Best Finance Career Counselling
An exclusive online mentorship and upskilling offering to enable your career transition into the world of Finance and Banking.
Online Career Coaching | Investment Banking, VC, PE, Corporate Finance
Online Counselling: Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune and other cities in India
During our decade-long admission consulting experience, we have come across a large number of professionals who want to utilize their MBA/MS degrees to make a transition into a high growth career in finance.
This trend has increased in the last couple of years with multiple opportunities opening up in newer verticals such as Fintech, Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs), Nonbank Financial Institutions (NBFCs), digital banking and other allied industries.
With the economy and markets predicted to deliver solid performances in the next couple of years, the financial industry is likely to continue the massive boom, resulting in abundant opportunities for young professionals.
While careers within the financial industry were historically restricted to MBAs and specialized masters in finance and economics, recruiters lately have started valuing diverse experiences and educational backgrounds. Therefore, an industry that was considered out of reach for many, has opened up to top performing professionals from various backgrounds.
However, despite this opening up, most firm continue to have some basic expectations from potential candidates which are as follows:
- Solid grasp on fundamental concepts of finance
- Strong quantitative and problem solving skills
- Presentation skills and ability to work with data
- Cultural fit with the team and the organization
While opportunities have increased, so have the expectations. Given the fast-paced nature of the financial industry, most organizations and their internal teams are pressed for time and resources to train incoming employees.
Their HR teams have taken note of this and hence are on the lookout for candidates with unique skillset who can hit the ground running from day one and add value to the organization.
Thus, candidates who invest time in upskilling themselves and understanding the dynamics of financial industry will be best positioned to grab these opportunities and excel in these roles as future employees.
Apart from this, they also need to do a good job of communicating their preparedness both in an active (interviews) and passive (resume/cover letters/networking) ways.
Coaching for Investment Banking, VC, PE, M&A jobs
FinMAP™ (Your Finance Career Map)
To address the profile and skills gaps of finance aspirants like you, we have devised a Finance Career Map (FinMAP™) intervention, the financial services industry’s first ever mentorship and upskilling offering geared towards enabling careers in Finance. Combining the two crucial elements of industry-centric mentorship and skill development, the program aims to help budding professionals make a transition into Finance roles.
If you belong to any of the below mentioned groups, and want to seek a career in the broader world of Finance, the service will be relevant for you:
- Students currently pursuing their MBAs in Indian Business Schools
- Students in their pre-final and final year of undergraduate education
- Early career professionals, with 2 – 5 years of experience looking for an industry change into Finance
- Other professionals looking to build Finance skills
The program can help you develop a plan for entry into some of these profiles:
- Investment Banking (Middle Offices, Domestic, Boutique Banks)
- Equity Research (Domestic and International Banks / Research houses)
- Venture Capital (VC) / Private Equity (PE) (New and upcoming funds)
- Corporate Finance (Domestic and International Firms)
- Corporate Banking (Domestic and International Banks)
- Business Development roles within Financial Institutions
Finance career counselling services
We offer two finance career counselling packages: Basic and Advanced. Check out what each includes and decide what works best for you.
FinMAP™ Basic Package
Objective: To determine aptitude, chart a path forward and track your professional progress.
Step 1: Understanding your aptitude
In the initial phase we will try to understand your aptitude. With the help of a questionnaire and our in-house psychometric test, we will try to gain a deeper understanding of your professional experience, your skillsets, your general aptitude, and your behavioral skills.
Step 2: Candid discussion
After the initial understanding, we will send across a diagnostic report and have a candid discussion about your profile. During the call we will have a detailed conversation about the report and try to understand your point of views so that we don’t miss anything not captured in the report
Step 3: Discussion on Career Options
After we get to know your profile in detail, we will have career discussions where we will present the various career paths that you can consider and give our recommendation on which path would be the best fit. This session will be a dialogue and not a monologue as we want to hear your thoughts and opinions on these options. Remember you are the focus point of our efforts.
Step 4: Skill Development Plan
Once we have narrowed some career options, we will get back with a tailored development plan that will highlight the key skills that you would need to acquire / enhance with a broad timeline. The aim of this plan will be to serve as a blueprint to plan your next career move. We will also discuss this plan in detail over a call.
This plan will incorporate technical skills, behavioral skills, general awareness, and other aspects that you would need to be successful in your interviews.
Step 5: Periodic Check-in after 4 and 8 weeks
Once we have shown you the path, we will have a periodic check in 4 weeks and 8 weeks to track your progress. In the meanwhile, you are free to keep in touch with us over mail and keep us informed about the next exciting interview or opportunity that you are considering.
Pricing: The consulting fee for the FinMAP™ Basic Package is INR 45,000
FinMAP™ Advanced Package
Objective: To build skills for professional success.
Steps 1 to 4
These will be common to the Basic Package (Refer above).
Step 5: Resume Building and Cover Letter Support
Did you know most recruiters and hiring managers spend under 2 minutes glancing through your resume and cover letter. Hence, it is imperative that you invest enough time in making your resume crisp and impactful. We understand the importance of these application components and will work tirelessly to get in a shape that leaves an impact.
Step 6: Outreach & Networking Strategy
One of the most neglected components of Corporate India is networking. While it’s probably the most important step in landing a job in international markets, professionals simply don’t attribute it the value it deserves. We will work with you to chalk out a networking and outreach strategy that will open doors that are not captured by traditional avenues such as Naukri, Monster, Headhunters etc.
Step 7: Mock Interview (Case Study Support)
To make sure that you are best equipped to handle stressful interview situations, we will undertake 2 mock interviews where we aim to simulate the real-world interview experience. A lot of companies have also started undertaking Case Study, so we will help you develop a thought process behind the case study exercise as well.
Step 8: Follow-up calls in 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks
We will have a follow-up call every month to track your progress and see how your transition is playing out. In the meanwhile, you are free to keep in touch with us over mail and keep us informed about the next exciting interview or opportunity that you are considering.
Pricing: The consulting fee for the FinMAP™ Advanced Package is INR 1,25,000
Meet your investment banking coach & mentor
Abhinav Chandra started his career as a bulge bracket investment banker at J.P. Morgan in their Capital Markets team. He helped clients around the world tap capital markets for their funding needs. He has also worked with leading private companies explore listing their business on domestic and international exchanges via IPO route.
After completing his MBA from the McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, he worked in Corporate Strategy & Investments function with India’s leading Renewable Energy Player. His most recent stint was with Invest India, National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, working with the Government of India on Investor Outreach, Capacity Building, Infrastructure Development initiatives.
As an investment banking coach with MBA Crystal Ball, he uses his deep and varied finance experience to help finance aspirants. His mentees, including fresh graduates (engineers, non-finance grads, MBA grads) and experienced professionals, have managed to break into the finance industry – often without the traditional qualifications, experience or contacts that the industry generally expects.
Take the first step towards an exciting new finance career
By adopting a structured approach, we aim to tailor the program to the individual’s need since we understand that people from different backgrounds require different degree of assistance, one of our key learning from our decade long experience in Admission Consulting.
We are against the one-size-fits-all approach adopted by some of the other course providers since we are invested in the professional success of all our clients.
Ready to kickstart the journey? Send us an email: info [at] mbacrystalball [dot] com
We’ll evaluate your profile and career goals to see if it’s the right fit for either of our FinMAP™ packages.
As with all our consulting services, we’re selective with who we offer this to. So rest assured, we’ll let you know upfront if there isn’t a good match.
For general career advice, we offer Career MAP™. Read more about it here: Career counselling for experienced working professionals