Anthony was part of our inaugural Pathways to Banking and Finance programme back in 2017-2018, before going on to study at LSE. Now working in finance, Anthony spoke to us about his current role and his journey to get there. Read on to find out more.
How have you found the life after university, and your first full-time role in finance?
“It’s been a year and a half now, which is pretty hard to believe! It’s gone quickly. It’s been a really good experience so far – I really enjoy the work, as I find it really interesting and challenging, and the people are great too! I was fortunate to have secured the role in December before I graduated which in some ways took a bit of pressure off in my final year when people are generally looking for jobs as they graduate.”
Looking back at your Pathways to Banking and Finance programme – did you know what you wanted to do before that or did that influence you in any way?
“I knew what I wanted to do… and I knew that there were a couple of steps, such as work experience and going to a ‘target’ university that would help me get there. In terms of getting into a well-regarded university – I knew that I could do this by working really hard in school and getting the right grades – but how I could get guidance, mentorship and experience that would help me get into the banking and finance industry was less clear; especially because I didn’t know anyone that worked in the industry at 16/17 years old. The Pathways to Banking and Finance programme was a real gateway for me because it brought a lot of that together. The programme was comprised of, work experience sessions, networking sessions, and even academic sessions at top universities – all of which really heightened by interest in the industry and also built my softer skills, which was super important.”
So what are your future plans?
“The private equity space is a great place to start your career, and it’s not an opportunity that many people get. So far I’ve really loved working in this industry and so I plan to stay in this sector in the long-term. There are lots of opportunities for development in this space, and I’ve learned a lot so far… At every level of your career I think that you should be learning new things – and whether you are continuing to learn or not should help you think about the direction that you want to take your career in the future.”
Finally – you’re a regular volunteer for us, speaking at events, panels, sharing guidance with students etc. What motivates you to do this?
“The position that I currently find myself in is largely credit to the social mobility programmes that I was able to participate in, at a time where I otherwise, had very little guidance on careers. The initial early stages where I could engage with programmes pre-university were incredibly helpful – and having had exposure before heading off to a competitive university environment, levelled the playing field a bit.
So much about success is around whether you think you can do something and – once you break that mental barrier, you can start to see what’s possible. The pathways to Banking and Finance programme raised my aspirations and showed me that it was possible to achieve a career in finance. If I can help someone else from an underrepresented background believe that they can do it [get into a competitive career like financial services], I’d like to continue doing that. If someone hadn’t shown me it was possible, I wouldn’t be in the career that I’m in today. I volunteer with the Pathways programmes because I would like to be a role model that some other students that are just like me can look up to.”
If, like Anthony, you’d like to share your story with us – just get in touch with the alumni team via [email protected].
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