How To Make Your Finance Application Standout!

OK, hello Beth, and thanks very much for joining us on this episode. And actually, just to tell the quick story of how we met, I only met you like a couple of weeks ago.

Yeah.

And it was through something which— the reason why I'm starting the episode with this is that you posted something about this on LinkedIn where you've been putting out this fantastic series of posts trying to give students kind of application help. In little bite-sized nuggets. And you did one yesterday and it was talking about using LinkedIn and reach out to someone and the benefit of being proactive on LinkedIn. And that's exactly how we met, right? It was just, I think you engaged with the post, I reached out to you, then we had a chat and then it kind of went from there. And, you know, testament to you for sharing those types of tips and, and yeah, great way to, to kind of go into things because Through that conversation, we started talking about ways and means of how we can help students through different applications. And just wanted to start with someone in your position in early careers. You must see hundreds, if not thousands of students. And you know, you kind of hear these stories about a lot of students get quite intimidated by the volume of applications, but you often hear that actually the quality might not be that great. So actually it's not that top-level figure, it's something more focused. So, In your perspective, what are some of like the common mistakes that you see from applicants that could be quite easily resolved if they have the know-how of what to look out for?

Yeah, for sure. And I think, like you said, that LinkedIn is such a good example of just using the platform in a slightly different way. So thinking about how you can kind of network with other people out there and just kind of really make the most of the platform. So thank you for having me, first of all. I think in terms of kind of that volume piece, that's actually one one of the biggest mistakes that I would see is students really kind of doing that scattergun approach to applications and kind of firing them off all over the place and really kind of going for the volume because they think maybe the more places that they apply or the more kind of roles that they apply for, the higher their chances of kind of securing something. But I would actually argue it's probably the opposite, that the kind of more applications you're firing off and the kind of thinner you're spreading yourself, the kind of worse your chances are of securing something, especially that's going to align to kind of your values and kind of your career goals. So I'd say probably the kind of main thing that I see, the most common kind of mistake, would be not tailoring their applications. And you can tell, I can tell super quick if somebody has put a bit of effort into their application and spend a little bit of time looking at kind of the job description or looking at kind of the company in more detail and really kind of thinking about their motivations for that kind of industry or that kind of company. So, I've read plenty of CVs where the opening line is saying they want to work for a different company or work in a different industry. And first impressions obviously do matter. Like you said, I probably review thousands of CVs every couple of months. So, if my first impression of a candidate is actually that they haven't spent any time thinking about, is this CV or is this application right for the role that I'm sending it for? Then that can be kind of like a quick way to, I guess, like turn a recruiter kind of to thinking about something different. So really just spending some time tailoring each application. I know that's time-consuming. Like, I've been there. I've obviously been looking for graduate roles when I first left university. But scale it back, instead of applying for 20, apply for like 5 or 10 and actually spend the time you would have spent applying for the 20, applying for less and kind of really tailoring it to kind of the company and the role.

And just, yeah, just going beyond like the going on a website, when you go on a company website and it's like, "Our company goals and cultures," things like that. I know that's one part of the puzzle, but what would you say a student could do to demonstrate going above and beyond? Would that be like networking, talking to someone like you and they mention your name or a conversation and that's how they— like what would be other kind of things that would stand out to you in that sense that, okay, this person's really done their homework here, they stand out?

Yeah, I think like I get a lot of emails on LinkedIn, as I'm sure lots of people do and probably students as well. And the ones that stand out to me are the ones that have already done a bit of kind of proactive research and have got the information that they can get from the internet. So the difference might be that somebody's emailed me saying, do you have any roles at Bloomberg that I can apply for? Or I've got somebody messaging me saying, I've looked, I've seen the 2023 data analyst position based in London, and I'm really interested in XYZ. Do you have some time to talk more about it? Like, which one of those do you think is going to get a better response? So I would really say, like, think about, have you explored all the avenues that are kind of like publicly available to you? Have you watched maybe some of the YouTube videos that most companies put out? Have you attended an event if you can? Have you maybe messaged somebody who's in one of those roles already at Bloomberg and had a quick chat about what their day-to-day looks like? And then come to the recruiter and said like, these are the specific questions I have, like, can you help? Most of the time they then will be able to kind of give you some extra context that maybe isn't publicly available that will really help with your application. So that kind of Being proactive and making sure that you've done the pieces that are already publicly available will really make that kind of recruiter more likely to support. And obviously then that support can run into the application if you can use those like little nuggets of information when you're in your interview and thinking about like what direction is the company going in. Like you probably can't get that from like looking on YouTube or looking on their careers page, but you can get that from speaking to people within the business. So really thinking about kind of what information is publicly available to you, starting there, and then really kind of doing a bit of networking, going to those events, asking those interesting questions, getting that kind of additional information, and using those through the whole application process. Like, keep building on your information, use those questions in an interview setting to then be able to speak to those in the next person that you see. And that kind of building on the information really sets candidates apart. Like, our managers love it when they come out of an interview and they're like, oh, they really understood like XYZ. They must have kind of picked that up from like another interview or one of their like presentations. Those sorts of things always, always go down really well.

So is it, is it a sense of more about the business and what the business does in its position more though than just knowing about markets, or is it a blend of both that would demonstrate someone who's got the most potential, do you think?

Yeah, I think a blend is definitely important. If you want to work in the financial markets, you can really tell the difference between somebody who maybe just wants to work in finance because it's the thing that everybody does, or somebody who wants to work in finance because they genuinely have an interest and a passion for the financial markets. You can tell the difference between someone who's gone on like the Financial Times that morning and picked off like one news story to speak about in their interview versus someone who genuinely follows like an area of the market. And I think that genuine interest is quite hard to fake. And I know you kind of put out some really good information about like how to use the Financial Times better and kind of other areas that you can kind of pick up. But just really making sure that it is an area that you're passionate about and that you're interested in. And then making sure you can demonstrate that in an interview setting. 'Cause you can tell the difference. Yeah.

Cool. And, you know, one of the things here that I often hear is, you know, just given my, my previous career, I guess, early phase of my career when I was working around news and stuff like that in, in financial media, um, was I often heard about a Bloomberg type of person. Now, I guess, I guess you could have this in, in all companies, like a, like a Goldman's person or Morgan Stanley, or a European bank person is different from a US person. But I used to hear like this Bloomberg, they would look for a certain type of candidate. Now, I don't know if that's a right or wrong thing, an assumption or not, but what would be like the type of attributes that Bloomberg look for in a potential candidate?

Yeah, so I wouldn't say there's like one type of person. Obviously, in terms of kind of that diversity piece, we want lots of different backgrounds. It's definitely a melting pot of cultures here. So even in my team where you don't need a European language, I'm one of the few that doesn't speak a second language. So you'll walk around the office and you'll hear kind of like French and German, Spanish, like it's an amazing place in terms of kind of that diversity and kind of the culture piece. But there definitely is an underpinning culture here, which is pretty different from a lot of other kind of financial services kind of firms and providers. So collaboration is so important. You'll find people really give their time freely here, which was really different for me from kind of the other places that I'd come from before. If you wanna know more about somebody's role or kind of their background or the work that they're doing at the moment, you can pretty much put a coffee chat in with anybody. Like, doesn't matter, they might be the global head of kind of a product and you could be quite junior, but if you've got something kind of interesting to say or kind of you have a real interest in that area, and then everybody is so open here to kind of like supporting each other, to kind of working on different projects, might not be kind of something directly related to your role, but you might have an interest in it. So that collaboration is like really important, and I think somebody who doesn't have that kind of collaborative mindset would, would probably struggle here because it's like underpinning everything that we do. It's one of our core values. It's definitely something that you'll find in pretty much everybody here, if not everybody. So that would be kind of definitely one of the top things that we would look for. And also kind of that innovation piece. So you can only be a market leader if you continue to innovate. And that's obviously something we're kind of very proud of. So somebody who wants to look at things and do things better. So if you like kind of real structure and order and to just do something the same way kind of every time, then again, it may be it's not the right environment for you. But if you love coming in and being like, well, that's not quite working, like what else could we do? Like, have we tried doing it this way? Really like bringing your ideas forward. And that sort of person kind of really thrives here, those sorts of kind of culture pieces. So I wouldn't say there's kind of like one person or like type that Bloomberg has. Obviously, we need that kind of diversity, but definitely somebody that aligns with our kind of cultural values. And also like philanthropy is so important here. So Bloomberg donates pretty much all of its profits to charity, which is pretty unheard of in kind of a corporate environment. So somebody can get on board with that, somebody who wants to kind of network and kind of look at other causes alongside their day-to-day work tends to fit in really well here as well.

Yeah, so a key tip here for any student listening is you've just given away a lot of good insight there.

There we go, yeah.

Go into the application if you're applying to Bloomberg, for sure. For sure, yeah. Particularly on the latter point, because I think that a lot of students get so caught about, oh, I need qualifications and certificates and I need that. It's actually, no, it's a broader setting, right, of life experiences and the value you're offering in different ways, not just in an academic kind of channel, if you like.

Yeah.

So that's the final thing I was going to ask you was about a number one piece of advice that you would, you would give to a student. But I guess I can incorporate this into, and perhaps thinking of it this way, you've done now, like, what I've seen is a whole series of posts on LinkedIn, lots of different tips. I guess connecting the two, was there one of those posts that you got the most interaction where people were like, oh yeah, that's something, didn't think like that, or that's really useful because, you know, I've not heard someone talk about that before and that's really useful? Was there one like that?

Yeah, so there was a couple, and I think like the theme that went through with those couple was thinking about professional brand. So I definitely didn't think about that when I was a student. If you told me, like, asked me what my professional brand is, I probably wouldn't have had a clue what you were talking about. But I think it's more important to think about kind of where you are and do they align to your values and what's really important to you, more so than what you're doing. And I think I kind of forgot about that when I was a student and just kind of focused on, I don't know what I want to be doing in terms of a role. And I didn't think about building my professional brand until I was like quite a bit into my career. And so the one piece of kind of like, I guess, big advice that kind of underlines a lot of the posts that maybe are like lightbulb moments for people are around kind of establishing a professional brand. So like, what is really important to you? What are your core values? What do you want your reputation to be? What do you want people to say about you in a work setting? And are you looking at roles that can support that? Are you showing up to work or showing up to interviews in a way that is going to support building a reputation in the way that you want it to come across? And then you can figure out the what after. But if you're not thinking about your kind of professional brand at every area, that's when I think people get a bit stuck. Whereas if everything you're doing is working towards aligning to those pieces that are really important to you, you're much more likely to succeed. If you're in an environment that kind of looks to your strengths, then that's where you're going to be kind of most successful. And I don't mean strengths of like, I'm great with numbers. I'm thinking about like those personality traits. Like I said earlier, like if you're really rigid in your way of working, then going to somewhere that likes change and is fast-paced and is innovative it's probably not going to set you up for success. So just thinking every kind of intersection, is this supporting or taking away from my personal brand? Is this going in the direction that I want to go in, in terms of personal growth for me? And will really help and kind of showing up that way kind of on a day-to-day basis.

Yeah, it's so interesting listening to that because it's almost like coming at it from the opposite end of the spectrum because I think a lot of students come at it and think Here's a company. This is what their perceived reputation or culture is like. I need to fit into that structure come what may, irrespective of what I am or what I represent. But you're kind of saying the opposite.

Yeah, we like to throw a spanner in the works.

How do you, how, how, as a young individual where, I mean, you see this every day, right? It's so competitive and it's like, oh, I feel like there's a mountain to climb. How am I going to be successful? How can they have that confidence to think, you know what, I'm going to be myself, authentic in me, and that's going to be going to follow that through and that will see me to a good place? I mean, is that—

Yeah, it's a tough one. It's not easy. Yeah, I was going to say, I've not given an easy bit of advice, but I do think like that's when you've got to work out for yourself what's important rather than kind of thinking of traits that you think will be attractive to a company or an employer, thinking about like what is easy for you as a kind of a personality trait. And when I say easy, I don't mean it's something that you won't have to work on because for sure even I still have to think like, is that working towards what my reputation should be? But just really thinking about like naturally where do you see yourself and then continuing to build on those skills rather than trying to fit yourself into a place that maybe isn't right. There are thousands of companies out there. I can guarantee there will be somewhere that is a great fit for you. And I can guarantee that once you're in an environment like that, you are gonna have a much more successful career. You're gonna enjoy the environment so much more. And especially if you can go somewhere that you can make lateral moves. So somewhere that maybe is a bit more flat in structure, then that gives you kind of way more opportunities. Like if you're not enjoying the environment, you're probably gonna struggle even if you're enjoying kind of like the day-to-day. So really just thinking and trying not to squeeze yourself into like a culture that maybe isn't the right fit for you, but having that confidence that there are so many out there, like there will be something that aligns and you just have to find it.

Yeah, well, we'll finish on that. Good point to wrap up the call. But look, what I'll do is I'll drop your LinkedIn in the show notes where we share this. So Hopefully you don't mind your LinkedIn getting peppered a little bit more than it normally would.

Thanks, Beth.

One final question actually, because you said about the people message you quite a lot.

Yeah.

And a message I always get from students is, you know, they try to think quite tactically. What would be the most optimal time to drop into Beth's inbox where she's more likely to see it and thus respond? Is it I know that's very particular. Yeah, it comes up a lot. I mean, with that, I know every individual will have different working patterns, so it's not like a fixed thing. But for you as an individual, if someone was going to message, do you think that there's a sweet spot to hit your attention?

Not the weekend, for sure. Probably mornings, because mornings for me are a bit more like admin-focused. So probably mornings. And I would say note is important. So if you want to like connect with pretty much anybody on LinkedIn, I would say this is not just specific to me, like pop a little note in like why are you connecting, and you're probably more likely to get a response from most people. And going back to don't just ask for what roles they have, like that's what careers websites are for. Like if you can ask something specific, then it's much easier for me to reply. Like if it's something really general, I could write paragraphs on that. So yeah, if you can quite specific, like that will be easy because then I'll be like, oh, I can just get back to that person straight away. Like specific question, I know the answer, here we go, I can help. And if it's very general, it's a bit more kind of open-ended. Yeah.

And I guess as someone like you, 'cause you're quite active on LinkedIn, you can kind of see, this is gonna sound weird, but you kind of see what you are up to, right? So it's quite good for like engineering an opening thing, right? You can be like, oh, because you can see that you travel around a lot.

Yep.

And it's like you're doing all these fantastic events and things like that. I mean, that's quite a different opener, right? In terms of if you're a student.

There we go. I'll let you know if I get loads of those openers after this. All right, cool.

Well, thanks very much. Really appreciate your time and I'm sure there's lots of good tips there, so I'll try and break it down into the notes of the show. But yeah, thank you very much and yeah, see you next time.

No worries. Thanks for having me.

Take care.