"I'm a Chinese student trying to get a banking job in London. It's not easy"
I'm a Chinese student looking for a Masters in Finance course at a top London university. I want to work in banking, but I haven't done a major banking internship and the UK system is not in my favour. I'm optimistic, but looking for advice!
Get Morning Coffee ☕ in your inbox. Sign up here.
I'm in the final year of my bachelors course, which is also in London. Unfortunately, I missed the London recruitment cycle for banking jobs. I thought I wanted to be a consultant, so I didn't apply to spring weeks. When I decided that banking was the career I wanted to pursue, I then struggled to get a summer internship or a graduate job.
Last summer, I did manage to get a banking internship in China instead. It was quite chill, and I was only working eight or nine hours a day, but it gave me a flavour of what banking jobs are like.
However, I obviously didn't get a London job offer as a result. London is where I want to work. I like the European lifestyle, and my parents are keen for me to remain in the UK and build my network here. They're very proud of me and are sponsoring me and paying my fees so that I can live and study. They've kindly paid for the masters course so that I can have another opportunity to complete a UK-based banking internship and hopefully convert this into a full-time graduate offer in M&A. It's expensive for them. I may go back to China one day, when they are older.
It's not easy for Chinese students to get graduate job offers in London, though. The UK requires that job offers go to British nationals first and my student visa only allows me to work in the UK for four months after the course ends, unless a bank sponsors me. It's entirely understandable that governments prioritise their own citizens, but it's also challenging if you're a student who wants a job here. Fortunately, I like a challenge!
There are a lot of Chinese students in London and we're all facing this same issue. Many of us want to work in banking, and we have a close-knit group where we share advice and referrals. A lot of us are going down the Masters in Finance route to get another chance at applying. If anyone has any advice, please get in touch in the comments below this article!
Lei Lian is a pseudonym
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: +44 7537 182250 (SMS, Whatsapp or voicemail). Telegram: @SarahButcher. Click here to fill in our anonymous form, or email editortips@efinancialcareers.com. Signal also available.
Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libellous (in which case it won’t.)
