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Career Workshop

Career Workshop. “The Investment Club is designed to improve members understanding and provide real world experience of Capital Markets and Investment Management.”. AGENDA. Key skills For Finance/ Consulting . The Five Skills for Finance/ Consulting.

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Career Workshop

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  1. Career Workshop “The Investment Club is designed to improve members understanding and provide real world experience of Capital Markets and Investment Management.”

  2. AGENDA

  3. Key skills For Finance/ Consulting

  4. The Five Skills for Finance/ Consulting

  5. These skills can be demonstrated in a number of ways • Firms hire from a wide variety of backgrounds • They are looking for candidates with the capacity to grow and develop in the future • “Finance/ Business skills” can be demonstrated through non-paid experience • Unique of experiences are often preferred over “cookie-cutter” applicants Emphasize the 5 key skills in every aspect of your application

  6. Resume Writing

  7. Resumes follow a very specific format NAME • EDUCATION • Current university/high school attended • Awards and scholarships Do not try to differentiate your resume based on its appearance! • Work/Volunteer Experience • 2-3 experiences, each with 2-3 clarifying bullets • Focus on demonstrating the 5 key skills • Extra-curriculars/Interests • Opportunity to stand out • Firms are looking for unique individuals

  8. Always be specific and focus on the impact you’ve created in your experiences • Context • Provide background/clarification of the situation • Action • Describe what you specifically did in the situation • Result • What impact did you have? Quantify your experiences whenever possible

  9. Your experiences may be more relevant than you think This… Become this… “Oversaw the daily programming and well-being of over sixty five campers, aged 12-14, by supervising and directing eleven counselors; efforts led to 30% of one-month campers extending their summer contracts “ “Supervised camp counselors, ensuring effective daily programming for all campers“ “Represented largest region on 12 month, national, cross functional task force that included all retail branch stakeholders; set standards, policies and procedures for the firm’s $300 million re-branding initiative that followed the public merger announcement.” “Sat on company task force responsible for re-branding of firm following corporate merger” “Explored the feasibility of a flat fee structure for a public sector organization by creating a financial pricing model analyzing over 2M rows of client data, resulting in up to $3.3M of increased compliance revenue” “Created a pricing model to assess the feasibility of a flat fee structure for a public sector organization”

  10. Cover Letter Writing

  11. Keep it short! • Recruiters will receive hundreds of applications – they want cover letters that are clear and concise • Keep it to the point and avoid unnecessary filler • Leave plenty of white space • Focus on 2-3 main experiences from your resume that you want to highlight

  12. Make it firm-specific • Recruiters can spot a “generic” cover letter • Include specific details as to why you want to work for a particular firm • Firm culture, nature of the work, travel model, etc • Attend info sessions and speak with firm representatives • Name drop! • Only if you’ve developed a strong relationship

  13. Why do you want to work here? Why should they hire you? Your Contact Information • Be specific, differentiate on level of detail • Demonstrate fit with firm culture Firm Contact Information • Introduction • Why do you want to work at this firm? • What sets you apart? • Explain key experiences in greater depth • This portion is less firm-specific and more transferable across applications • Body (1-2 paragraphs) • Emphasize the top 5 skills • Use “business language” • Avoid repetition • Summarize key points • Reaffirm interest in the firm • Conclusion • Brief summary Signature

  14. Behavioural Interview

  15. What is this Behavioral Component? • A set of questions geared to understanding your personality and previous experiences • Seen in virtually all interviews • Becomes an increasingly larger component as you progress throughout a firm’s interviews • Termed the ‘fit’ portion of the process • “Is this someone that I would want to work with?”

  16. Why should I care about it? Key Differentiator A Necessity of Consulting Tests Structured Thinking • Most prepare little for this component • Ultimately, candidates perform cases similarly • Often it comes down to behavioural for decisions • Industry requires long hours in team environments • A candidate can be the brightest of the bunch but, without a good behavioural, will be unlikely to receive an offer • Core skill needed is a structured thought process • Provides an additional opportunity to learn how candidates think • Very evident as to which answers are structured

  17. A Few Common Misconceptions After contributing in class, this will be easy • Very Dangerous • Highly unlikely • to succeed I can think on the spot for “think of a time when…” They won’t know if I make something up If I keep talking I will eventually say the right thing

  18. How to Ace Behavioral Do’s Don'ts • Follow the CAR method • Be genuine in your answers • Be structured and concise • Give firm-specific answers • Make a connection with the interviewer • Reuse stories • Come off as over-rehearsed • Slouch, fidget, or appear overly nervous

  19. Prepare for these likely questions 1 Tell me about yourself / Walk me through your resume 2 Why would you like to work for firm X? 3 Tell me about a time when… (displayed skills, faced adversity, etc.) 4 What is your best strength? Biggest weakness? 5 What is your greatest achievement? 6 What are you most proud of that’s not on your resume? 7 Why should we hire you over the other candidates?

  20. Reverse Interview

  21. What happens after the interview? The interviewer will ask you if you have any questions! • Never say no! • Prepare a number of questions beforehand • Questions should be firm-specific and well-though out • Try to tailor them to the interviewer if possible • Use LinkedIn for research (if you know your interviewers beforehand) • Ask about next steps • Get a business card • Send a follow-up email

  22. Examples • What made you choose (certain field) over any other career path? • What has been your greatest learning experience in a project? • What draws you to firm X? • How did your UOIT experience help shape your career? (if a UOIT grad)

  23. Networking Techniques

  24. Using Information Sessions Effectively What to do: • Prepare before the session • Research the company and its focal points • Library databases e.g. Datamonitor 360, Mergent Online • Vault Guides • Never ask questions you can answer through research • Ask the interviewers questions about themselves • Don’t hand out your business card to every person you talk to Questions to ask Questions not to ask • What do you like most about working at firm X? • What do you like least? • Biggest challenge initially? • How much do you make? • Why are you so much better than firm X?

  25. How can I do more? • Use the UOIT Alumni Database • Speak to family and friends • Cold call/email companies

  26. Career Centre Downtown Campus North Campus 61 Charles St. DTA 225 U5 62 8:30am – 4:30pm 8:30 – 4:30pm Shenelle.PayneCuffy@uoit.caDarren.Grant@uoit.ca www.uoit.ca/careercentre

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