Finding a job is difficult- it takes perseverance, planning, and long hours of writing and revision. For finance students, just polishing up your resume is not enough. You need to be knowledgeable about certain finance topics that I will outline later, and you need to be especially sharp in appearance. Most importantly, you need to have confidence.
Before you even step in the room:
- Print your resume on ivory executive resume paper- not the white computer paper you currently have in your printer. The thicker stock is more professional
- Print multiple copies and place them in a portfolio or a professional folder (I like the dark green folders you can find at Staples. Should you be really ambitious and rich, you can purchase 50 custom dark green linen folders at Staples printed with your name on the cover. But for most college grads, the plain folder will do).
- If you are a woman, do not bring a purse. This reminds interviewers that you are a woman (silly as it seems) and can give them a subconscious bias you do not want.
Appearance:
I can’t really help on the guys end other than the obvious shave, wear a black suit, and make sure your shirt isn’t wrinkled. For other interview style tips…you are out of luck.
But for women:
- Wear black pantyhose (a must! Most interviewers are old-school and pantyhose are required in the workplace. They are not going to understand or care about the bare-leg fashion trend). Always bring a spare with you if you can.
- Wear a plain black or pinstriped suit, or a dark grey plain/pinstriped suit. This is not the place for your really cute Chanel pink tweed suit.
- Wear a colored dress shirt to stand out from the other women. White is no longer required. Try french blue, dark purple, or a striped dress shirt.
- I always think that hair up (not a ponytail- try a French twist, or some type of neat simple updo) is more professional than hair swinging down your back. But that’s debatable.
- Don’t wear loud nail polish or loud colored makeup. A French manicure or nude nail polish will do, especially if you normally bite your nails or don’t take care of them. Looking polished is key. Very light, subtle makeup is okay.
- Every businesswoman should have a nice, quality pair of black pumps. If you don’t, go buy some.
Must-know topics to review before the interview:
- Discounted Cash Flow
- Income Statement (also referred to as a P&L), Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows
- Current state of the economy and current 10-y bond rates
- Bond valuation (pertinent to fixed-income jobs)
- Equity valuation (know metrics on how to value a stock, such as: P/E ratio, Debt/Equity ratio, EPS, dividend yield, and ROE)
- Options and futures
It's important to form your own view of the economy and know about different markets, especially markets you are excited to do research in. It is impressive to an interviewer that you've taken the time to know what is going on with interest rates and to have an opinion on housing stocks- even if they don't neccesarily agree with you, if you have the analysis to back it up, you'll show them how excited and interested you are in finance.
As for every type of job, of course you need to research the company, think of intelligent, well-articulated questions, and get a good night’s sleep. Good luck!
Want answers to your finance questions, or want to know more about my finance interview experiences? Feel free to email me at ejourdan1@babson.edu
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