Each year, the EADA Careers & Alumni Department organises sectorial forums, bringing together senior managers and current participants from a specific field. At this year’s Consulting & Finance Talent Day, consultancies and companies from the banking and financial sector including Camelot, EY, PwC and Banc Sabadell shared information about professional opportunities as well as views on the current market situation with more than 60 MBA and International Masters participants.
The event was an excellent opportunity to familiarise students with the sector’s challenges, the most sought-after competencies for finance professionals and consultants and the job opportunities available. “This initiative is in line with our strategy to promote networking from day one,” confirms Melissa Handley, director of the EADA Careers & Alumni Department.
“This is a win-win relationship whereby we put companies in contact with talent who are eager to develop their career within these companies. At the same time, participants can ask someone in the know about their preoccupations, get a first hand picture of the sector’s challenges and schedule a job interview there and then.” In many cases, the company representatives who take part are themselves EADA alumni, so they are in a very good position to understand students’ doubts concerning their future career.
This is the case of Salvador De la Torre (EADA MBA 2009 graduate), a senior consultant with Camelot Management Consultants, a strategic German consultancy firm specialised in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, consumer goods and manufacturing. “As an alumnus, I know that EADA has the profiles we are looking for,” he said. “Plus, I identified a lot with the questions because, just a few years ago, I was in the same situation. They wanted to know about the type of opportunities that will be available once they finish their studies and the skills that companies in the sector value the most.” He also stressed the importance of having a top-notch CV that successfully communicated candidates’ achievements while helping the reader understand their aspirations and strengths.
International Master in Management student Alex Artola came out of the forum with different ideas about the sector than he came with. “It was an excellent opportunity to get to know the sector from flagship companies with an international presence,” he said. “After hearing about the day-to-day routines and learning tips on how to access the field, I realised that it was a very intense sector that only the most prepared profiles can access.” Getting an overview of the sector was fundamental to Alex in defining his future career goals. “I learned that once you have the big picture of the sector that you want to focus on, you look at whether your profile fits in with what the companies are looking for, or whether you are missing some key skills.”
For other attendees, the forum served to reinforce and add depth to the professional goals that they had in mind. International Master in Finance participant Nathan Dolan has a clear idea that he wants to work in the fintech field. That’s why he was especially interested in the new technologies that will transform the financial industry and the new legal framework that consultancies will have to adapt to. “The forum was a unique opportunity to listen to the opinions of the speakers on these issues,” he said. “I am more sure than ever that we need to start networking from day one – it’s one of the most effective ways to access the labour market.”