Top skills for women who want to succeed in investment banking
Today women are ready to take up challenging jobs that demand them to prove their talent and caliber. Women no longer shy away from pursuing financial careers that require them to have amazing analytical skills, numerical ability and a diverse set of intellectual skills.
Investment banking is one such branch of financial careers that a lot of women are considering these days.
What does an investment banker do? An investment banker facilitates large-scale transactions between two firms, between the market and a firm or within a firm.
To become a successful investment banker, you need to have some vital tangible and intangible skills that will help you survive amidst the cut-throat competition in the financial sector.
Here are some top skills that will help amateur women investment bankers to up their game and succeed in their investment banking career.
- Detail oriented
A successful investment banker is bound to possess an intellectual curiosity that you rarely see and the desire to solve complex puzzles. Investment bankers don’t have the luxury of minding their own business and just performing individual tasks assigned to them. They need to study and understand the broader picture and constantly be updated with the volatile global economy. Since you would be analyzing financial statements, documenting industry report and constantly doing researches, your attention to details should be impeccable.
One of the most critical skills for an investment banker is analytical skills. Since the career is all about numbers and calculations, you have to be good at math. This does not mean that you should have all math formulas at the tip of your tongue. It simply means that you should be comfortable with dealing with numbers, analyzing and solving problems for as long as you plan to pursue the career.
One would wonder what has human skills got to do with investment banking when the career is all about money. But you can’t be more wrong. Remember that as an investment banker your salary would come from the clients you are handling. Communication and people skills will take you far on your career ladder as an investment banker. As an investment banker, you should have the patience to put your best show and act optimistically while dealing with difficult people in stressful and nerve-wracking situations.
There is no doubt that a career in investment banking is highly rewarding, but no one tells you that working in an investment bank is liking working in a pressure cooker like environment. This career not only needs intellect but also a lot of emotional strength as it is daunting to excel and perform with deadlines constantly. As an investment banker, you would be working long hours, sacrificing your Christmas vacations and constantly losing sleep. But there is nothing that an optimistic approach and a strong will can’t achieve.
Today you do not need to be a man to succeed in investment banking. All you need is a sound knowledge of the subject, immense self-confidence, and assertiveness towards life and your financial career.
