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Industry Roadmap -Financial Services

Career Advising and Planning ServicesCaps.uchicago.edu

773.702.7040August 2005

caps.uchicago.edu 773.702.7040

Information courtesy of The University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business

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Industry Roadmap – Financial Services

Understand the industryFinancial services include many different sectors including investment banking, corporate finance within a

company, investment management and sales and trading to name a few. Although each sector withinfinancial services is quite different all functions require sharp analytical skills, a desire to work withnumbers, attention to detail, spreadsheet skills and an appreciation of all things “financial”.

Careers In Finance Overview www.careers-in-finance.comGood website with overview of various careers in financial services. Includes information such as skillsrequired for each function, various positions, salaries, and links to other resources.

Vault Guide to the Top 50 Finance Employers CAPS Library, www.vault.com

Prepare resumes and cover lettersDevelop a resume that highlights a track record of success, demonstrates analytical and problem solvingskills, and shows leadership and self-initiative. Be ready to prepare cover letters as well. See additionalmaterials on the CAPS website http://caps.uchicago.edu/ and bizadvisor.uchicago.edu.

Keep up with news and learn basic about finance and accounting, honecomputer skills

1. Read the Wall Street Journal Daily. Learn to read it efficiently, but thoroughly.2. Subscribe to New York Times Dealbook ( www.nytimes.com/dealbook ). Free resource, in the

form of a daily email, which has excellent news covering the latest M&A, IPO and Private Equityand Venture Capital Deals. More oriented towards investment banking but still provides greatinformation for everyone interested in finance-related careers.

3. A two-month free subscription to Morningstar is available. Morningstar is an excellent tool tolearn about the analysis that is done by equity analysts. Additionally, the techniques and ratings

that are used to rate equities are similar to the methods used by investment managementprofessionals. Go to www.morningstar.com and log-in (with username: Maryd@uchicago.edu ,password: 123456).

4. Read through an introductory book on Finance and Accounting to learn the basics. Do you knowwhat an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement are? Do you know the keyfinance statistics that are used and how they are calculated? What are EBITDA, Net Income,Price / Earnings Multiple and the Net Present Value of a Cash Flow. Some good overview booksinclude:

Barron’s Business Review Series: Finance & AccountingMcGraw Hill 36 Hour Course in Finance & Accounting

5. Understand how Excel / PowerPoint / Word are used in the workplace. Do you know what itmeans to model in the workplace? The book “Excel Data Analysis” by Jinjer Simon is a goodresource to refresh those Excel skills. Also, consider attending one of the computer workshopssponsored by Networking Services and Information Technology. Class options and classschedules can be found at: https://training.uchicago.edu/categories.cfm?family_id=1 . There is nofee to take a class; however, there are varying cancellation fees if you decide not to take a classafter registering.

caps.uchicago.edu 773.702.7040

Information courtesy of The University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business

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Research companiesKnow who the dominant players within the sector are as well as all the companies that are going toparticipate in on-campus recruiting. First-hand accounts of the company’s culture and philosophy can bebest obtained by talking to UofC alum who are working at the firm. A good understanding of the workenvironment will go a long way in answering “fit” questions during the interview process and will help youdifferentiate the firms to enable you to pick the one’s that best fit your personality.

Primary-SourceNetwork with Alumni Alumni Careers Network,

http://www.alumni.uchicago.edu/aa.htmlNetwork with Classmates Chicago Student Network

https://csn.uchicago.edu/login.cfm

Reference Materials Company profiles CAPS LibraryVault Guide to the Top 50 Finance Employers CAPS Library, www.vault.comWetFeet Insider Guide to the Top 25 Financial ServicesFirms

CAPS Library, www.wetfeet.com

WetFeet and Vault Company Guides CAPS Library has company guides for manycompanies participating on-campus recruiting

Hoovers CAPS Library

Prepare for interviewsThe best preparation is to practice taking mock interviews, and going through lists of potential questionsemployers may ask. You must be able to take someone through your resume quickly and concisely whileat the same time getting across all of your key strengths and successes.

CAPS has practice interviewers on staff to conduct mock interviews. You can schedule a practiceinterview by calling 2-7040. CAPS also offers a mock interview boot camp series. Visitbizadvisor.uchicago.edu for details. Also review “Walk Me Through Your Resume…” , Financial ServicesTip Sheet, and Financial Services Skills Overview handouts, available at the CAPS Library.

You need to be able to:1) have an understanding of what is entailed in the job.2) explain why you are suited for the job.3) explain why you want to work for that company (in particular what makes it so appealing versus

it’s competitors).

Vault Finance Interviews Practice Guide CAPS Library, www.vault.comHeard on the Street CAPS Library

Find job opportunitiesParticipate in the On-Campus Recruiting (OCR) Program as well as attending career fairs. Company

websites are great sources of information and many of the larger firms have structured hiring processesfor undergraduates along with recruiting schedules. Also, check UchicagoTRAK for job postings fromcompanies that do not recruit on campus.

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Information courtesy of The University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business

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Additional readingFiction

Monkey BusinessBy John Rolfe and Peter Troob. A narrative by two MBAs who went into investment banking and

discusses the environment within an investment bank.Liar’s PokerBy Michael Lewis. Good insight into the Sales and Trading lifestyle and it’s role within corporate financeat a bank.

Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire.By Michael Kaufman. Details Soros’ rise as one of the most successful hedge-fund managers.

Non-Fiction

A Random Walk Down Wall StreetBy Burton G. Malkiel, 1996. Classic, best-selling investment guide.

Forecasting Company ProfitsBy Fred Wellings. Goes through the theories used by a security analyst to forecast and model andcompany’s earnings. Quite technical but good overview for those students interested in research careers.

CAPS Library Book List http://caps.uchicago.edu/resources/materials/books/jss.html#eti

caps.uchicago.edu 773.702.7040

Information courtesy of The University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business