Put your questions to the head of graduate recruitment at Morgan Stanley

Stephanie Ahrens, the head of graduate recruitment for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Morgan Stanley, has agreed to respond to some of your questions on graduate jobs and internships.

We've started the process by asking a few questions of our own below. Feel free to ask yours by posting them in the comments box at the bottom of the page. We will be selecting three a day for Stephanie to respond to between October 12th and 14th inclusive. QUESTIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

1). Last year, you only had a limited number of full time positions left available after you'd made offers to summer interns. Is this also the case now?

This year we anticipate having a healthy number of fulltime opportunities available for graduates looking to start their career in July 2010. These openings will be promoted on our careers website where you can conduct a detailed job search by division to see what areas have fulltime positions available and the criteria required to qualify for these openings.

2) Which areas of the bank do you anticipate hiring the most graduates (analysts) into in 2010?

We expect to see strong demand for graduates to join our Investment Banking, Global Capital Markets, Private Wealth Management and Sales & Trading. Other areas, such as Investment Management, Equity Research, IT and Finance and Operations should be able to comfortably fill their 2010 demand with intern conversions. However, this may change, so it's always worth checking our website for regular updates on where we are recruiting, at what level, for what programme, and when.

3) What's the number one reason why student applicants are rejected from Morgan Stanley?

The most basic error is lack of attention to detail. Spelling mistakes and getting the employer's name wrong guarantees rejection, as do messy and unstructured applications. Another major failing is that many applications just fail to make an impact. Competition to get onto our graduate programme is intense, so it is important that applications stand out from the crowd. Graduates can do this by clearly articulating why they want to work at Morgan Stanley and demonstrating that they have researched us thoroughly and know what we are looking for, actively matching skill sets to our requirements and core values.

4) Do you accept applications for your analyst programmes from people who joined banks as analysts in 2008 or 2009 but lost their jobs?

Yes - we are open to applications from anyone eager to work in Investment Banking and who demonstrates the necessary skill set we are after. However, it's worth bearing in mind that anyone joining our graduate programme would have to start from scratch. For those who would rather not, then they can always apply through the experienced hire route. We actively promote our experience level roles (2nd year analyst level and upwards) on our careers website also and there are some attractive roles on offer.

5) What are the three main characteristics defining your ideal graduate hire?

Integrity - we look for people who will "do the right thing" and who will speak up; entrepreneurship - people who will look for and grasp new opportunities, take measured and controlled risks and want to be leaders in their field; flexibility - people who can adapt to a fast moving and dynamic environment and who respond positively to change and uncertainty and thrive under pressure.

6) Can you describe the advantages of joining Morgan Stanley now in comparison to previous years?

For 75 years Morgan Stanley has been at the forefront of this industry, delivering best in class financial services , and we're well placed to continue that trend:

* Number One in global announced M&A for the first half of 2009

* Best Global Commodities House 2009 and a longstanding history of being the top-ranked commodities firm

* Best Investment Bank in the Financial Institutions sector and the Media & Entertainment sector

* Biggest global wealth manager

Besides our truly global footprint (1200 offices in 37 countries), becoming a bank holding company and having entered a strategic alliance with Mitsubishi UFJ as well as a joint venture with Citi/Smith Barney we are well positioned to succeed in today's markets. As such we offer a tremendous platform for graduate talent to launch their career.