Job Offer

Gandalph

Hey guys, just looking for a little advice on a job offer I received but am unsure of what to do so who better to ask than all my best buddies in I&M forum.

The position is in one of the top banks that I would love to get a foot in the door of and it's entitled "Securities Settlement Specialist". The thing deterring me is that I don't know much about the job and it's description seems a tad administrative to me which I am kind of trying to avoid.
Does anyone have any experience in this field or know anyone that does that could shed some light on it for me? I am generally not over concerned about wage but majorly concerned about promotional opportunities or possibly networking into different areas in the bank itself.
I have heard a few horror stories about people getting in the door of big companies but being completely limited to what they can do in terms of advancement so I am trying to be cautious myself.

Any advice is appreciated.

Bateman

The horror stories would probably be more institution-specific than job specific, either there is a culture of advancement in a bank or there is not, if there is then I wouldn't worry too much about the level you go in at once you are driven enough.

Securities settlement is 100% pure back-office, a lot of big banks have offshored this outside Ireland. You are settling trades but you aren't close to the trading itself.

freeze4real

I can take a guess without researching what company its. Maybe Citi- Bank.

You can accept the offer as a fall back till you get something that suits you. Or you can take the job and move up the ladder or across department.

But the positions middle/back office and admin work will be 60% of the time.

Gandalph

The horror stories would probably be more institution-specific than job specific

This is a good point, I'll keep it in mind thanks.

I can take a guess without researching what company its. Maybe Citi- Bank.

Naw it's BoA ML.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm still undecided as I am waiting to hear back from other job applications first but I'm sceptical about this offer expiring if none of the others come through.

Bateman

I wasn't going to blurt it out but that's the first place I thought of when I read the post.

I know of people who have gone in there and managed to move up the ladder.

ixus

You should probably just accept it as it sounds like you don't have a clue what goes on inside a bank, or what you want to do in life.

There are so many paths to go down in banking and, if it's for the higher remunerated jobs, your competition have been exploring and researching their options & what they need to do for at least a year. If you're graduating now, you're way behind the curve on this.

This is coming from someone who was in a similar position to you. I took a similar job and walked out the door after a year knowing what I had to do to really advance in a career. It wasn't to stay in back office....

You will get no insight into the trade flow you manage. It will be purely numbers on an excel spread sheet that you're trying to pair off (or match). Your colleagues may all have a Masters in Finace, but they will have little to no interest in discussing finance, investment, trading or economics. More likely Man Utd or Coronation Street.

I speak from experience.

Ardeehey

Bateman wrote: »

I wasn't going to blurt it out but that's the first place I thought of when I read the post.

I know of people who have gone in there and managed to move up the ladder.

Same as that butI have also heard of people not doing so well in there....really depends on what you make of it yourself...promotion needs to be earned and is not a right. Anywhere you go you will have to put in the time and graft.

Settlements sounds like lots of dealing with euroclear etc...making sure trades get matched off...lots of reconciliations is my guess...at least to start with.

Gandalph

ixus wrote: »

You should probably just accept it as it sounds like you don't have a clue what goes on inside a bank, or what you want to do in life.

Simply because I enquired into a role I'm unfamiliar with and what sort of opportunities it provides? Highly unfair statement.

There are so many paths to go down in banking and, if it's for the higher remunerated jobs, your competition have been exploring and researching their options & what they need to do for at least a year. If you're graduating now, you're way behind the curve on this.

I've been researching a lot longer than a year but to me the path seems pretty limited with jobs at the moment especially if you're not the 500+ points LC or 1.1 undergrad/postgrad student. I'm not going to settle for a job unless it allows me to progress to where I want to go and this thread was just simply an enquiry into the position and what sort of advancement can be achieved. I wouldn't care if I was making the tea or buffering peoples shoes in the office as long as I had the chance to progress into something more suited for me.

You will get no insight into the trade flow you manage. It will be purely numbers on an excel spread sheet that you're trying to pair off (or match). Your colleagues may all have a Masters in Finace, but they will have little to no interest in discussing finance, investment, trading or economics. More likely Man Utd or Coronation Street.

This is insightful but deterring as it doesn't really sound like my cup of tea. Was kind of hoping going into a more financial environment would bring out the more finance savvy conversations to learn from. Also if there is no real experience to be gained then that's an added negative.

Bateman

He is right that back office punters aren't generally interested in discussing trading/economics as the work can be monotonous but to be honest I wouldn't put people off using it as a starting point. You do your own serious learning in your own time.

You'd certainly gain an appreciation of what various parts of a bank actually do, in terms of how they interact with each other. You'd also have the opportunity to take courses funded by the bank I'd have thought.

I certainly wouldn't dismiss it out of hand.

ixus

Gandalph wrote: »

Simply because I enquired into a role I'm unfamiliar with and what sort of opportunities it provides? Highly unfair statement.



I've been researching a lot longer than a year but to me the path seems pretty limited with jobs at the moment especially if you're not the 500+ points LC or 1.1 undergrad/postgrad student. I'm not going to settle for a job unless it allows me to progress to where I want to go.....

Let's start again shall we? So, where do you want to go? The above results might be an obstacle, they shouldn't be a deterrent. ...

Gandalph

ixus wrote: »

Let's start again shall we? So, where do you want to go? The above results might be an obstacle, they shouldn't be a deterrent. ...

M&A/Invest banking would be the dream. BoA obviously have a lot of activity in this and here I am looking at joining them in a completely unrelated field, so can you see why I seek advice on the matter?

You'd certainly gain an appreciation of what various parts of a bank actually do, in terms of how they interact with each other.

Yeh I've been considering this as one of the pro's of the offer, learning about how the bank operates from the ground up.

ixus

Gandalph wrote: »

M&A/Invest banking would be the dream. BoA obviously have a lot of activity in this and here I am looking at joining them in a completely unrelated field, so can you see why I seek advice on the matter?

Oh, I can. For M&A; if you don't have the desired degree or whatever, I would suggest your best route is qualifying as an accountant while specialising in this field I.e. avoid audit, tax, practice. And a qualification that is globally recognised as opposed to just in Ireland.

You're going to have to define Investment Banking as it means to you for me.

Gandalph

Yeh I remember talking to someone in M&A on boards a few years back and they said 90% of people in their department were ACA qualified. I'm currently finishing up my masters in finance and have had my heart set on doing CFA exams after, but if it comes down to it and an accounting qualification is required then I suppose I could fully shift my interest over to concentrate on gaining that instead.

You're going to have to define Investment Banking as it means to you for me.

My definition of Investment Banking would probably revolve around the section that would interest me the most which is the corporate finance/advisory side of things. I take it thats what you were asking? Definitions may change though while I'm working my way up and around the ladder and start figuring out what I'm good/bad at with first hand experience. I may be suited to a different role altogether but I don't think I'm going to find out until I get myself into the industry.

Barely Hedged

Gandalph wrote: »

Yeh I remember talking to someone in M&A on boards a few years back and they said 90% of people in their department were ACA qualified. I'm currently finishing up my masters in finance and have had my heart set on doing CFA exams after, but if it comes down to it and an accounting qualification is required then I suppose I could fully shift my interest over to concentrate on gaining that instead.



My definition of Investment Banking would probably revolve around the section that would interest me the most which is the corporate finance/advisory side of things. I take it thats what you were asking? Definitions may change though while I'm working my way up and around the ladder and start figuring out what I'm good/bad at with first hand experience. I may be suited to a different role altogether but I don't think I'm going to find out until I get myself into the industry.

I'd be sceptical of working in a back office function to get to your ultimate objective of Investment Banking. You could be there for two years doing irrelevant work when you could spend that at the big 4 set of accountants.

You could also search LinkedIn for recent Investment Banking graduates and more established bankers to see how their career history looks.

Also, I'd say you'd need to relocate to one of the financial centres to achieve your ultimate goal