Recruiting Process for Financial Services and Banking
- Common Entry Level Jobs include: Investment Banking Analyst, Financial Analyst, Global Capital Markets Analyst, Capital Markets Analyst, Fixed Income Analyst, Equity Research Analyst, Private Equity Analyst, Wealth Management Analyst
- Applications open in the spring and early summer for following summer internships and full-time positions. Check Handshake and bank websites to learn about application start dates, interviewing information and application details. For example, if you are seeking an internship for the summer going into your senior year, you should be networking and applying to summer analyst roles by your second semester sophomore year.
- Some financial services organizations offer early identification programs for underrepresented student populations. These programs are typically offered to sophomores and can serve as a pipeline program for a summer internship. They are typically posted to Handshake and employer websites in the early Fall semester (deadlines in late September are common).
- Financial services internship programs are typically open to juniors (although some are open to sophomores as well). Financial services programs may also offer freshman and sophomore externship or leadership programs. These programs typically entail a 1-5-day on-site experience that provides exposure to professional skill-building, opportunities to network and an overview of career paths within the company or industry. These are posted to Handshake and company websites in the spring semester.
- Application deadlines for competitive front office, revenue generating summer analyst roles close mid to late spring semester. Although the application may still be open, it is highly encouraged that you apply as soon as the role opens. Depending on the company and position, analyst roles will continue to open and close throughout the summer and into early fall. Check Handshake and bank websites to learn about application close dates.
- Summer internship programs often serve as feeders to full-time positions. Many organizations have a goal of converting their interns into full-time employees and will make decisions about full-time roles at the end of the summer internship experience.
- Search for jobs and internships on Handshake, CareerShift, company websites, social media, industry and job association sites, professional associations, through university recruiting programs and recruiters. Since Villanova is a target school for many companies, it is recommended that you search first on Handshake.
- Many financial services organizations utilize an electronic assessment called pymetrics prior to interviewing candidates. Pymetrics is a series of behavior-based neuroscience games that objectively measure cognitive, social and behavioral attributes. This technology helps employers look beyond an applicant’s resume and understand more about their strengths and which roles might be a fit.
- Financial services employers typically use an asynchronous, recorded interview format for first-round interviews (often using a platform called HireVue). Students can practice financial services industry-specific questions and record practice interviewing through the Big Interview platform to prepare for these interviews. Big Interview is a free resource offered through the Career Center.
- If a student proceeds past the first-round virtual interview, they will typically be invited to a Super Day. A Super Day usually refers to final round interviews for summer analysts or entry-level full-time positions. The day usually consists of several interviews with different professionals at the firm and can include behavioral interview questions and technical interview questions.
- Fit and Experiential Interviews: Behavioral interview questions are a set of questions to assess whether you have the soft skills and motivation to succeed at that firm. These often include general questions about your background and why you want to work for the organization, combined with behavioral-based questions asking you to give examples of past experiences. Use the S.T.A.R. approach to structure your examples; Situation/Task that you were facing, Approach and actions you took to address the issue, Result of the actions you took. Learn more about “Developing Your Interview Stories” in Big Interview.
- Technical Interviews: Technical interview questions are questions that prompt students to showcase their understanding of basic accounting and finance concepts as they related to financial services. Learn more about technical interview questions in financial services in Big Interview.
- Check out Vault’s Guide to Finance Interviews for more tips.
- The Career Center offers one-hour mock interview appointments that can be scheduled via Handshake to further develop interview skills and receive feedback. Students can also reserve interview rooms within the Employer Engagement Suite. For more information on interviewing, please visit the Career Center’s Interviewing webpage.
