‘One application, infinite opportunities…’
www.seo-london.com
What is SEO London?
Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) London is an alumni driven not-for-profit organisation
SEO Careers provides outstanding Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students with internships and graduate roles at
the TOP firms in investment banking, management consulting, professional services, corporate law, technology,
advertising, TV, film, radio, music and publishing
SEO Scholars helps outstanding secondary school students from under-privileged backgrounds to improve their
attainment and university / career options
80% of the 2,500+ BME undergrads SEO London programme has supported since 2000 have gone on to secure fulltime graduate positions with SEO partner firms
SEO provides supported students with education, training, mentoring, accelerated access and wide support
networks to ensure their success
In 2012 SEO helped provide internships and graduate roles for 800+ BME undergrads (in EVERY year of study) with
more than 60 partner firms
In 2013 SEO will be able to provide more than 1,000 internships and graduate roles with over 100 employers!
www.seo-london.com
go
from
… ….
We We
helphelp
youyou
To
get….
from
here
www.seo-london.com
I-Banks and
Technology
Corporate
Law
Professional
Services
Creative
Industries
Corporates
www.seo-london.com
HOW SEO LONDON HELPS
www.seo-london.com
One
Application
- Access All
Firms
Application
Acceleration
and Support
Lifetime
Network
Fast Track To
Graduate
SEO provides
comprehensive
support
Comprehensive
Training
Highly paid
Internship /
Placement
Network with
CEOs
Mentoring
From Industry
Experts
www.seo-london.com
PROGRAMMES AND PARTNER FIRMS
www.seo-london.com
Programmes and select Partner Firms
Investment banking and
Technology firms
Investment Banking
areas covered
Revenue
Investment
Banking
M&A
Capital
Markets
Infrastructure
Investment
Management
Markets
Sales
Trading
Research
Private
Wealth
Management
Operations
Internal
Audit
Finance
Asset
Management
Legal and
Compliance
Application
Developer
Risk
Infrastructure
Engineer
Technology
Business
Analyst
In the last three years
SEO has helped 200+
students secure
internship and graduate
roles in GS alone
www.seo-london.com
Programmes and select Partner Firms
Corporate Law firms
Corporate Law - Key Facts
•
More than 200 opportunities in
2013
•
Exclusive open days and training
contract networking events
•
Multiple vacation schemes are
possible
Last year SEO
helped recruit 10%
of ALL Linklaters
training contract
recruits !
SEO will
provide access
to 200 vacation
schemes places
in 2013
www.seo-london.com
Programmes and select Partner Firms
Professional Services firms
Professional services - Key Facts
•
Opportunities include summer
internships, industrial placements
and graduates schemes
•
London and ALL regional offices
•
Exclusive mini SEO internships with
strategy consultancies
•
Last year SEO provided 42
placements and grad roles at Ernst
& Young alone!
Professional
Services
Audit /
Assurance
Tax
Corporate
Finance
Consulting /
Advisory
www.seo-london.com
Programmes and select Partner Firms
Creative Industries Firms
Creative Industries - Key Facts
Creative Industries
•
SEO advertising platform in conjunction with IPA
•
SEO creative industries platform in conjunction
with Creative Access
•
Advertising
Film, TV & Music
Publishing &
Journalism
Exciting January start opportunities in film
and television in conjunction with PACT.
Example of shows include – X-Factor,
Skins, Big Brother, The Biggest Looser etc.
•
Education and networking events throughout the
year
•
Paid internships and graduate opportunities
•
More than 300 opportunities available in 2013
www.seo-london.com
Programmes and select Partner Firms
Corporates
Corporates - Key Facts
Corporates
Finance
Technology
Marketing
R&D
•
Paid internships and graduate
opportunities
•
Both UK and International
internships available
• Basel, Switzerland
• New York, USA
•
40 - 50 opportunities available in
2013
Sales
www.seo-london.com
Programmes and select Partner Firms
SEO First Year Fast Track
INVESTMENT
BANKING
CORPORATE
LAW
PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
FYFT- Key Facts
Review / Improve
CV
SEO FYFT 1 or 2day insight
programme
Networking
events and spring
internship fast
track
•
More than 300+ spaces available
•
Students will be invited to attend
exclusive training from, and
networking with, SEO alumni and
partner firm representatives
•
On-going support from SEO in the
form of comprehensive training
and mentoring
www.seo-london.com
Compensation
2012 graduate starting salaries VS. 5-Year Average
£150,000
150,000
£150,000
£80,000
£70,000
£60,000
£50+
£45,000
£25000 £28+
£38+
£55+
£38+
£28+
£19+
0
All
FTSE 100
companies
Source: HESA stats, efinancial careers, SEO data
Advertising Professional UK City
Law Firms
Service
Firms
I-banks
US City
Law Firms
www.seo-london.com
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA AND
APPLICATION PROCESS
www.seo-london.com
SEO Eligibility criteria
SEO has opportunities for every year of study:
– First Year Fast Track for candidates graduating in 2015
– Internships / industrial placements for penultimate year candidates or final years intending to complete a
Masters degree
– Graduate roles in every industry we cover
INVESTMENT
BANKING*
CORPORATE
LAW **
PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES***
CORPORATES
/CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES
TECHNOLOGY
****
FYFT
ON TRACK FOR 2.1
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
ANY DEGREE BACKROUND
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
300 UCAS POINTS
✔
✔
✔
✔
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
✔
240 UCAS POINTS
B IN GCSE MATHS & ENGLISH
✔
✔
* Operations and Finance year long placements available
** 2nd year of a Law degree or final year of a non Law degree (Should be completing LPC in 2013 or 2014)
*** 320 UCAS points for consulting and corporate finance
**** C++/JAVA/C# beneficial
www.seo-london.com
SEO Assessment Process
INVESTMENT
BANKING
CORPORATE
LAW
PROFESSIONAL
SERVICES
CORPORATES
/CREATIVE
INDUSTRIES
TECHNOLOGY
FYFT
APPLICATION FORM
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
PHONE INTERVIEW OR MEET AND
GREET
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
NUMERICAL TEST
✔
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
VERBAL TEST
✔
✔
✔
✔
PROGRAMMING APTITUDE TEST
✔
The SEO process is shorter than all partner firms’ direct processes
SEO recruits based on potential and will also support, coach and advise you throughout the process
SEO recruits on a rolling basis i.e. first come first serve
www.seo-london.com
What next?
•
Make an (online) application asap – all admissions are on a rolling basis!
•
Please visit the website www.seo-london.com for more details
•
Register online with SEO London so we can keep you posted about next steps
•
Join us on social media
– facebook.com/SEOLondonInfo
– Twitter@SEOLondonInfo
– LinkedIn ‘SEO London’
•
SEO interviews will begin in October for all programmes
•
Start your preparation
•
Ensure you are commercially aware
•
Practice numerical and verbal reasoning tests
•
Practice interview questions
www.seo-london.com
Thank you
www.seo-london.com
APPENDIX
www.seo-london.com
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
•
Prepare before you put your CV together:
•
Do your research on what competencies are relevant for your first choice industry
•
Check CVs of friends/family who have done internships
•
Be yourself and pitch yourself appropriately – be consistent with your cover letter
•
Specifically follow instructions provided by SEO or partner firms (ESPECIALLY with online
applications)
•
Have a coherent, simple structure (no paragraphs please!) One page for most programmes, two
pages for Law
•
Use consistent tense
•
List your overall grade/expected grade (ALL applicants)
•
List your 1st year uni subjects and grades (Law & PS applicants)
•
Look it over with a “fresh pair of eyes”. Have someone else proofread and give feedback/check
errors
•
Keep a copy (so you know WHY you applied and WHAT you wrote)
•
•
Use spell check!!!
SEO will review and improve your CV if edits are required!
www.seo-london.com
www.seo-london.com
Preparing your cover letter
•
Think of it as a way to frame and position your CV to be attractive to SEO or a specific
firm.
•
You should not have a summary or objectives on the top of a CV for investment
banking, so use the cover letter as a guide to the most important features of your CV.
•
Each cover letter should be different, so always keep a copy and check over who you
wrote it to!
•
Be specific and concrete – your cover letter is your opportunity to paint a very visual
picture of who you are, what motivates you, what your successes are, etc. Let us see
you in action!
•
Make sure that cover letter has a structure as you would any essay
• Paragraph one: Why you are interested in the industry
• Paragraph two: Why you are interested in the division to which you are applying
(where relevant)
• Paragraph three: Why would you be a great candidate for the SEO programme
www.seo-london.com
www.seo-london.com
CV & cover letter bin-proofing
•
FORMATTING ERRORS:
• Multiple page CVs
• Dynamic summaries or objectives on the top of your CV
• Fancy fonts (Arial/Times New Roman ok.)
• Anything swirly or multi-coloured not ok!)
•
CONTENT ERRORS:
• Poor spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors
• Inaccurate or untrue information
• Forgetting to change the company name on a previously used cover letter!
• Incorrect dates on your CV (there is a background check, so make sure it’s right!)
• Misspelling contact person’s name
• Inconsistent tenses
• Negative comments about past work experience/colleagues
• Procrastination – if you leave CVs and cover-letters to the last minute, you WILL
•
make mistakes!
• Silly/inappropriate e-mail address (i.e [email protected]).
• Wrong or outdated phone number
• Writing in TEXT speak, U NO WAT I MEAN?
•
If you do not receive a favourable response, do not send a rude e-mail or leave a rude phone
message. Recruiters have good memories!!
www.seo-london.com
Commercial Awareness
•
Do you have a genuine, demonstrable interest in how the City works?
― Often the most important differentiator for interviewers
•
General reading
― How the City is structured
• “All you need to know about the City” (Chris Stokes)
― Recent economic history
• “Too Big to Fail” (Andrew Ross Sorkin)
• “The Big Short” (Michael Lewis)
• “The End of Wall Street” (Roger Lowenstein)
• “All the Devils are Here” (Bethany McLean)
― Historic perspective
• “Liar’s Poker” (Michael Lewis)
• “Barbarians at the Gate” (Bryan Burrough, John Helyar)
www.seo-london.com
Commercial Awareness cont...
• Current Market Reading
― What you need to know
• Facts – current issues, background, etc.
• Opinion – your take on the story, wider relevance to what is happening
• Legal dimension – for those interested in Law
― Sources
•
•
•
•
•
(Online) business sections of broadsheet papers (Times, Guardian, Telegraph)
Financial Times – front pages, Lex column, Companies & Markets headlines
The Economist
Bloomberg, Reuters (for those interested in Markets)
The Lawyer, Legal Week, Lawyer2B, Roll on Friday, etc (for those interested in
Law)
― Read the business commentary/editor columns to help develop ‘your’
opinion
www.seo-london.com
How do YOU become a strong SEO intern?
•
Do your demonstrated skills match the competencies required for the role you are most
interested in?
•
Details on required competencies and the roles/industries we cover are listed on the SEO website
•
Academic excellence
•
Excellent quantitative, analytic and creative skills
•
Leadership in extra curricular activities and a demonstrated commitment to community service
•
Very good attention to detail
•
Strong interpersonal and networking skills
•
Career commitment - Commercial awareness - Strong academic reference
www.seo-london.com
How do you make yourself a Strong Candidate?
•
Do you have a personality, opinions?
•
Do you show an interest in the business world and current affairs?
•
Do you pay careful attention to detail? Can I trust you with clients and big deals
someday?
•
Are you prepared? Can you explain why you are (a) interested in working in a
particular business and (b) why you think you will be successful in that business?
•
Are you bright? Do you have sound analytic and quantitative skills? Do you
demonstrate good decision making skills?
•
Are you creative?
•
Are you adaptable?
•
Are you someone who is action orientated? Do you have drive? Are you willing to go
that extra mile?
•
Are you a team player? Can you listen and can you persuade? Will you network?
•
Will you give back?
•
To help prepare yourself please visit http://www.seo-london.com/
www.seo-london.com
What next?
•
Make an (online) application asap – all admissions are on a rolling basis!
•
Please visit the website www.seo-london.com for more details
•
Register online with SEO London so we can keep you posted about next steps
•
Join us on social media
– facebook.com/SEOLondonInfo
– Twitter@SEOLondonInfo
– LinkedIn ‘SEO London’
•
SEO interviews will begin in October for all programmes
•
Start your preparation
•
Ensure you are commercially aware
•
Practice numerical and verbal reasoning tests
•
Practice interview questions
www.seo-london.com
Thank you
www.seo-london.com