Are you currently struggling to secure a career in banking and finance? It's time to take a different approach!
In four steps the City Professional Programme will show you how to secure a career in banking and finance. Come to London (or participate online)
for a full day of intensive training with famous banking and finance trainer Simon Dixon. Then, work with one of our dedicated career coaches as you set about securing your career in banking and finance. We'll will be with you until the day you get the job!
Watch A Video Extract
How the Programme Works:
You'll start by completing our Banking & Finance psychometric profile, to get recommendations for careers that suit your profile and identify the area of finance where you have the highest chance of success.
Then you'll come to London (or watch online) for one intense day of professional training at the City Professional Workshop. We asked experienced City professionals to give you the benefit of their experience and insights and we interviewed some of the highest achievers in the sector (including executives and Directors with over 40 years experience in the banking and finance sector). All their experience and tips are condensed into this day, and makes a massive difference to the career success of the people who have attended (see the reviews). At the event, renowned speaker Simon Dixon (a former stock broker, trader, corporate financier and market maker) explains which career is right for you and how you can secure it.
After this inspirational day you'll be allocated a dedicated career consultant, who will guide you through the process of securing a career and be at the end of a phone call from now until the day you secure a job!
Saturday, 10am-6pm
25th July 2009
Saturday, 10am-6pm
29th August 2009
Saturday, 10am-6pm
26th September 2009
Further Details:
STAGE 1: Finance-Specific Psychometrics
Find out what your ideal role in the banking and finance sector is. The Benedix Psychometric test has been created by comparing your traits against those of people who are highly successful into specific roles within the City. Look past the stereotypes ("I'm good at numbers so I should be good at trading") and find out what you are really suited to. Confirm your initial ideas or get a second opinion that could send you in a new and exiting direction. Register now and you can get complete the Psychometric Profile straight away.
STAGE 2. One full day of intensive training from finance professionals
On this fascinating and intensive full-day training workshop, a top trainer with wide first-hand experience in the financial sector will show you:
- How to choose the job that you want to get.
- How to secure that job
- How to achieve and climb the corporate ladder in your first position
- How to ensure you don't lose your job regardless of the wider economic climate
Your Trainer:
Your trainer for this intensive training day will be Simon Dixon. Simon has worked in the City
of London as a stock broker, market maker (a highly-skilled trader) and investment
banker. Originally trained as an economist, he now spends his time as a consultant
presenting across UK financial institutions and universities.
Simon spends a good deal of time presenting to students and
graduates across the UK on banking and finance related topics. Other
activities include presenting regularly at financial institutions on
trading and investing strategies as well as working with the government
licensed Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC). His work with universities includes presentations at London School of
Economics, UCL, Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Business & Finance
and most other major universities across the UK. He has also provided commentary for the BBC, City AM and Investors
Chronicle.
Read the full syllabus for the intensive training day
1. Which job?
Find out which sector is booming and where job prospects are highest
While the credit crunch has killed off any activity in certain areas of banking and finance, other areas are growing rapidly due to the response to events over the last year. Some of the sectors that are most popular with graduates are likely to be 'out of action' for another couple of years, so you need to know which areas are growing in order to make sure you don't focus all your energy on a sector that has no opportunities.
Find out where you fit into the City
Your trainer will explain the different sectors and roles in the City to give you an insight into the type of person that is successful in each. Ensure that your target role matches your desired lifestyle and personality, and guarantee that you are playing to your strengths rather than going against the flow.
2. How do I get the job?
Why most graduates fail to get the job
To recruiters and professionals in the City it is very easy to identify which graduates will make it and which will not. You'll find out why it is that only 10% of graduate attain the career that they want, and what mistakes the other 90% make. Find out now if a simple mistake is all that stands between you and your dream career.
Find out what employers really want
Now you know what not to do, we'll show you what you can do in order to secure that position. From research with recruiters throughout the sector and our experience working with thousands of candidates each year, we'll show you what it is that employers really want, and what you can do if you don't currently have what they're looking for.
How to get your CV noticed by a banking and finance recruiter
The truth about CVs is that around 90% are irrelevant to the job in question and another 5% are just boring (to use the industry term!). To make sure that your CV is in the 5% that actually get read, it must be a sales document that catches the recruiter's attention from the very first line. Otherwise, you will not even be invited to interview. Our trainers will give you some top tips to ensure that your CV is noticed even in a pile of thousands.
Advanced interview techniques for banking and finance
Work out exactly what your interviewer is looking for and know how to give the right answer and speak their language. This helps you to mark yourself out as the best candidate for this position.
Speak like a City professional - City lingo and terminology to use in your interviews
Show that you are young finance professional (rather than just a student) by speaking the language of your interviewer. Understanding the lingo and terminology means you demonstrate your genuine passion for finance, and helps the recruiter to over-look the fact that you still need a lot of training before being ready to make money for the company.
Alternatives to the graduate schemes - find the companies that most graduates don't know about...
You may not get into the top ten banks, especially in the current economic climate where banks are significantly reducing their hiring (and stopping it altogether in certain departments). However, what many job seekers overlook is that there are hundreds of small to medium sized financial firms in the City. Because of their smaller size they do not tend to have structured application processes and are less competitive. Find out why experience in one of these firms can be more valuable than a graduate scheme at one of the multinational banks, and how you can go about finding and applying to these firms.
...and the companies that will survive the credit crunch
Naturally you want a position with long-term prospects - and not to arrive on your first day at work to find your firm has gone bankrupt! Find out which companies are most susceptible to the credit crunch, and which firms will survive and potentially become even strong because of it. Learn how to identify the companies that will become key players in the post-Crisis environment.
3. Technical Information
The City Professional Workshop acts as a 'crash course' in finance. If you don't come from an economics or finance background, then by the end of the day you will have a comprehensive understanding of the finance sector and be able to understand the role of all the different firms in the City. If you do have an economics/finance background, then this workshop will give you the practical understanding of business to complement your theoretical understanding of economics. You'll even find out how the stock market really moves! By the end of the day you will have an understanding of financial sector that most people only get from years of experience.
[ More details ]
- Business Life Cycle - how a business grows, IPOs, and collapses
- Business Angels - what do they do?
- IPO’s - what does it stand for and why do they make so much money for those involved?
- Underwriters - what is their role in an IPO?
- Venture Capital - how is VC different from a business angel?
- Public Debt Issues - why is this an alternative to issuing equity?
- Coverable Bonds
Inside an Investment Bank:
- Underwriting - risky but lucrative.
- Private Equity - why has it got a bad reputation, and why might it be the way forward?
- Proprietary Trading - versus other types of trading
- Analysts - why this is not really a job for shy mathematicians
- Sales Trading - is it sales or trading?!
- Fund Management - who's money are you managing?
- Market Making - who really sets the prices of stocks and shares?
- Stock broking
- Derivatives - what are they?
- Structured Products
Business Understanding / Commercial Awareness
Understand how the following businesses make money so that you can be outstanding in your interviews:
- Retail/commercial Banking
- Investment Banking
- Merchant Banking
- Investment Institutions
The three main asset classes and how they differ
Investing v. Speculating
Why you should be careful which one you talk about depending on whether you apply to a hedge fund or a pension fund
Fundamental v. Technical Analysis
Understand the basic misunderstanding at the root of this age-old debate, and learn which one you should use in which situation.
What moves a market?
- Sentiment
- Technical Analysis
- Fundamental Analysis
- Economics
- Institutions
- Brokers
- Companies
- Banks
What is money?
- Barter Economy
- Gold Standard
- Glass Steagal Act
- Money Economy
- Money as Debt
Banking
- Early Banking
- Fractional Reserve Banking
- Central Banking
- Money & Debt
- Islamic Banking
- The future challenges of banking & the City
4. How do I achieve in the job?
Understand the whole financial system so that you know how developments in other sectors affect your career prospects
As the current financial crisis plays out, certain sectors will contract and others will grow. Throughout your career you need to be aware of what is happening in other areas of finance so that you can see both threats to your career prospects and also business opportunities to be taken advantage of. The workshop will give you an understanding of how different areas of the sector connect and affect each other's activities, so that you are always prepared for whatever happens.
Lessons from CEOs and top achievers in the City - learn from those who are truly successful
Find out what those at the top of the career ladder did to get to be directors and CEOs.
Climb the corporate ladder
Use their experience in your own career to climb to the top of the corporate ladder.
5. How do I avoid losing the job?
Why most graduates don't make it past the first three years
A massive proportion of newly-hired graduates are fired within 3 years, and only a small proportion are promoted. Find out what sort of person does get promoted and how you can ensure that you will not be one of those who are 'let go' within the first few years.
The Future of Banking & Finance
Find out what we should be expecting over the next 10-20 years, and how changes in the banking and finance sector could threaten your career - or offer you a massive opportunity. Be prepared for any changes so that you can make the best of any situation.
How to play your part in building a sustainable financial system and avoid being affected by the credit crunch
With forward planning and a good understanding of finance from the very start, you can limit your personal exposure to events such as the credit crunch, as well as playing your part in developing a sustainable financial system.
STAGE 3. Post-workshop consultation and follow-up action plan
Consultation with an expert careers consultants
One of our finance-specialist careers consultants will be able to help you clarify your plans after the workshop and guide you to the next steps to take. We're just at the end of the phone!
Find out which companies you should apply to:
Your consultant will give you a database of the companies - both bulge-bracket and mid-cap - in your chosen area of finance, so that you know exactly who to start researching and approaching. Enrol now to get this process started!
Professional Qualifications - which should you do?
Your careers consultant will be able to advise you on which qualifications you require for your career path and how to go about getting those qualifications. An appropriate qualification is a clear sign that you want the job, whereas an inappropriate qualification simply shows that you haven't done your research into the financial sector, so this is invaluable advice and expertise.
Get a job with one of our partners - or with your own target employer
Now that we know which area of finance you want to work in we can look out for suitable vacancies as they arise. However, we don't expect exclusivity and a large proportion of City Professional Workshop graduates go on to use the knowledge they have learnt here in order to secure a position in one of the top investment banks.
Location
Pricing
For a limited time only, we are able to reduce the price of the full 4-stage City Professional Programme to only £99.99 plus VAT (total £114.99). This is in response to the current economic crisis to make the full programme accessible to as many as possible in a more challenging job market.
Current full-time students are entitled to a significant student discount.
This fee covers:
- One full-day (10am-6pm) of intensive training in central London
- Workbook to accompany the day of training
- The opportunity to speak one-to-one with experienced City professionals
- Access to the Benedix City-specific psychometric test, which will help you identify roles which match your personality
- A follow-up telephone consultation to develop your career plan and identify companies that you can apply to
Student Discount:
Because we recognise that money maybe in short supply whilst you are still studying, we offer a full-time student discount price at £59.99 plus VAT.
You are eligible for the student discount if you are currently in full time education. Unfortunately part-time courses and evening courses do not qualify for the discount.
Register Now
Brilliant Day. Great Speaker. Well Presented. 
This workshop is brilliant! 
