Want to work for an independent investment bank?

Read our Q&A with Richard Hoyle, principal at Greenhill, a US-based corporate finance house, to find out what the independents are about.

What's an independent investment bank?

Independent investment banks are corporate finance advisory firms that are not part of or allied to a diversified financial institution. The business model rests on the premise that we can provide a better service to our clients if we're solely focused on the best advice for each client and not looking to cross-sell other products and services. In Greenhill's case, this model has worked very well.

What are the advantages of joining Greenhill rather than the bigger banks?

It's a very different proposition for a graduate. Firstly, our model is based on long-term relationships with corporate clients. Unlike many of the big banks, we don't just get parachuted in to a situation when a deal's going on, but provide ongoing strategic advice. We've been working with Tesco, for example, since we were set up in 1998. It means senior people at client companies know us well and our graduate trainees get a lot more exposure to clients.

The other significant advantage is the size of our deal teams. I know from experience that when a sizeable transaction is being worked on at a large bank the teams might be 20 to 30 people strong, of whom five people may well be managing directors. With so many MDs involved in a deal it's very hard for graduates to get any exposure. Here, for example, we had just five people working on the recent 3bn sale of EMI to Terra Firma.

Is it true that independents offer a better work/life balance?

When deals are being done you'll spend as much time in the office here as you would at a bigger house. If it were possible to do this job without the heavy lifting we would certainly have found a way around it by now!

The difference is that if you work for a smaller bank you'll be in a more cohesive environment. If a graduate comes and works for me, it makes sense for me to put effort into nurturing and developing them because I know I'll be working with them again. At a large bank, where there's a large pool of analysts, you know you may never see someone after the current deal has finished. This can lead people to treat analysts as a dispensable resource.

How many graduates do you hire each year?

In 2007 we plan to hire eight graduates. Places are full for this July's intake, but the number of graduates we aim to hire for 2008 will be similar and we are inviting applications now.

How many applications do you receive for those places?

We outsource our graduate recruitment programme, but we're told it's around 2,000.

How do most applicants fail to impress during the interview process?

A lack of commercial awareness - if I ask a candidate to take me through the rationale for a recent merger and they can't even name one, I'm then very concerned.

Also, not really knowing why they want to work in corporate finance and what the job involves on a day to day basis. I always find it incredible that people will apply for jobs without having found out everything they possibly can about the role and the company, both by reading everything they can get their hands on, and by calling a few people already working in the industry.

What happens if you don't know anyone working in the industry?

The best way to get to speak to someone is to get names of contacts from your friends and family. Failing that, try calling people from your college or university who've gone into banking. And failing that, try cold calling! You're likely to have to call a few people before you get through, but persist and you should be rewarded in the end.

Do you look for a different kind of person to the big investment banks?

Yes. We want people to make a career with us; we hire bankers, not just analysts. If you're just looking for the perfect analyst you'd hire someone who's sharp, numerate, and can digest huge amounts of information. But we also need people we can put in front of our clients - this means they need excellent presentation skills, both written and oral. They also need to get on with people 24/7 - it's no good having someone who's charming eight hours of the day but can't deal with the extra hours when busy on a deal.

Do you only accept applications from the likes of Oxford and Cambridge?

No, we have people from Leeds, Durham and St. Andrews. We welcome applications from anyone who has a strong academic background.

How much do you pay graduate trainees?

Our total analyst package is competitive with the bigger banks; a first year analyst should expect to receive a base salary in the region of 35k to 40k.