Cracking the Finance Code

A lot has been written and spoken about securing internships and jobs in finance, in emerging fields such as private equity, venture capital, and investment banking. Here’s my take. I have condensed my decade-long experience in this field into a crisp, ready-to-use, practical finance playbook.

First, know your ‘dream job’ well

At school and college, many dream of a career in finance without understanding it fully. Statements like, “I want to get into finance” or “I want to become an investor” are common. Dream big, but also understand the career well before setting your eyes on it.

For instance, many students I’ve mentored aspired to investment banking. When asked, “How well do you know this space?”, they often replied, “We’ll figure out along the way.” That’s not how it works! If you’re one of them, here’s a bit about investment banking: no work-life balance, 17-18 hours of regular work, no weekends, maybe a few Sundays, and great pay. Now make the choice. It may still appeal to you, but know what exactly you are aiming for.

Get an education in finance

Very important. While engineers securing high-paying finance jobs do exist, it’s uncommon.

You need a finance education for a finance job. A bare necessity is an undergraduate degree in finance - Bcom, BAF, BMS, and the like. Professional or master's degrees such as CA, CFA, FRM, MBA are great to have.

Build necessary skills beyond your degree

There’s always a ‘Degree Whitespace,’ skills not developed through formal education. This gap is larger post-undergraduate and smaller post-masters.

Depending on your education, take up courses, internships, and projects to bridge this gap. Key skills include:

• Proficiency in MS Excel

• Financial modeling – getting comfortable with the three financial statements – Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement. This is the heart of anything finance.

So, where are we? We have clarity of goals, education, and skills. Next?

Prepare a powerful CV

Powerful doesn’t mean unnecessary numbers, exaggeration, and fancy language. It means showcasing what you’ve done in a genuine, compelling way. Stick to three categories:

• Academics – grades, ranks, achievements, scholarships.

• Internships & projects – work you’ve done, quantify every real impact.

• Extra-curriculars – clubs, associations, volunteering, etc.

Our CV is ready. Time to share it. How?

Reach out professionally

Best ways? Your college career cell, personal connects, and LinkedIn.

Personal connects are self-explanatory. College career cells will guide you well. For platforms like LinkedIn, here’s how you can reach out:

The absolute wrong way:

“Sir/Ma’am, I’m a student of XYZ college and looking for an internship. Would there be a vacancy in your organization?”

Response rate will be next to 0. Don’t just ask for an internship or job straight away.

The right way:

“Sir/Ma’am, I’m a student of XYZ college and I have worked on ABC project. I have been following your work in this space for quite some time, and it’s very inspiring. I would be grateful if I could get a chance to share my project work with you for your guidance and help.”

Take the conversation from there.

Stay at it

The key is to keep building your network. You may send your CV to 100 organizations/people and receive varied responses. Doesn’t matter. We live in India, a country with amazing career opportunities and a super growth path ahead. Good talent will never go unnoticed. So, stay at it!

Finally, building a career is a continuous process. Learning never stops and never should stop. Getting a job is not the end of the road, it’s just the start. Make sure you are continuously learning, reading, and aware of what’s going on around you.

And as I said, stay at it!