I just finish my master in Finance and start looking for a job. I am particularly interested in the valuation analyst position which i can use my modeling knowledge to help client value their stock or other securities. I would love to ask people, who are currently working in this position ( or in similar field ), what specific skills are the most essential for this job and how we would achieve those skills. I really appreciate if you can help me with this question. Thank you.
How did you find out about this job? Is there a sample job listing?
I am talking about a general valuation analyst job. If you need a sample, I got one for you. Below is a job that I applied recently and I just had an interview with them last week. This could be the target job that I am trying to pursue.
Is this similar to Duff and Phelps basically? I have some friends who work there, seems to be a good gig for someone who didn’t get into IB. I’ve heard people moving from there to IB as the valuation and modeling skills are quite transferrable.
^Duff is perhaps the largest valuation firm around, and they also have an IB arm. While the skills are indeed transferrable, it is quite rare for someone to make the jump from BV to IB without some other qualifications (prior IB work exp or MBA).
To OP: the job description you sent the link for is basically an entry level position. Our firm looks for applicants at this level to have a BS in either accounting or finance and good GPA. There aren’t any specific skills necessarily since these “green” applicants aren’t likely to have any relevant work experience yet. During the interview process we might ask some basic technical questions that anyone with a degree and solid GPA should know (i.e. what happens to bond prices if interest rates go up/down?) Your first 1-2 years in this role would serve as on the job training. Often times hiring decisions come down to personalities matching.
This is the answer I am looking for. This is exactly what I have been through in the last interview with this company. They gave me so many situational question in order to figure out what type of personality that I have. I guess I should focus more on presenting myself in the interview in the way I could tell the interviewer who I am. Unlike other people, this is not my strength as I typically focus on the technical part of the job rather than talking about my personality. I knew I have what it takes (detailed-oriented, hard working) to become a professional on this area, but it is hard to talk about it in the interview. Anyway, thank you for the thoughtful answer. I appreciate that.