Typical Day

My day generally starts at 8:30 in the office. I like to start by quickly reading through financial news in both newspapers and investment news letters. By nine, I’ve had a big cup of coffee and am preparing some form of financial analysis to support my team. This may include internal documents, pitches or deal-related material. No two days in investment banking are the same, but most of my time is spent analyzing companies we cover, making changes to documents that I have prepared, or attending meetings in which my team presents our analysis.

Investment banking is typically a juggling act – it is not uncommon to be working on multiple projects at any given time. As a result, it is important to be effective at multi-tasking, while maintaining strong attention to detail. It’s easy as a junior banker to get lost in the minutia of certain tasks, but I’ve found that senior Scotia Capital bankers are extremely effective at making sure juniors are aware of the “big-picture”. They are happy to share strategies and thoughts, and when possible, take junior bankers along to meet with clients.

There is a fantastic sense of team spirit on our floor. People are eager to share knowledge, and also to learn from each other. As a junior banker, you are expected to execute the tasks assigned by your staffer or team leader. Nonetheless, senior team members are also interested in listening to your original analysis, and incorporating your thoughts into presentations. There are high expectations for junior bankers – prepare intelligent and thorough analysis; have strong attention to detail; and work extremely long hours. But in the end, I love coming to work for both the challenges and rewards.