澳洲留学，想毕业后进投行需要做哪些准备，专业如何选择？

At the analyst level, banks recruit top undergraduate students in very small numbers.（Put simply, Australian teams do not recruit MBAs at the associate level.) The industry in Australia is small (compared to financial centres like New York, London or Hong Kong). Even bulge bracket banks only aim to recruit 5-10 graduate analysts each year in Melbourne and Sydney. The bulge bracket that I work for recruited 9 investment banking graduates last year – 3 in Melbourne and 6 in Sydney.

Almost every graduate analyst will have a double degree from a ‘Group of Eight’ university (Sydney, UNSW, Melbourne, Monash, UWA, ANU, UQ, UoA). Yes there are senior people at the bank that got their degrees from other universities. No, they would not get a graduate job in today’s market. The most common degree is definitely Law / Commerce. After Law / Commerce, you see degrees like Commerce / Science (mathematics), Commerce / Engineering, Commerce / Economics, etc. If you don’t have a double-degree, then you have almost certainly obtained an honours degree in Commerce (an extra 12 months of study) in Australia.

The industry here is fiercely competitive. There are tens of thousands of students graduating each year with degrees in Commerce/Finance/Banking that consider investment banking to be their dream job. Of those thousands, the banks might hire 200 in total across the country.

Nepotism (jobs for friends and family) remains prevalent in the Australian market. If a bank is going to hire 10 people in a year, you an bet that half of them have a connection in the industry. One of their parents might work in finance, or be a director of a client or a prospective client. Nepotism starts early. Investment banks will offer ‘work experience’ to those with connections. They will get a second look-in during internship recruitment. But, even with the right connections, you still need talent. It is very unlikely that your parents’ jobs will overcome your mediocre academic transcript.

Other notable Australian boutiques, or at least other firms I have heard of, are BBY, Ord Minnett, Bell Potter, Patersons, Pottinger, and Flagstaff Partners. Some of these are brokers and have no advisory presence. The real notable independents are Lazard, Gresham and Luminis Partners as of 2015/16. Going through grad applications, a number of firms did have ‘super-days’. Two of the bulge brackets had 2 days in a row of back-to-back interviews, including a dinner interview, and a day of full assessments.

As said in some of the comments, it is EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE. In the year I applied, most of the positions had gone to internships, and most of the BB IBs were hiring max 2 graduates in each geography. Nepotism is prevalent, and I saw one candidate get a role over 2 candidates who seemed far more suited, as they had some background with the MD.

Good luck to anyone trying to break the market…

(Background: Two years at a bulge bracket in Sydney.)

--------------------------------------

UPDATE:

A lot of the discussion that I've read here has boiled down to marks vs. experience. In my view, this is overly simplistic... One thing that springs to my mind is that many candidates (including myself) may have a (perceived) lack of substance and genuine motivation.

If 90% of graduates you are competing against have 75+ averages at a Go8 university, Big 4 accounting, Big 4 retail banking, overseas exchange, overseas volunteering, part-time work experience, university society leadership roles, what uniquely makes you a worthy candidate for investment banking at X firm?

Analysts through to Managing Directors have been in your shoes before. They know what it is like to be a high-achieving graduate that can potentially end up in any field or firm. They need to 100% believe that you have chosen their field, and their firm in particular. What I would encourage graduates to do would be to think long and hard about why their experiences, abilities and motivations are unique. What is your X-factor?

As someone whose average marks have always floated around 79-83, a non-Comm/Law background, non-IB work experience, I know too well the difficulties of not being a standout in either marks nor experience. Over several years, I have attended countless networking and cocktail events, coffee catch-ups, etc. Breaking into this industry is a rollercoaster, but if you want it bad enough and are willing to do whatever it takes, whether it takes you a month, a year, two years or three, you will get there, and it will be worth it! Don't be disheartened. Take every opportunity and failure as a learning experience that helps you drill down to answer the key question, "What is my X-factor?"

The truth is that when you're applying for a graduate position (in IB anyway) and you don't have prior IB experience or at least corporate finance experience, you're already at a disadvantage unless you have something you're exceptional at.

Unfortunately (strictly for a grad IB role), it doesn't matter if you have a Distinction average for LawComm, with some average extra-curriculars (be honest with yourself here, you being on the committee for chess club or some other irrelevant club ain't that special) and some big 4 work experience in audit/tax/consulting, you'll be considered lucky to even get first round interviews for graduate roles.

The main reason for this is because you're competing for VERY few roles against people who actually have IB experience at a BB (but didn't get converted) or people who have that HD average and actually made a contribution or impact in their extracurriculars (like flying out to some third world place stricken with Ebola and saving people). These people have the X-factor to help them get that first round interview, and then after that, it's how you performed during the multiple rounds of interviews. Hell, I've even heard of somebody getting a first round interview because they were a participant who made it on TV on Masterchef or My Kitchen Rules.

In terms of number of graduate spots for IB next year, it's probably around 40, including all the top boutiques like Lazard and Greenhills etc. NATIONWIDE. With such a small number, they can be extra particular about the standard of candidates they want for first round interviews. And there's probably a few hundred people applying.

Your best bet is to apply for the internships next year. Banks hire way more people (like... 80?) so it'll be easier to get that first round.

Another thing to mention is that everybody fusses about getting that first round interview, but getting that offer is even harder. If you think you'll have enough time to prepare for the interviews after you get the call, you're sorely mistaken. Unless you have somebody who's willing to walk you through the actual interview process, you'll probably be underprepared.

Crazy competition for very few spots, so unless you're exceptional in one or several areas, you'll be lucky to even get one invite for a first round interview. Go apply for internships instead as that's your best chance of getting a full time position in IB. And yes you can apply as a final year student, I've seen people do it before.

Good luck, and keep going at it if you're sure this is for you (which you would want to think about carefully).

Also, I got a PM asking about using a recruitment agency – in Australia it only applies if you've already worked in the industry for a few years. So wouldn't work if you're a fresh grad out of uni.

And have any of you guys who got rejected tried networking? I'm talking about approaching people at campus recruiting events, grabbing their card. Heck, even email or cold call to get a coffee with them. You'd be surprised at how willing some people are to help someone who shows some determination. What have you got to lose? Just don't come off as desperate.