Alok Kumar PGDM Ist Year

FINANCE

Better than the Best Career Opportunities:

Jobs in financial sector are far more diverse than we ordinarily imagine. A career in finance isn't all about money, but its close. Those who work in finance affect almost every aspect of business because money makes go around. In fact finance is basic to every business and success of the company depends on how it manages it finances. It is a field that offers a wide range of career opportunities to MBAs/PGDMs who do not want to join stereotype jobs. The key to individual success is to research, locate and land the financial job that has the greatest compatibility with our skills and interests. It provides exciting, creative and interesting jobs that pay generously. Opting finance as a career option is a complex and difficult decision. The financial sector is multifaceted, offering a variety of position to diversified skills and interest. Financial services have multiple sub-industries encompassing niche opportunities. Research is the secret of success in financial jobs. However, in a survey by an educational portal it was pointed out that over 75% student took finance because they felt that it paid handsomely. The survey shows that majority of the student and job seekers who choose finance as a career/profession dont know what they are getting into. I will try to make an attempt that an PGDM/MBA should look at when deciding a career in finance.

Considering Career Paths

Commercial Banking Corporate Finance Financial Planning Fund Management Hedge Funds Insurance Investment Banking Private Equity & Venture Capital Real Estate Financial Accountancy Financial Consultancy

Commercial Banking:

Commercial banks, from large entities to local institutions, offer a range of financial services, from checking and savings accounts to IRAs and loans. Career options available in this sector include bank tellers, loan officers, operations, marketing and branch managers. Talented professionals can advance from a local branch job to a position in corporate headquarters. Such a promotion would expose you to a number of other areas, such as international finance.

Corporate Finance:

Corporate finance jobs involve working for a company in the capacity of finding and managing the capital necessary to run the enterprise. This is done while maximizing corporate value and reducing financial risk. The functions you may implement while in such a position include the following: Setting up the company's overall financial strategy Forecasting profits and losses Negotiating lines of credit Preparing financial statements Coordinating with outside auditors More sophisticated corporate finance jobs might involve mergers and acquisitions activity, such as calculating the value of an acquisition target or determining the value of a division for a spinoff. Corporate finance positions can be found in companies of all sizes, from large, international entities to small startups. Additional corporate finance positions include financial analysts, treasurers and internal auditors.

Financial Planning:

Financial planners help individuals develop plans that will ensure their present and future financial stability. Typically, they review a client's financial goals and generate an appropriate plan for saving and investing that fits the client's individual needs. The plan may focus on wealth preservation or investment growth and may even include estate and tax planning. Most financial planners work in either large, nationwide groups or smaller, locally based firms. Some planners charge flat fees, others a percentage of assets under management, receiving commissions on the products they sell (such as mutual funds). Generally, financial planners with the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation are the most in-demand, as they must obtain three years of financial-planning experience, pass several exams (including a two-day,10hour case-study exam) and meet continuing-education requirements.

Fund

An investment advisory discipline that incorporates financial planning, investment portfolio management and a number of aggregated financial services. A fund manager invests money in stock market, debt market directly into companies, et al. This financial sector can be joined either as an investment advisor or a mutual fund analyst who is concerned with analyzing and advising before the purchase of security taking

Management:

into consideration all the risks, returns and time factor. The profession requires a good overall understanding of macro factor which affect the market as well as micro factors about the type of company invest in.

Hedge Funds:

Hedge funds are largely unregulated private investment funds whose managers can buy or sell a wide array of assets and financial products. Because of the mystery that surrounds this type of entity, hedgefund jobs are also considered by many to be somewhat glamorous. Typical hedge-fund jobs include the following: Financial analyst Trader Regulatory compliance officer Quantitative analyst Marketing manager Portfolio manager

Insurance:

Finance jobs in the insurance industry involve helping businesses and individuals anticipate potential risks and protect themselves from losses. Most insurance jobs are with large insurance companies. You could begin a career in this sector working as a sales rep selling insurance policies, as a customer service rep working with existing clients or as an actuary computing risks and premium rates according to probabilities based on historical, quantitative data sets.

Investment Banking:

Some of the most glamorous - and intense financial careers are jobs in investment banking. Investment-banking jobs deal with facilitating the issuance of corporate securities and making these securities available for investors to purchase, all while trading securities and providing financial advice to both corporations and wealthy individual investors. Typically, investment-banking firms have a number of different divisions and groups with many different objectives and responsibilities. Working in a traditional investment-banking firm would allow you to interact with issuers of securities, mergers and acquisitions professionals or the trading desk, which trades stocks, bonds and other securities in the secondary market.

Private

Private-equity professionals help businesses find capital for both expansion and current operations. They also provide financing for a number of corporate business transactions, such as managed buyouts and restructurings. At times, a private-equity job may involve working as an interim executive at a struggling company where your success helps determine the fate of the company.

Equity

and

Venture

Capital:

Venture-capital professionals (VCs) spend most of their time with startups

or small, fast-growth companies. Venture-capital firms evaluate pitches by founders and small-company leaders to determine if the firm will make an investment. Sometimes referred to as vulture capitalists, VCs are known to structure deals that favor the investor, not the company receiving funding. The hope of the VC is that the funded company will someday go public that is, make its stock available on the public stock market. Venture capital is a tough business where the failure rate is high and the rewards, when they are realized, are huge.

Real Estate:

Over a third of the worlds wealth is tied up in real estate. Real estate is collateral for mortgages and a large amount of financial assets. Real estate professionals are tied to the development of our society in a very direct way and participate in decisions that will shape the way we live for centuries. Work in real estate is personally recording, but at the same time ever changing and challenging. A kick start in real estate can be as a real estate appraiser or as real state advisor. The key to success in real estate career is the right mix of analytical skills and entrepreneurial drive.

Financial Accountancy:

A fresh financial graduate can start his career in big or small corporation as a financial associate or financial accountant. The work is exciting and offers future tracks to audit manager, tax manager, cost accounting manager and controller on accounting side, or to manager of financial planning and analysis and treasurer on the finance side. The financial accountancy work requires a good understanding of both accounting and finance. Apart from the knowledge, then main skill that differentiates those who make it to the top is ability to interact well with people.

Key Resources: Skills and Talent

Key skill area Commerc ial Banking High High High Medium High High Corporat e Finance High Medium Medium High High High Financi al Planne r High Medium High Medium High Medium Fund Manag ement Medium Medium Medium High High Medium Hedg e Fund s Mediu m Mediu m Mediu m High High High Invest ment Bankin g High Medium High High High Medium Privat e Equity High Mediu m Mediu m High High High Real Estat e High High High Mediu m Mediu m High Financial Accountan cy High Medium Medium High High Medium Financial Consultan cy High Medium High High High Medium Insu ranc e High Medi um High Medi um Medi um Medi um

People skills Sales skills Communicati on skills Analytical skills Ability to synthesize Initiative

Financial Consultancy:

Financial consultants provide financial advice to corporations and money managers. The advice may involve the strategies for creating share holder value, business valuation merger and acquisition advisory, economic forecast and analysis or suggestions for treasury management. A new comer starts as an analyst position Consulting is all about business. Firms want specialists with deep knowledge in specific industry who can understand the present and envision the future financial consulting requires the ability to listen and explain to the customer. A financial consultant is smart, brilliant, sales ideas and talks a lot about transforming ideas into action.

Current Placement
In 2009 capital markets have recovered from their lows, the job losses have been minimal in India and in most cases pay cuts have been restored. Finance companies are back once again at the IIM placement, emerging as the hot favorite among the 2009-2011 batch of the post graduate program finance remained the top pick with 44% of student opting for roles in finance, investment banking, private equity, corporate banking and treasury roles. A report by Hewitt Associates indicates that India and China may lead salary hikes in Asia in 2010. The salaries in India are grow by an average 9.2% in 2010, compared with 6.3% gain in 2009. According to Hoyle Jones, Head of recruiting at Citicorp9 commercial bank, the firm is aggressive in hiring market. During 2010 Public sector banks in India will hire more than 30,000 personnel. Nearly 100 employees are being added to public sector bank every day. The expected hiring in PSU Banks in this financial year is set to cross its initial estimate of about 34000. The Economic Times report that many PSU banks are in an expansion mode and are hiring new staff to meet manpower needs.

Finding Financial Job

Opportunities:

Financial jobs exist at almost every company in almost every industry. There are two ways to find openings - online and offline - and it's a good idea to use both methods. Keep in mind that financial jobs are highly specialized, so generic job boards are not the best places to seek such positions. Instead, consider niche sites, such as Job Search Digest. When looking offline, specialized executive recruiters (a.k.a. headhunters) can be excellent resources for both financial job opportunities and career advice. Your university's alumni association can also be very helpful by putting you in touch with industry insiders who are willing to provide some insight and sometimes job leads. Industry conferences and other networking events are also great places to

look for financial jobs. Concerning networking, never forget the value of personal interaction - everyone you meet could know someone who knows of a job opening. Keep your avenues of communication open by following up in a professional, yet personal way, such as a hand-written note or forwarding an article of common interest.

Choosing

The Right Direction

It is always wise to consider the direction of the market before seeking a financial job. To effectively pursue jobs with the highest probability of success, you must measure the demand for the position. Different financial jobs require different skills and present vastly different work environments, so it's wise to select one that aligns with your long-term interests and abilities. Someone with solid interpersonal skills, for example, might do well as a financial advisor, while someone who enjoys crunching numbers might do better in public accounting. Do the research first to discover your options. The time spent uncovering the most interesting possibilities to you can be time saved working in a job that just doesn't fit.