May 1, 2015, by Bety Mehide

My ‘Women of Tomorrow’ Spring Insight Day Experience

By Bety Mehide, student blogger

In the last few days of March, I attended Citi’s spring first-year insight programme to encourage women to build their careers in the financial industry. The programme lasted for three days and covered several aspects of the bank’s work. The photo is the view from Citi’s offices across London.

Making an application

The application process was quite simple, I had to:

• submit an online application with my CV and covering letter
• pass a numerical test, and
• impress during a telephone interview

A varied programme

The programme was very informative covering several divisions: markets, Citi Private Bank, corporate banking, capital markets origination (CMO), treasury and trade solutions (TTS), risk management and investment banking.

The introduction to the markets took us to the trading floor where we chatted with people from different areas of the division. These discussions showed how everything that goes on in the market is connected with current affairs, for example the strengthening of dollar and its influence on buyers and sellers.

Through presentations, we learned about the work of the Citi Private Bank, CMO and the risk management unit.

• Citi Private Bank looks after the finance of some of the world’s most successful individuals and families.
• CMO brings together companies who need to raise money with those wishing to invest their capital.
• The Risk management team is an independent unit that ensures that they take the right level of intelligent risk. They are looking for candidates from different degree backgrounds not just those with mathematics and economics degrees.

For the introduction to corporate banking, there was a simulation game where we acted as the bank and had to offer our clients the best financial services (cash management, bond issuance etc.) while still making a profit. It was interesting to learn that banks don’t really make any money through interest rates anymore so the income comes from offering these kinds of extra services and charging a fee.

The work of the TTS was covered by a presentation and it was also the division where I shadowed staff. It is usually the part of the bank that is overlooked career-wise and yet they make 40% of the bank’s profits.

For the investment banking side of the business we went through a merger scenario where we had to come up with the conditions for the merger as well as an agreement between the two parties. Investment bankers also carry out research and collaborate with lawyers to get the necessary legal documents for their projects.

Lots of roles to consider

Citi’s Women of Tomorrow spring insight week filled my head with thoughts of all the different roles I could have in the bank and I found it very hard to just pick one. Citi is a global company with career-driven workers and endless possibilities. There is definitely something to learn and therefore Citi is a good place for building a career.

If you’re keen to gaining some work experience through an insight week, work shadowing, an  internship or placement visit our website and talk to our team. Don’t forget we can help you through every stage of the recruitment process from developing an effective CV to acing an interview.

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