Applying as an investment banking analyst abroad

What an analyst really does day to day

The analyst is the first link in a deal team. They gather a company’s financial data, build or update a model, prepare valuation tables, draft presentation pages and proofread documents before they go out. The work is precise, at times repetitive, and demands great reliability.

Employers abroad judge rigour as much as speed. A formula error in a model can skew a discussion with a client. Your application should therefore show that you check your figures, trace your sources and can explain why a result changes when an assumption moves.

Presenting anonymised work without breaching confidentiality

Deals are confidential; you cannot name the client or hand over internal figures. You can still describe the nature of the work: sector studied, type of transaction, relative size, your specific contribution. For example, a comparable-companies valuation model for a mid-sized industrial firm, with a sensitivity analysis.

Distinguish three levels of contribution: data collection and cleaning, modelling, and preparing materials. Say what you did alone and what a more experienced colleague handled. This honesty is appreciated, since recruiters readily check references with your former managers. Keep each bullet of your CV to one clear line, with a verb, an object and the outcome, so that a busy recruiter grasps your role at first glance.

• Sectors covered and type of deals followed
• Models built: valuation, financing, merger
• Materials prepared for clients or committees
• Checks carried out before sending anything out

Product, sector or region: understanding how a team is organised

A bank organises its teams by product (M&A advisory, debt markets, equity markets), by sector (energy, healthcare, technology) or by region. A single financial centre hosts several of these structures, and your experience may fit one better than another.

Find out about the team’s make-up, the recent public mandates and the profile of its senior people. Show in your cover letter that you understand the business you are targeting. Large houses such as JPMorganChase, Goldman Sachs or BNP Paribas publish their programmes and vacancies; compare their criteria and their hiring calendars.

Workload and hours: ask the question directly

The profession is known for its heavy workload, which depends on the deal calendar. Some periods are calm, others require late evenings and weekends. Practices have changed at several institutions, but they are neither uniform nor always written into the contract.

Ask how the workload is organised, how files are shared among analysts, whether rest rules exist and what happens when they are exceeded. Ask also about the support given to new joiners. An honest employer describes the constraints of the post without playing them down, and that is a good sign. Speak as well to former analysts of the firm through your professional network, to set the recruiter’s account against what people actually experienced on the ground.

Training, appraisal and career progression

Banks often run an induction programme for analysts, with technical and regulatory training. Ask how long it lasts, what it covers and whether it is paid. Find out the annual appraisal criteria and the usual time before promotion.

Ask about rotation of analysts between teams or countries. Some banks offer internal moves after one to two years, others do not. If your aim is to stay in the target financial centre for several years, this information weighs as much as the headline salary.

Professional licences and compliance obligations

Working in finance sometimes involves registration or authorisation with a regulator, regulatory knowledge exams and compliance with conflict-of-interest rules. The requirements vary by country, function and the scope of the activities you carry out.

Ask the employer what it covers, how quickly, and what you may do before the authorisation is granted. Expect to disclose your personal accounts, investments and previous employers, which is normal in the industry. Follow these rules strictly: a breach can wreck a young career.

Interviews: technical, behavioural and case-based

Expect questions on financial statements, the logic of a valuation, reading a balance sheet and current market events. You may be asked to comment on a recent deal or to reason through a numerical case, sometimes in writing and against the clock.

Prepare personal answers too: why this career, why this city, how you handle pressure. Practise explaining a complex concept simply, without needless jargon. Recruiters like candidates who admit a limit rather than bluff on a point they do not master. Ask also how the bank supports new arrivals with the paperwork, because a slow authorisation can delay the date on which you take on real responsibilities.

Contract, variable pay and settling in

Pay generally combines a fixed part and a variable part. Ask for the criteria used to award the bonus, its payment schedule, any deferral and whether you must still be employed on the payment date. A figure quoted in an interview binds nobody unless it appears in the contract.

For your relocation, check work permission in the country, rent levels in the financial centre, social cover and whether removal costs are covered. Compare living costs before validating the offer, and ask whether a rent advance or temporary housing is provided for the first weeks while you find somewhere lasting. A move that looks attractive can turn out less favourable once local expenses are counted.