The implausibility of landing an investment banking graduate place in Asia

With most investment banks building in Asia, it's not surprising that European students are spreading their bets and looking to apply to both locations. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.

Firstly, there's the application process itself. Some banks, such as Nomura and Morgan Stanley, don't restrict the number of applications you can make, while others (such as Citi) require candidates to choose a region once they're invited to final round interview.

UBS, meanwhile, tells us that it only allows one application globally "so students need to decide what location they're really interested in," says Lyle Andrews, head of investment banking graduate recruitment EMEA at the bank.

There's now less of a disparity between the number of graduate places being offered in EMEA versus Asia-Pac. At UBS, there's around 250 places up for grabs in EMEA (excluding Switzerland) against 270 in Asia, whereas this split is roughly 400 to 300 at Citi.

Nomura, which obviously has more of a traditional Asian bias than other investment banks, is offering around 300 places there and just under 200 in Europe.

While places are plentiful, it's not necessarily the best idea for students in the UK to apply to Asia - largely because it's doubtful whether your application will be welcomed.

"We encourage students to apply to multiple regions, under the assumption that students are more mobile than they used to be and are studying in more parts of the world," says Malcolm Horton, global head of recruitment at Nomura. "However, students should only apply to Asia if they can prove they actually have a competitive advantage - whether that is language skills, a knowledge of the business culture or an interest they can really sell to the interviewer. If you apply for just for the sake of getting more interviews, you're unlikely to find success."

There you have it - the elusive Asian connection, which (let's face it) doesn't apply to the majority of students in the UK. Career advisers within universities are encouraging students to look closer to home rather than viewing Asia (or elsewhere) as the promised land.

"It's becoming more difficult to gain a work permit in the UK, & US, but this isn't the main issue," says Derek Walker, director of careers at Saïd Business School. "We're advising students to play up their linguistic skills and cultural knowledge, which is valuable in their local market but in many cases worth much less outside it. Getting a client-facing role within an investment bank in Asia without Mandarin or relevant regional work experience can be difficult for UK-based students."