How To Network Like An Investment Banker? Harsh Parikh, Ex-Director - IB, DSP Merrill Lynch - Part 3
Summary
TLDRIn this video, industry experts discuss the importance of hard and soft skills in finance and investment banking. They emphasize the significance of diligence, accuracy, and stamina, highlighting the need for professionals to maintain quality work at all hours. Fundamentals of corporate finance are deemed crucial, along with the ability to read and analyze financial documents effectively. The conversation also touches on the evolving landscape of hiring in investment banking, where traditional qualifications like CFA are being challenged by other professional backgrounds. Additionally, the discussion explores the challenges of transitioning to a tech startup, the importance of networking, and the critical role of hiring the right talent for business scalability.
Takeaways
- 📈 Diligence is crucial in finance; delivering quality work at any hour is valued.
- 🔍 Double-checking work is emphasized; 'never hand out a piece of paper hot from the printer' suggests reviewing work after it's been set aside for a while.
- 📚 Fundamentals of corporate finance are essential, including cost of capital and financial analysis.
- 🏦 Investment banking jobs can be obtained without a CFA or MBA, but having these qualifications can increase chances of hiring.
- 💡 The importance of soft skills like communication and networking is highlighted, as they can significantly impact career progression.
- 🔐 In digital health, data security is a concern, but the benefits of cloud data often outweigh the risks with proper security measures.
- 📊 Engineers looking to transition into finance can leverage their ability to analyze and interpret financial data, such as balance sheets and annual reports.
- 👥 Networking is not just about making connections but also about making a positive impression that could lead to future opportunities.
- 🍷 Personal interests and knowledge, such as wine or cheese, can sometimes play a role in building rapport and networking in professional settings.
- 🌐 When scaling a business, hiring the right people is critical, as one bad hire can negatively impact the success of an entire office or region.
Q & A
What hard skills are important in investment banking or finance?
-The key hard skills include diligence, being able to maintain high standards even under pressure, and mastering corporate finance fundamentals such as cost of capital and calculating beta. Proficiency in tools like Excel is also crucial.
Why is diligence important in investment banking?
-Diligence is vital because investment banking often requires long hours and high attention to detail. Being able to produce work at 2 AM that matches the quality of work done at 2 PM demonstrates stamina and commitment.
Is it necessary to complete a CFA to secure a job in investment banking?
-It is not mandatory to complete a CFA. While it can increase your chances, there are examples of Chartered Accountants and other professionals securing investment banking roles without a CFA, especially if they rank highly or have relevant skills.
What skills are important for someone transitioning into the finance sector?
-For someone transitioning into finance, it is essential to build a strong understanding of corporate finance, advanced finance, and accounting principles. Learning to navigate annual reports and analyze financial data efficiently is also valuable.
How do you handle data security risks in digital health sectors?
-Data security risks are inherent in digital health sectors, especially with data moving to the cloud. Companies take steps, such as implementing regular security updates from cloud providers like Amazon AWS, but there is always a risk of data being hacked.
What role does networking play in career advancement, and how can one stand out?
-Networking is essential for career growth as it enables you to leverage relationships for favors and opportunities. To stand out, you need to carry yourself well, be knowledgeable about non-work-related topics, and make a positive impression at social events.
What challenges arise when transitioning from one sector to another, like investment banking to health tech?
-The primary challenge is gaining knowledge of the new sector. However, if you're a fast learner, especially with a personal investment at stake, you can quickly adapt by picking up essential skills and collaborating with experts in the field.
What scalability challenges do startups face when expanding to new locations?
-One major challenge is hiring the right people. The success of a new office can depend heavily on the first hires. A wrong hire can lead to significant setbacks, especially in startups where there is little room for error.
Why is reading financial statements quickly and accurately a valuable skill?
-Being able to read and analyze financial statements quickly gives you an edge in efficiency, especially in investment banking. It allows you to navigate complex reports and spot crucial information faster than your peers.
How can soft skills, like networking and communication, impact your professional growth?
-Soft skills such as networking and communication are critical as they help you build relationships and stand out in social settings. These skills are often the key to accessing future opportunities, favors, and mentorship.
Outlines
💼 Importance of Hard Skills in Finance
The speaker, Mohawk, emphasizes the significance of hard skills in finance, particularly diligence and attention to detail. He stresses the importance of delivering high-quality work at any hour, not just during regular working hours. Mohawk also highlights the necessity of double-checking work before submitting it, comparing it to the saying 'never hand out a piece of paper when it's hot from the printer.' Fundamental knowledge of corporate finance, including advanced topics, is deemed essential. The conversation shifts to the possibility of securing an investment banking job without a CFA or equivalent qualification, suggesting that while it was unlikely in the past, the industry's changing dynamics may make it more feasible today due to cost considerations and a potential collapse in the supply side of investment banking.
📈 Balancing Engineering and Finance
Mano, who will be joining SP Jen, inquires about the courses needed to transition into the finance sector from engineering. The response highlights the advantage of being able to read balance sheets and understand financial analysis, which can significantly improve efficiency in finance roles. The speaker suggests that while an accounting course might be part of an engineering curriculum, having a deeper understanding of financial statements and their structure, as governed by regulations like the Companies Act, can provide a competitive edge. The paragraph also touches on the importance of networking, explaining how to make a good impression and stand out in social settings, which can be crucial for career advancement.
🚀 Transitioning to Health Tech and Scaling Challenges
Shawn Dubie discusses his transition from investment banking to a health tech startup, emphasizing the importance of learning on the job and the challenges of scaling a business. He mentions the loss of a technical co-founder early on and the necessity to learn quickly to guide the development of the tech product. The speaker also addresses the difficulty of hiring the right people, especially when expanding to new locations, and the impact of poor hiring decisions on the success of a startup. The ability to assess a candidate's fit for a role within a short period is highlighted as a critical skill for scaling a business effectively.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Investment Banking
💡Hard Skills
💡Corporate Finance
💡Excel
💡CFA
💡Networking
💡Digital Health
💡Scalability
💡Soft Skills
💡Cloud Computing
Highlights
The importance of hard skills in finance, such as diligence and attention to detail, is emphasized.
The necessity of delivering quality work under pressure and at any time is highlighted.
The value of checking work multiple times before submission is stressed.
The difference between reading on screen and paper is discussed, with a recommendation to review on paper.
Fundamentals of corporate finance are identified as a crucial hard skill for investment banking.
The ability to work with financial tools and calculators for cost of capital and other analyses is mentioned.
Networking is discussed as a vital skill, with tips on how to make a good impression.
The possibility of getting an investment banking job without a CFA or equivalent is explored.
The changing landscape of hiring in investment banking and the value of a CA or CFA are discussed.
The importance of being able to read and analyze financial statements, such as balance sheets, is highlighted.
The risk of data moving to the cloud and the importance of security in digital health are discussed.
The need for continuous learning and adaptation when moving to a new sector is emphasized.
The challenges of hiring and scalability in a startup environment are explored.
The importance of soft skills in hiring and the impact of the first hire on a new office's success are discussed.
The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to subscribe and engage with the content.
Transcripts
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[Music]
we have a question here I asked my name
is Mohawk and I will be joining I am
Cody called next month my question to
you is you've just spoken about
communication and how important it is
and there were speakers who have talked
about a number of different soft skills
that are extremely crucial but when it
comes to investment banking or finance
or the broader sense what are the hard
skills that you think someone should
develop because in terms of tools we've
heard you know Excel is God you work on
Excel and things should be fine for you
but what are the hard skills that go
into it
firstly diligence see it is one thing to
make a profile of TCS at 2:00 p.m. it's
another to make it at 2:00 a.m. so I
agree that's morning when the senior
boss whoever looks at the profile and
finds Katy CSK chaga TPS Livadia guy and
he'll be ok with it because he
understands you've done it at 2 o'clock
but if he instead of that if you can do
have that stamina to deliver what you
can what you do at 2:00 p.m. deliver it
at 2:00 a.m. that is very very important
the people keep telling us all the time
check your work check your work read it
once you read it again the the saying on
the shop floor is never hand out a piece
of paper when it's hot from the printer
the idea being use the time for it to
cool down to read through it again after
you printed was reading it on a screen
and reading it on paper is very
different that is the most important
part second obviously your fundamentals
corporate finance whatever your
requirements for investment banking or
corporate finance fundamentals advanced
corporate finance do all of it cost of
capital ko-nach a kiss a calculator on
say a beta k on achaya concha beta use
on i all of that you need to know that
the fundamentals of it those are the two
things that are frankly required to
start with and then as I said the sales
part then start kicking in managing your
team starts kicking in all of that
my name is mano and I'll be joining SP
Jen so my question is that is it
possible to get an investment banking
job without doing a CFA or a CFA or any
other equivalent course frankly I don't
know
today's DNA and I will tell you from why
I'm saying that back in 2006 I would
have said the answer is no or you'll
probably get at a end of the hirez
today's day and age I know Chartered
Accountants for example who are who've
joined the JM financial CLS a and ambit
who rankers have joined Merrill Lynch so
this is the CA
so I'm guessing someone who's done very
well at CFA might even be hired because
one of the reasons why the supply side
on investment banking has collapses
they're looking at costs so if afresh I
am grad the total all-in cost at the end
of the year is $100,000 they would
realize Canada can hire a CA for
probably less than half of that and I'm
assuming added to applies to a CFA as
well so the what I had experienced was
2006 today is a different day in age it
works for CS those who cleared for short
those who got ranks I am NOT
to conversant on CFA yet but a CFA plus
MBA for what you are asking I'm sure the
chances are high myself I am joining I
mean so part of my first question was
the diet only what and the engineer
pressure right now you joining I am in
Doha and I am interested in final so
what course a source killed would I need
to plunge into the finance sector and
second is you are currently working in
digital health sector which is quite a
sensitive area we can say we have seen
the cases of Terrenas and Elizabeth
Holmes over there so how do you handle
that see solidarity the second question
first we are increasingly moving to a
world where data is moving to cloud
there are advantages to being on cloud
you without doubt you can't have uber
that's a fact right so is there a risk
of course there is a risk if data moves
to cloud it becomes is lot more
accessible for anybody to hack into that
system when we talk to our clients this
is a question that comes all the time
metadata of Chioggia kohake a hacker
gâteau my answer to you is anything is
hackable
that is a risk you want to be able to
access that ECG in the middle of the
night to avoid the hospitalization you
gotta take a risk that it could be
hacked
now what interest does anybody have in
hacking that ECG as again is a different
story but yeah it is it is a risk that
remains I cannot wish that away you take
steps you have every few months Amazon
servers are over the AWS so every few
months
Amazon keeps coming up with newer and
newer security updates which hopefully
will handle those kind of threats what
kind of courses you should take a
finance corporate finance advanced
corporate finance for sure an aspect
that is often where when I was a
chartered accountant I had that
advantage against my co-workers when who
were engineers what helped me greatly
was the ability to read balance sheets
kqe
as an analyst you are evaluated on the
fact okay I got my profile banannie and
the profile it's important and a profile
to cover these these things I knew
exactly kea data consequent analysis in
a military can email type is
depreciation a line item and the segment
analysis any chartered accountant but
his money should be able to offer other
quantitative production data a year to
Camp ami lega Khan said you'll may who
got hoga ki nahi hoga that kind of stuff
I was able to navigate a 200-page annual
report significantly faster than an
engineer which improve my efficiency
relatively in front of my boss so as an
engineer that is a skill something that
you can think of you will have an
accounting course in your first term but
that is very obvious within mine MA I
mean you can't compare to someone to
partial accounting secret you can't
compare to three in three months but
that is something by reading annual
reports by knowing what the because the
layout of an annual report is governed
by the Companies Act it has to be
followed to the teeth but nobody tells
you that but stuff like that hi all this
is sovath I'll be joining accelerate my
question with you is you mentioned the
importance of networking and we have
been hearing this term a lot but since
like we will be joining me could we
haven't experienced what it is like so I
already rested today
um yeah our networking so but I wanted
to know from some of your personal
experience how if you can tell any one
instance where your network like your
b-school network helped you know career
with there are two things about
networking firstly is how do you ensure
that you are noticed because when I when
I mentioned the importance of networking
obviously one part is right now after
1012 years for me to pick up the phone
to be able to the ability to talk to a
client or an ex-colleague
and say hey I need your help you GE
jaycara kiddo right at the end of the
day the lot a very very large part of
the world runs on favors behind the
scenes that's a fact
so for you to be able to pull those
favors out you should have network with
that person somewhere in the past more
importantly he should have been
impressed by you he should have found
care is even dikanka he let me do them
this favor caljic a moochick am la vega
how do you give someone that impression
so but this is something that is used to
you much much later when you are out
looking for business yourself initially
the networking is about so so if I have
to tell you there will be a lot of
office parties no matter where you go
whichever organisation finance non
finance marketing or nothing and they
will your bosses will be there because
they're supposed to be there how and
there will be lots of people who will be
out there trying to be in front of the
boss how do you get the boss to notice
you those kind of skills how you carry
yourself you can it's probably something
that you can pick up at a finishing
school
but maybe it is important the way you
carry your wineglass what are you
drinking doesn't necessarily have to be
what the boss says do you know what you
are drinking how many of you know your
wines
if you drink if you are into wine
drinking or is it just black or white or
red and that's the end of it stuff like
single malts I mean these are things
that could matter could not matter but
what is goat cheese
what is feta stuff so a lot of the
finishing matters and what what I mean
is how a lot of those things start
mattering because guess what it matters
to the boss he may have not known in
when he was just first year analyst but
now he does so if he meets a guy where
he can discuss those things
if you can discuss it matters so what I
meant by the networking early on is is
is in those office parties how do you
stand out from the crowd how are you
able to have a conversation outside of
work not but not discuss if you could
not suppose to discuss dealings in
public so how do you what do you talk if
you if your Asia head is visiting and
you are all out and gathering you should
be able to talk to the guy
firstly you activity Reggie because he
is Eurasia I heard you might as well not
over so that communication part where
how do you get over that kr he's just
another guy who's out there to have fun
he's had a long day it's stuff like that
we had of course this happened much much
much later but we were in the car once
moving from office to the venue of the
office party because my Asia had had was
in town and this guy was a turns out in
just we were just generally talking what
have you been doing what you like he was
going to spend a weekend in Bombay and
you what he's going to do and he ended
up saying oh I love the pickup and open
I'm going to watch her movie there's a
Japanese guy but he imagined right so we
tend to make up a lot but hey whatever a
go I can't go for what we think of me
but he just wants to have a good time
talking to you so that what will you
talk with him how getting preparing
yourself for that that is very important
because if you can notice their life is
my boss my name is Shawn Dubie
I have two questions for you the first
is that you shifted your career from IB
to a healthy health tech startup so it
might happen that you have some lack of
knowledge about the sector in which you
are moving so how to work on that and
the second is what are the major
scalability of a challenge that
challenges that you faced while you know
scaling or spreading around or briefcase
so in terms of skill sets it was a bit
of a rock and roll that we had we were
supposed to start with three co-founders
one of them being tech and
he left very early on and then we hired
people to get a tech done but you learn
you think if you were someone who's
managed to do well at cat and gotten to
the kind of institution that you guys
are act you will learn right you're an
engineer who's planning now to finance
how is it vastly different they maybe
have come commerce graduate' was looking
at a marketing career
those are my cyclopean Matheny wish in
health tech when it comes to that so you
learn you pick up you pick it up if he's
especially if you have a gun to your
head your money on the line you will
learn it's not rocket science there are
something that you may not learn I am
not very good at coding
I can't code for the love of God but
what I can do is I can tell a ninja
exactly what I want how the app should
look yeah but on the biotope yahan
Achaia or cassidy commercial you know
scalability your second question pay
attention when our HR teachers talk
trust me my biggest challenge and
scalability I know is hiring to be able
to figure out in a half an hour one hour
for our jitna builder whether this guy
is good for a job or not is just so
important because to do I mean I was in
charge of campus recruitment at Merrill
for a good number of years and it to be
able to do it is different at that time
because t Cana this analyst hey egg
hierarchy a crab Nick lot o TK it's okay
but when you're hiring your first sales
rep crab nicola which team a Giga so
pervasive today we're in Bombay but our
next probably will start with Pune or
Bangalore or M the but when you expand
out to set up a teen and Ahmedabad if
the first guy I hire is an idiot that
entire office is going to fail so that
part getting your soft skills right in
hiring is probably often what makes a
brick startups just the inability to
hire right kind of because you don't
have second chances you're not going to
like give him one year to try and set up
a business and M the bar then if he
doesn't fail now going high
another one we just shot the officer
named the bud after one year of failure
can you have a big round of applause for
us please thank you
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