but most top employers will take any
degree discipline provided you’ve got a first or an upper second from a
decent university.
You’ll also need to be able to demonstrate initiative and drive plus good
analytical, communication, numeracy, literacy and team-working skills.
Fitting in is what really counts. If you like the idea of asset management
you need to be passionate about it. Find out in advance what the unique
selling points of your target firms are. If you get interviews for the same
job with three different employers, you’ve got to do a very good impression
of being sincere and committed to the unique corporate ethos. The people
hiring you think of it as a marriage contract.
Debbie Harrison is a senior visiting fellow at Cass Business School. Follow
the series at www.cass.city.ac.uk/thetimes
Hugh Karseras recalls his first day in the City as a new graduate
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