Investment banking has been attracting youth from a long time now and why not – with its high-flying lifestyle that has women and men with razor sharp mental ability juggling with billion dollar deals wearing fancy suits and travelling first class making money –  can prove to be quite impressionable to young minds who are fresh out of college.

While the profile of investment bankers looks quite glamorous, it has loads of hard work and toil that has brought them to the level where you could envy them. So if you are planning to become an investment banker then you need to ask yourself whether or not you have the required investment banking credentials to become successful investment bankers.

While there was time when you could get a job as an investment banker without the required credentials but with the stiff competition on the rise and the profile of investment banker raking loads of moolah, it is not surprising that recruiters are seeking candidates not just with required qualifications but candidates with reputed investment banking credentials. So in case you are sure that you want to be an investment banker, it would be advisable that apart from acquiring the required skills and qualifications should go for other credentials or certifications.

You know that certifications ensure the recruiting managers that you are dedicated to your profession and want to surge ahead in your career. But before the certifications let’s see what are the required qualifications for an investment banker.

Qualifications For An Investment Banker

While academic qualifications always come handy when applying for an investment banking job but here are little extras that would get you a job in jiffy along with correct investment banking credentials as well. Read on.

1. Sharp analytical dexterity: The most important skill on your resume, this one skill would work in your favor as you would be dealing with lots of numbers, slides, analytical situations you need to possess sharp analytical skills to shine brightly among your competitors.
2. Problem-solving ability: Do we even need to spell why? As an investment banker, you would encounter numerous situations wherein you will be called upon to solve a critical problem under highly stressed environs and if you are not a quick thinker and great problem solver, you may lose on the coveted job.
3. Excellent communication skills: Communication skills are a prerequisite these days, else how would you present your idea to your superiors or to your clients, team mates.
4. Hawk eyes for details: By hawk eyes we mean an eye for details. Even the smallest of the small thing should not go unnoticed from your eyes. Difference in font sizes in two slides, numbers not aligning with the industry trends, so and so forth. You need to have an eye for detail so as to ensure that nothing misses your eyes.
5. Strong time management skills: Yes, you do need excellent management skills as you would be required to work on multiple projects at the same time and you need to possess skills to prioritize each task and manage your time wisely so that you can have work-life balance as well.
6. Strong and interesting personality: Apart from the above skills, recruiters are seeking candidates who possess both interesting and strong personality as an investment banker. Think about something like airport test – the test wherein the recruiters are thinking if they are stuck with you for some time, would they get bored or would you have a pleasing personality to talk to. Since you will be working under lots of stress and putting in long hours you need to have strong personality to handle all this and deliver your best.