Are you a good fit for an investment banking job?

A career in investment banking sure sounds exciting and lucrative, but it isn’t a right choice for everyone. Investment banking is a high-stakes, demanding, and high pressured job which only few people with very specific traits can handle. To be a top notch Investment banker, you have to be willing to work long hours and have a high-stress threshold along with other vital characteristics.

As an investment banker, you will help companies go public with IPOs, witness mergers and acquisitions and even draw out business plans for firms. So, while this very well paid and immersive career path may sound very enticing, there are certain personality traits and characteristics an individual must absolutely possess to be a good fit. Let’s take a look at must-required traits:

1. Problem solving and analytical skills

Excellent problem solving and analytical skills are vital to your success and can help you climb the professional ladder as an investment banker. You should have an eye to see intricate details of a problem and come up with viable solution. As an investment banker, you need to be able to quickly analyse trends, crunch numbers and calculate margins.

2. Financial Modelling Skills

As an investment banker, you will have to come up with different financial models in order to evaluate investment opportunities, mergers & acquisitions (M&A), to assess a company’s historical financial performance, etc. To build a financial model you should have a solid understanding of accounting fundamentals and strong excel skills.

3. Excellent communication Skills

You can be amazing with numbers and analytics but until and unless you are able to clearly and persuasively communicate or present your ideas to seniors or clients, those skills would be of little use. Impeccable communication skills in investment banking are therefore an absolute necessity. These skills translate to great presentation skills which will definitely guarantee you the progression in your career.

4. Self-drive

Being an investment banker, you would be required to perform efficiently and effectively without any direct supervision. If you are a self-driven individual, you will not only prove to be a valuable asset to your company but also go way ahead in your career path. Self-drive is therefore another important trait of a good investment banker.

5. Team player

Being a good team player is as important a trait for this career as is being self-driven. As an investment banker, you’ll have to continuously enhance your efficiency and productivity while working with clients, individuals, and with a team. You should be able to move seamlessly from independent tasks to acting as a beneficial member of a team.

Apart from these skills, you also need to have a keen interest and aptitude for a career in investment banking. If you have all these traits, investment banking could be one potential career for you to pursue. If not, there here are plenty of other choices that will be suitable for you — careers in which you will thrive based on your skills and talents. In case you are confused about which career path to choose, you can assess your options by taking a psychometric test. While these tests are readily available over the internet, the quality of each test varies significantly. It’s always better to go for a quality psychometric test which is accompanied with career counselling session with an expert counsellor. iae GLOBAL India can not only help you understand which career suits you the best, but also help you find the best colleges to pursue the same.