A job in banking with a 2.2 degree?

Will banks look at my application if I have a 2.2 or a third?

The harsh reality is that most big banks will discount anyone without a 2.1 degree, even if you have graduated from the best universities in the country. Banks receive so many applications that they have to find methods to make a selection, and the first selection is based on academic performance. The worst part of this is that even if you get a postgraduate degree, banks will still look at your undergraduate degree and this will weight against you, even though this can be mitigated by outstanding performance in your second degree.

What do I do to get a job in investment banking if I have a 2.2 or a 3rd?

All is not lost and there are a couple of ways that will allow you to get into big investment banks, even though this can be difficult initially. Here are a few common suggested routes:

Do another degree, and make sure you get top grades

This is the ideal scenario if you studied something other than finance or business for your first degree. If you got poor grades for your first non-finance degree, you could enroll in a master in finance/accounting at a prestigious school, and study extremely hard to reach top grades. Often, this will be sufficient to mitigate your poor performance. When you apply to banks, make sure you highlight some mitigating factors for your poor undergraduate performance. Valid excuses are that you needed to help the family business, were very involved in some club activities, or any other personal reasons.

Focus on lower-tier institutions

A lot of students that don't have top grades try to apply to non-investment banking positions (such as back office, operations, etc.) in the hope of transferring to investment banking. In our view, this is a mistake, because such transfers will be highly unlikely. It is much easier to transfer from a lower-tier bank to a top tier bank, than moving across very different departments in a top tier bank, especially into the M&A department, which rarely accepts "outsiders". Therefore, we encourage you to apply for lower tier institutions that may overlook a weak academic performance. That includes banks such as HSBC, RBS, Commerzbank, Santander that do not receive many applications compared to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, and also London investment banking boutiques, for which we have compiled an extensive list. Those smaller banks tend to focus on some niche areas such as technology, retail, natural resources sectors or focus on smaller deals or specialiesed transactions, and include HCA Saavian, Piper Jaffray, Evercore, Moelis, Oppenheimer, Thomas Weisel, Brown Brothers Harriman, William Blair, etc. When the economy picks up and M&A volumes are increasing, the top bulge brackets will often hire from boutiques given the shortage of applicants, and this will be your chance to move into top investment banks.

Go work for a corporate and get in banking later

Many bankers did not start as an analyst from the graduate scheme. Banks typically specialise in Industry groups (technology, retail, healthcare), and therefore industry experience is highly sought after. A good solution would be to go work for a blue-chip corporate (such as Microsoft, Procter and Gamble, BT, Vodafone, etc.) for 2-3 years, and use this experience to apply to investment banks later on. The ideal position to be best placed to move into investment banking would be to work in the internal strategy department or corporate M&A department of the firm. At the same time, to make yourself more attractive, you could try to get an ACCA qualification or a CFA qualification, to show that you have strong finance skills.

Do what you like, then do an MBA in 2-3 years

Life as an investment banking analyst is very hard, so it may not be in your best interest to go into investment banking directly. There is one way to skip this step however: the MBA. Therefore, one solution to poor academic performance would be to do something that you truly enjoy for 2-3 years (work for a corporate, a non-profit organisation, start a business), excel at it, and prepare yourself for a top MBA. The recipe to get into a top MBA is to work hard, do your research, participate to many activities outside work (volunteering, start a business, do something that is out of the ordinary, learn new languages), and study very hard for your GMAT. A top MBA on your CV will essentially give you a shot at all the best investment banks, without the pain of a 2 to 3 years stint as an investment banking analyst!