Of course, merely making the determination is never enough… you must also convince an employer. This, of course, is true for any job seeker. However, above and beyond convincing an employer of your ability to meet the job requirements the career changer will also have to convince the employer they are fully committed for the long haul. The pressures of the banking industry are many and an employer does not wish to invest in someone who may decide to pack it in and return to their old occupation. In summary, career changers suffer higher scrutiny and should be prepared to address such issues to win an employer over.

To simplify and focus your efforts, just think resume enhancement. A resume generally is considered the number one tool for obtaining interviews, but the resume itself never wins you the job. However, with proper focus on your part it can become your greatest interview asset. For example, to help support your claim that you are determined to have a career in investment banking, your resume should highlight your ongoing efforts to develop yourself for such a career. If done properly, an interviewer won’t have to make their decision based solely on the sincerity of your verbal assurances, but will have the verifiable assurance of a resume supporting that claim. Actions simply speak louder than words…

Unfortunately, in today’s competitive job market environment it is common for candidates to attend a training course and/or a workshop in investment banking to help set themselves apart from their job competition. While this may help enhance your resume enough to get noticed and win an interview, it only documents a point in time, develops no true skill proficiency, and will, in short, never win you the job. Certainly every edge counts, but to really strengthen your resume and win an interviewer’s confidence, have a resume that provides evidence of continuing self-development in preparation for your career in investment banking. In other words, while one workshop or training course is good, several over a period of time supports a trend, shows dedication, and strengthens not only your resume, but yourself and promise as a candidate as well.

Mind you, I’m not advocating the endless expenditure of tens of thousands of dollars on such courses, but a sincere self-development effort on your part that, in turn, can be listed on your resume as part of your experience.

Your efforts must be verifiable, but this is easily remedied with the compilation of a portfolio of your completed work efforts. This is absolutely necessary if you lack any means of verifying your claims through a third party, such as would be available through a course and/or workshop. Note, the Investment Banking Simulator, www.investmentbankingsimulator.com, provides it’s subscribers with both a low cost means of verifiable, on-going development and a self generating e-portfolio of your completed work to showcase your achievements.

Especially given today’s market, expect it to take some time to make such a transition. However, with each passing day, your resume and skills will heighten… bringing you that much closer to making your dreams a reality.

Best of luck to you all.

By, Neil R. Palmquist CM&AA, CEPA
October 15, 2008