The key to an international career

Dario Luciano Merlo

Who am I?

Laurea Triennale in Scienze Politiche (economics curriculum)

Laurea Magistrale in Economics and Political Science

Research Master in Economics in Belgium through a joint-degree agreement

In January I will start working at Bloomberg in London

I would like to talk about the last two experiences and answer (as best as I can) all your questions about your future career or postgraduate studies

email: merlodario@hotmail.com

Studying abroad

Almost all over Europe Masters are equivalent to our Lauree Magistrali

A Master is a positive, but not necessary, step to finding a graduate job in Economics or Finance

Three main advantages of studying abroad:

Learning a language

A different teaching system (more individual work)

Career services

Why a career abroad?

London is the European financial hub and many multinational companies have their EMEA headquarters there

Competitive graduate salaries (very min. £20k a year + living in London is not more expensive than living in Milan)

Language advantage: English students often do not know foreign languages well enough

Human capital investments

Diversity policies

No slavery job contracts

Why not?

Language disadvantages: Knowing English is not the same as working in English

Very competitive job market Sometimes very long working hours Flexible job market (forget about “contratti a tempo

indeterminato”)

And you also have to leave everything (family, friends, etc.) behind

Careers abroad

Future graduates almost all over the world start applying now for jobs starting in September 2011

Why? Companies have from January to June to select

candidates Graduates can secure a job after their graduation Excellent graduates will receive several offers and

accept their favourites (optimal jobs allocation)

Where to apply

Simply go on companies websites and look for the “careers” section

Or check the following websites: www.eurograduates.com (Europe) www.careersineurope.hobscons.com (Europe) www.graduate-jobs.co.uk (UK) www.milkround.com (UK) www.targetjobs.co.uk (UK) www.gradireland.com (Ireland) www.graduate-jobs.com (US)

Some useful information

Apply early Most jobs require a 2:1 (about 100/110) as a minimum score to apply

and/or a certain amount of UCAS points (at least 80/100 as your high school final grade is generally acceptable)

However, every grade is important!

Use British English for applications in the UK and American English for applications in the US

Do some research on the companies you are applying for and show what you learned

If you do not have a background in finance, take a quick look at some slides/books about basics finance and accounting

Distinguish yourself

Your CV

Keep it simple Avoid using the European CV template Make the most out of your work experiences Gain some work experience, if you have none! Generally show off, but without exaggerations

Your Cover Letter

It should never be too long and consist of three parts: Why are you applying to this particular job and this

particular company Why do you think you would be a good candidate What makes yourself better than other candidates

It is your opportunity to make your application interesting enough to have an interview

Check the grammar twice, ask your friends to read your Cover Letter and learn by reading theirs

Job Interviews

Do more research about the company you've applied for. Every interview is different, but do expect some common questions:

Why would like like to work for a specific company (and not for his competitors)?

Why did you apply for this specific role? What skills or experiences make you suitable for this

role?

Tricky questions

Expect some tricky questions, there is not a correct answer, but how you reply tells a lot about you:

What is your dream job? / Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What would you do if after 1 year you understand this is not the

job for you? Tell me about a financial news that stroke you in the last two

weeks. How would you improve our products/services? What would you do if you make a mistake that led one of our

clients to lose millions of pounds/euros? Do you have any question for us?

Which jobs?

Graduates in economics and finance have a wide range of opportunities, very different between each other:

Consulting Finance and accounting and auditing Banks and financial services Public policies Others

Consulting

Often interesting and require travelling Usually very well paid Surely very demanding in terms of efforts and working

hours Interviews require a careful preparation

Management consulting: McKinsey, Accenture, Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group, Oliver Wyman, etc.

Economic consulting: London economics, NERA, Frontier Economics, DotEcon, RBB Economics, etc.

Finance and accounting

Strongly formative, obtain lifelong qualifications Very secure jobs Transferable skills and opportunities worldwide

Big 4: KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Ernst & Young

Others: Grant Thornton, PKF, etc.

Banks

Corporate and branch jobs Often require excellent mathematical skills A branch job allows to work closer to your family or

friends A corporate jobs is usually more demanding and

rewarding

-Banks: HSBC, RBS, UniCredit, Intesa San Paolo, Deutsche Bank, ING, MedioBanca, Commerzbank, Barclays, Citigroup, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banco Santander, Standard Bank, Bank of China

financial investment and services

Formative jobs Often require excellent mathematical skills Extremely rewarding, extremely demanding and

sometimes risky

-Investments: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, BoA Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Wells Fargo, Macquarie, Lizard, etc.

-Rating companies: S&P, Fitch, Moody's

-Financial services and information: Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, FactSect, Capital IQ, SNL financial etc.

Public Policy careers

Interesting jobs if you're interested in politics Selective and bureaucratic recruitment processes Rewarding and not always demanding

www.eurobrussels.com

www.euroeconomistjobs.com

jobs.euractiv.com

Europa.eu/epso

Other opportunities

No-profit and international cooperation Opportunities in almost every company, mostly as

analysts and assistants.

If you like technology why not considering: Google Facebook eBay Microsoft bwin

Good Luck!