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OxfordGuideToCareers2017
OxfordGuideToCareers2017
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BANKING + INVESTMENT<br />
Ross van der Watt<br />
Associate, Total Returns<br />
Group, Public Equities, GIC<br />
St Peter’s College, BA<br />
Economics & Management,<br />
2015<br />
WHAT: My job involves researching<br />
and modelling companies in a sector,<br />
and leveraging this knowledge through<br />
unrivalled access to top management and<br />
investment bank analysts to help inform<br />
team investment decisions.<br />
WHY: GIC offers a unique opportunity to<br />
start one’s career on the buy-side, with<br />
one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth<br />
funds. The training is unmatched; with<br />
global travel, meetings with the CEOs<br />
of the world’s largest companies and<br />
learning from colleagues with best-inclass<br />
experience. Moreover, GIC’s culture is<br />
intimate and supportive, and responsibility<br />
levels are extremely high as an Associate<br />
leading investment proposals (under<br />
supervision), rather than just preparing<br />
models or slide-decks.<br />
EARLY CAREER: I joined GIC’s Global<br />
Professionals Programme straight<br />
from university. Following training in<br />
Singapore I did three 3-month rotations<br />
in Fixed Income, Equities & Real Estate in<br />
Singapore and London, before becoming<br />
an Equities Analyst in London after a year.<br />
ADVICE: When travelling the world to work<br />
on headline-making deals it is important<br />
to be flexible, to be able to develop<br />
relationships, and learn quickly in<br />
difficult environments. To get the<br />
most from the experience, alongside<br />
determination and hard work, it’s<br />
important to be open-minded and<br />
remain enthusiastic.<br />
GETTING IN: To even apply to finance<br />
jobs these days candidates need to<br />
be aware of the implicit pressure to<br />
get out and get some form of work<br />
experience. Outside a standard<br />
banking internship, I recommend<br />
looking at atypical options (eg,<br />
start-ups), or broadening experiences<br />
(eg, working in a different country):<br />
these will differentiate you from an<br />
increasingly homogenous crowd,<br />
and help differentiate your thinking<br />
in work.<br />
TOP TIPS: These types of jobs are<br />
not only for those who have studied<br />
Economics or Maths; most of what I<br />
do on a day-to-day basis is dealing<br />
with people and thinking critically<br />
about the ‘story’ being told about<br />
a company and whether I agree or<br />
disagree.<br />
BANKING + INVESTMENT<br />
Caroline Taylor<br />
Analyst Infrastructure Team,<br />
Macquarie Capital<br />
St John’s College,<br />
BA History and Economics,<br />
2014<br />
WHAT: My team works with institutional<br />
investors, banks and corporates to<br />
advise on buying and selling companies,<br />
investing in companies and raising<br />
capital from both debt and equity<br />
markets. In just over a year I’ve learnt<br />
about a wide range of infrastructure<br />
sectors, from transport (eg, toll roads,<br />
ports, airports), to utilities (eg, distribution<br />
and transmission networks) and<br />
renewables (eg, wind farms, solar).<br />
WHY: Investment banking is helping me<br />
to build my skills and knowledge and<br />
allows me to work within a great team,<br />
who love their jobs and are driven to<br />
achieve. Also, it is exciting to engage<br />
directly with markets and get involved in<br />
major deals.<br />
FINDING A PATH: I didn’t know that<br />
investment banking was for me as I<br />
went through university - but following<br />
experiences across different sectors<br />
and industries, and trying out different<br />
societies at university, I did figure out<br />
what was important to me for my career.<br />
For me, the key was finding a job where<br />
I would learn, where I could engage<br />
and drive my own career and,<br />
most importantly, where I would be<br />
challenged. I found all of this whilst<br />
interning with Macquarie over the<br />
summer in my second-year.<br />
ADVICE: With any career you<br />
consider, be curious, open and<br />
proactive. I was told from day one<br />
always to ask questions - no one<br />
expects you to go from 0 to 60 in six<br />
seconds flat - so it’s okay to ask what<br />
you’re doing and, more importantly,<br />
why you’re doing it. You’ll usually find<br />
people are more than happy to take<br />
the time to explain if you take the<br />
time to ask!<br />
Beyond that, it’s also important to<br />
form your own opinion on your<br />
options when trying to decide what<br />
to do and where to go. You’ll have<br />
heard this before - but only because<br />
it's true – talking to people about<br />
their careers and getting work<br />
experience will usually be the best<br />
way to figure this out.<br />
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