5 SKILLS FOR AN INVESTMENT BANKER

Aiming to develop the competencies investment banks want to see when you apply? You’ll need to go beyond ‘teamwork’ and ‘communication’ to stand out from the crowd.Having worked in both corporate finance and in the capital markets,I think the skill set needed is slightly different in each,That said,there are some universal requirements.

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 Cognizance: Sector knowledge is important and most i-bankers have core sectors in which they have fairly deep knowledge. However, the world is evolving rapidly and sooner rather than later ‘sector expertise’ will become obsolete. I-bankers rapidly learn about emerging trends and businesses and develop a high level of general awareness and curiosity about the world. The best i-bankers I know are all voracious readers and absorb newspapers, blogs and all forms of information like the proverbial sponge.

 Interpersonal skills: This business is all about the skills person possess. The relationship you build with you’r clients, partners, coworkers, etc, are the only assets that i-banker acquires. If you don’t have a “turn on the charm” button, you have no business being i-banker. The most hard core and aggressive i-bankers can transform themselves into charmers at will. Of course, it helps if the charm and empathy is real and not put on.

 Execution OR Sales & Marketing skills: I believe that most i-bankers fit into one of two slots – ones that have better execution skills and ones that have better sales and marketing skills. Of course, no investment banker can entirely fit into one slot and must do both. However, it is essential that one is clear about what his or her strength is and builds their forte accordingly.

Patience and Tenacity: Deals take forever to close. Deals that appear to be done and dusted fall off for the strangest reasons. Unless one has extreme patience and extreme tenacity, it is prudent to take up an alternative profession.

 Innovative : Always strive to hunt new ideas & develop strategies for clients. The ability to identify new business ideas is must for an investment banker.  In light of recent structural change in the industry, the ability to infuse innovation across the organization has become critical for creating and maintaining a competitive edge. As the trends change so does the technology advances in industries.