We caught up with Guillaume, a former intern at Commerzbank who now sits as a Graduate Analyst in the Leveraged Finance Team.
Please tell us a little bit about your career to date
After completing internships in M&A and Private Equity in France, I joined the Debt Capital Markets Bonds origination team here at Commerzbank London. After 8 months on the internship, I then applied for the graduate programme and I am now working as a graduate analyst in the Leveraged Finance team in London.
How did you find out about Commerzbank AG?
Commerzbank is quite active in the different communication platforms and offers plenty of jobs opportunities for young graduates. I applied for an internship through my University careers website and then applied internally to join the graduate programme in Corporate Finance.
What has surprised you about the world of finance?
The world of finance is fascinating for various reasons. Not only because of the bright people you can work with, but also because of the variety of tasks you can work on. One of the best things about working in finance is that there is always something new happening or about to happen; be that economic news, stock market movements or changes in legislation. It is a fast paced and demanding environment where challenges are always present and no matter what your role is, you will always be meeting new people from all walks of life.
Tell us about your experience of Commerzbank AG so far?
My 8 month internship within the DCM origination team gave me exposure to a specific part of Corporate Finance. I had the chance to get involved in different bond issuance processes with large international corporates. I am now working as a graduate analyst in the Leveraged Finance team where I am providing financing for the sponsors willing to proceed to LBOs or refinancing. In addition, as part of the graduate programme here at Commerzbank, I attended a month of technical training in September with the whole global graduate class. It was the great chance to get to know and network with the other graduates from all around the world.
What three reasons would you give to convince someone to apply to Commerzbank AG?
Commerzbank’s policy on emphasising on client needs is really deeply rooted in our daily tasks. All the talented professionals working here at the bank strongly value this client-centric approach which is something that appeared very attractive to me. Adding to that the international exposure of the bank and the challenges of the new financial industry definitely convinced me to apply for Commerzbank AG.
What advice might you give to candidates looking to get ahead in the finance industry?
Getting ahead in the finance industry has become harder and harder. The first advice I might give to candidates is to never give up. Selection is tough; candidates’ profiles get more impressive every year. Therefore, it is crucial to believe in yourselves and in your abilities and persevere. The second advice would be yourselves: recruiters and more particularly professionals are looking for potential new colleagues and it is important to be yourself when you meet with people so recruiters can get to know who you are as a professional but also as a person.
Find out more about opportunities at Commerzbank by visiting their profile.