By the time the MBA course near its completion, it is a mixed bag feeling. On one side, one feel really happy about finishing the studies with good credentials and on other side one feel worried a little for the career move. Most campuses hosts few good companies which hand pick the finest talent however most of the batch need to fight a battle for a respective job. The story is not very different for MBA finance students.
While selecting the stream, the thought remains to get into Investment banking or Commercial Banking or may be into financial research and modeling. However, by the time the course get over, the only option which keep coming in front is about sales of financial products. The competition is not with the other batch mates of own college or other institutes only but with a complete army of CA, CS, ICWA, CFA, CFP and not to forget students of MFM, MFA, M.Com, M. Eco. And so on. The finance departments of various companies are generally crowded with CA and CA Interns and offering very small salary to begin with.
In such situation, the question which normally comes to mind is “What we done was right choice” or “Should I study more” or in some case “ Is it better to change the line”
So, my dear friend, I would suggest to keep calm and be confident. There are ample opportunities to absorb everyone rather there is a shortfall in the market for certain skill set. The only effort you need to make is to identify such opportunities and start moving in that direction. Remember, if you are been able to crack this situation then sky is the limit.
Sales or Operations
Sales profile in financial Industry is not as bad as students perceives. It requires in-depth understanding and highly degree of professionalism. The person who is involved in the selling of financial products get to meet people of different profile right from junior executives to CEOs or MDs of various organizations. After an initial introduction, generally the Sales people or Relationship Managers get a due respect from all of their clients. This respect is mostly due to the knowledge which they carry and help clients in protecting and further growing their money. Unlike Sales profile, Operations profile requires a dedicated attention and ability to work for longer hours. Generally the count of operations staff are lesser in number thus overly burdened. These profile seek a high degree of diligence as small mistakes may turn into big blunders for an organizations.
Normally, Sales people are paid well as compared to operations staff. Most organization keep incentive structure for Sales people and annual bonus for operations staff however the a good performer in sales may earn equivalent incentive as of salary every quarter. Operations profile, unlike Sales, do not involves travelling so only effort (in terms of travelling) is to reach office in morning.
Potential Employers
The financial Industry is always hungry for employees except the recession days. The typical employers are
Banks : The banks requires people to man their branches which are huge in number. Generally, Private banks hire through campus recruitment, placement agencies or advertisement in newspaper or job portals. Apart from branch staff, they also have huge requirements for their back office processing or call centers. These are limited to certain locations especially nearby large cities. PSU banks conducts exams followed by interviews as a process. Banks also create specialized teams for Sales for various products like loans, Insurance, etc.
Stock Brokers: Most of the Stock Brokers are now become large professionally managed organisations. They not only offer trading in Equities, Commodities, Currencies but also undertake service like Wealth Management, MF distribution, Insurance broking, Portfolio Management Service, etc. They recruit people for positions like Dealers (who enters clients order into exchange), Relationship Managers, Operations executives, Risk managers, Research analysts, etc.
Non banking Finance Companies : NBFCs are more like a banks which offers loans to various companies and individuals. The only difference is about the size since these are far smaller than banks. They recruit people mostly for sales of loans and very few for operations and compliance.
Insurance Companies : Insurance companies creates a big teams to manage their big army of insurance agents. These teams are spread across India and plays and important role whether it is premium collection or claim settlement. The Insurance companies are increasing day by day which increases the scope of requirement. Also these companies make different other organization their corporate agents. These companies are operational in three types of Insurances like Life Insurance, General Insurance and Health Insurance.
Fund management : Gone are the days when people manages their money through fixed deposits. Now mutual fund companies hold a huge asset base. Not only this Portfolio Management services, Investment Managers, Research Analyst, Alternative Investment funds are also jumping into the well bringing in host of opportunities in the Industry.
Piece of Advice
If you are planning to build your career in Financial Industry, it is important clear certain NISM examination. We offer various course as video lesson for general awareness and preparation for these exams. Since you have read so far, I would be delighted to offer you a discount of 25% on our academy courses. All you need to do is to just enter 25OFF. The practical knowledge of markets, Industry, regulator will help in cracking interviews and finding your way to success.
All the Best !!!!!!
