Where to spend your free time if you want to meet senior financial services professionals who might give you a job
We write a lot about the importance of networking.
Networking will obviously work best if you adopt a systematic approach and contact people you already know.
However, networking can also work if you place yourself in situations where you're likely to come across senior financiers during their downtime. Witness our columnist who was offered a new job after coincidentally encountering a former client in a strip club in the West End, or the Morgan Stanley intern who got a job because his mother happened to meet the mother of one of the bank's media analysts while walking the dog in Greenwich Park.
Inveigling your way into a job through this kind of networking is going to require patience: it's not going to happen if you're pushy and upfront about your intentions. This is all about playing long the game and developing a level of familiarity that might allow you to leverage your connections in future.
If you're prepared to put in the time and effort, this is where you may wish to lurk.
1) Princess Diana Memorial Playground, Kensington Gardens
Only really a viable option if you have children and they are under 10. It's probably best avoided during the week as you will get no further than nannies and au pairs, but try the weekends - especially early on a Saturday or Sunday morning when banking husbands may be up with small children while spouses remain in bed.
2) The Harbour Club.
A gym with branches in Chelsea and Notting Hill. Open to new members. Costs 215 per month for full membership and 125 for part membership without tennis.
They tell us that they're a, "very high end club with a lot of bankers and traders
who work in the City" as members.
3) Campden Hill Lawn Tennis Club
Very exclusive lawn tennis club near Holland Park tube station. 500 members, but the membership list has been closed for the past 10 years. However, midweek memberships are still on offer - you may not meet bankers, but you may meet their wives.
The person we spoke to at the club was coy about the number of financial services professionals on its books, but said he imagines there are, "quite a few."
4) The Cumberland Lawn Tennis Club and Hampstead Cricket Club
Near West Hampstead. Far less exclusive than the Campden Hill Club, but also more accessible. Currently open to new members. 1st year entrance fee is 415, plus 615 annual subscription.
5) Queenswood Golf Club, Surrey
Bob Diamond plays here. The chances of getting a membership are zero: it reputedly costs 145k and is full. However, the club is currently advertising for caddies, a role which could at least provide a talking point on your CV if you're desperate and junior.
Thought to be frequented by Crispin Odey. Unable to tell us how many other financial services professionals are members. You'll need to be proposed and seconded by existing members to join.
Knightsbridge-based yacht club thought to be popular with bankers and hedge fund managers. Complex joining procedure outlined here.
8) Small companies and social enterprises in Yorkshire
Goldman is dispatching its senior staff to mentor senior decision makers or owners at companies with between 5 and 40 members of staff in Yorkshire. Richard Gnodde and Michael Sherwood have both been involved.
9) Bars and pubs in Mayfair
One broker tells us he hangs out in indiscriminate 'bars in Mayfair' in search of hedge fund clients. The same may be advisable to anyone in search of hedge fund jobs.
10) Bars and pubs in the City
Employees of each bank will have their favoured locals, which are likely to be nearby. For example, try Ye Olde Cheddar Cheese on Fleet Street for people from Goldman Sachs or the Viaduct Tavern or the Saint on Paternoster Square for BAML.
