The term "financial services" encompasses many different types of finance related firms and businesses. Financial services careers can involve working on the quantitative side of a firm or organization, working to develop and maintain a client base, serving as a consultant to help organizations analyze and solve their problems, or helping a customer manage a bank account. More generally, financial services often involves the processes behind managing and motivating people to work toward common, productive financial goals. Skills often recognized and utilized in financial services careers include quantitative and analytical skills; teamwork and leadership skills; combined with persistence, initiative, and hard work.

INDUSTRY RESEARCH & RESOURCES

Industry research is an important first-step for individuals who are looking to assess their fit for financial services as a career, but is also essential for anyone who wants to pursue financial services professionally.  Knowing that you want to work in finance is not enough to get you a job in the industry or even an interview.  Educating yourself about industry terms, basic organizational structure, and recruiting time lines will help you identify the best job opportunities to pursue, as well as equip you with the resources necessary to be competitive for positions in the field.

How do you determine if you want to work in sales and trading versus investment banking?  CCE offers programs throughout the year to help you better understand the various components of the financial sector.  Think about attending these educational events early in your academic career so that you are best prepared to initiate your job search as you approach graduation.  Our Finance Industry Fact Sheet page and Finance 101 presentation (coming soon!) also provide details about the different divisions within a bank to assist you with identifying areas of professional interest.

CAMPUS RECRUITING TIMELINE

A number of large financial services companies adhere to a traditional recruitment cycle for internship and full-time positions and the chart below details the recruiting time line for these "bulge bracket" employers.  However, it is important to remember that many companies recruit outside of this formalized recruiting calendar.  Make sure that your job search includes both the job posting section of Lionshare as well as the on-campus recruiting section.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

Professional associations and industry organization networks provide excellent resources for learning more about financial services. A few of the most widely known are listed below.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The following sites provide industry specific information and can be utilized in conjunction with career education sites such as Vault and Wet Feet available in CCE's online Resource Library

THE JOB SEARCH

Once you have conducted research about the industry and determined the area of financial services that is your best fit professionally you'll be equipped with the basic industry information that is necessary to begin your job search.  The following sites can assist you with locating opportunities that are available in the field.  Before and during your search remember that there are a number of valuable services that CCE offers to help you land and ace an interview.

Lionshare is CCE's job posting site and on-campus recruiting platform and is for the exclusive use of the Columbia community.  Companies that post positions in Lionshare are specifically interested in connecting with Columbia students and alums. All on-campus recruiting positions and related events can be accessed in Lionshare.  

Don't forget to complete the OCR Policies & Procedures for on-campus recruiting access via Lionshare!

The human resources and recruiting websites of the firms that you are targeting are an excellent place to identify opportunities available within the company.  These sites also provide a great way to research the company culture as well as the type of candidate that they are seeking.  The financial institutions listed below have previously participated in on-campus recruiting at Columbia.

CURRENT EVENTS & MARKET TRENDS 

 Being competitive for jobs in financial services requires that you be familiar with current industry trends and topics.  While you don't need to read each of the following publications every day, you should be knowledgeable about issues and events that have an impact on the industry - and not just the ones that are on the cover of the Wall Street Journal on the day of your interview.  Employers want to see your engagement with the field, that you are knowledgeable of market trends and that you are aware of domestic and international news that effects the financial sector.  Familiarize yourself with a least a few of these sites and read them regularly.  Or, use a page like eWallstreeter that will aggregate content by division from a variety of print and online resources.