The importance of an elite education
Banks' recruiters say the old school tie doesn't have the tug it did. But it still has a pull.
So where should you go to university if you want to get into banking? Off the record, recruiters point to the likes of Sydney University, Melbourne University, the University of Western Australia, and the University of New South Wales. Macquarie Uni, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Curtin, and Bond University are also favoured, although they're not perhaps in the premier league.
On the record, they're a lot more circumspect. Cleo Higgins, HR manager at Rothschild, says grades and course content take precedence over the name of the institution: "We want top degrees - firsts - rather than a particular place. The university is only part of the process.''
Some confess to favouritism, however. Jonathan Barratt, MD of Sydney-based commodities brokerage Commodity Broking, says he prefers hiring graduates from New England and Sydney universities because their collegial structures develop good team skills.
If you do go to the right institution, it will also help if you study the right course. "Certain universities have courses that work for banks," says Oliver Darkes at Carmichael Fisher, specifying the maths and economics degrees offered by Sydney and New South Wales.
