As a junior looking to break into the investment industry, finding local analyst jobs near you can be a great way to gain experience and set yourself up for career advancement. With an abundance of financial services and investment firms in most major metropolitan areas, there are often many quality entry-level opportunities if you know where to look. In this article, we’ll cover actionable tips for identifying and successfully landing junior investment analyst roles close to home.
Leverage your university’s career center and alumni network
Your university likely has an extensive career center with job and internship listings specifically for current students and recent graduates. Meet with a career advisor to discuss your goals and qualifications – they can then recommend relevant openings and companies that frequently hire from your school. Also tap into your alumni network on LinkedIn or university groups. Alumni love to help out junior students, especially with job searches, and can facilitate introductions or refer you for open positions.
Attend local investment networking events
Events hosted by CFA societies, young professional finance groups, your target firms and others are fantastic for meeting professionals in your area and learning about job opportunities. Come prepared with an elevator pitch summarizing your background and goals. Collect business cards and connect with attendees on LinkedIn after – you can reference meeting them when applying to open roles at their firms.
Search online job boards and company career pages
Indeed, LinkedIn, and niche finance job boards like eFinancialCareers are go-to resources for investment analyst openings. But also visit the careers section of company sites for your target firms – listings there tend to get less exposure so face less competition. Set up job alerts to be automatically notified of new matching postings.
Consider temp agency assignments and internships
Taking on temp or contract assignments at investment firms through staffing agencies like Robert Half is an excellent way to get your foot in the door, gain relevant experience and showcase your abilities on the job. Many temps end up being converted to full-time hires. Shorter-term internships are another option for demonstrating your potential and abilities to hiring managers.
Highlight transferrable skills from past roles
Even if you don’t have direct investment experience, highlight how skills from previous jobs in customer service, data analysis, communications, sales or other areas translate. Employers often value transferrable soft skills and general capability just as much as technical qualifications for junior hires.
With an intentional and targeted search strategy focused on connecting with the right people and opportunities, junior finance job seekers can uncover fantastic local analyst openings to launch their investing careers. Consider trying multiple approaches from networking to job boards and staffing agencies.