NALFO invite: City Fellowships info session 5/15
Greetings NALFO partners-
We hope all is well with each and every one of you as Summer 2014 approaches. Recently, an Hermano of ours was asked to screen and pool candidates for the City Fellowships in Financial Services. The City Fellowships works with Goldman Sachs to place US citizens in the GS London office. City Fellows spend one year working in a division of the firm depending on their education and experience. Previous Fellows have been placed in Investment Banking, Investment Management, Global Investment Research, Finance (including Credit Risk Assessment, Financial Reporting, Corporate Accounting), Technology, Operations, Legal and Human Capital Management.
We wanted to personally invite you to learn more about this opportunity with hopes of potentially becoming a member of the Fellowship’s esteemed cohort. The City Fellowship will be hosting a dial-in information session this Thursday, 5/15/14 at 7:30pm for prospective candidates.
If you plan on dialing-in, please RSVP by replying to George Bahamondes directly (george.bahamondes@…). Should you know of any qualified, potential applicants please feel free to pass this information along to them as well.
Date: Thursday, 5/15/14
Time: 730pm
Dial-in detail: 1-888-850-4523. The passcode is 276840.
We look forward to connecting with those interested on Thursday! Please find additional information on the fellowship below.
Warm Regards,
George Bahamondes
Alpha Phi – USC
SP 2006
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THE CITY FELLOWSHIPS IN FINANCIAL SERVICES : A BRIEFING NOTE
WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF THE PROGRAM?
– to enable young minority financiers to transform their careers and lives by getting in-depth experience and knowledge of global financial markets ahead of their age cohort in the City of London with a leading investment bank
– to strengthen Anglo-American financial relations by bringing exceptional young minority Wall Street high flyers to the City of London thereby creating the professional relationships to facilitate the financing of future UK-US business
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUCCESSFUL CITY FELLOW?
City Fellows are US citizens, members of ethnic minorities traditionally under-represented in the financial service industry. All of our candidates and nominees are determined single-minded strivers who have overcome immense obstacles in their lives including wrenching poverty. Like Marshall and Rhodes scholars, City Fellows have outstanding academic backgrounds. Where they differ is that they have degrees in accounting, finance, business administration and economics and a minimum of two years experience in the financial services industry. There is no minimum GPA. MBAs are most welcome to apply. City Fellows also combine intellectual excellence, personal and professional discipline, integrity, grace and maturity. In addition, they also have a passion for finance, clear goals and the ability to articulate them with clarity enthusiasm and vigor. Moreover, City Fellows must be capable of integrating effectively into a financial services team, building new working relationships, becoming a loyal employee of our partner firm and show promise of emerging as industry leaders capable of strengthening Anglo-American financial relations.
WHERE ARE OUR FELLOWS PLACED WITHIN GOLDMAN SACHS?
We place Fellows for 50 weeks in one division of the firm depending on their education and experience. Previous Fellows have been placed in Investment Banking, Investment Management, Global Investment Research, Finance (including Credit Risk Assessment, Financial Reporting, Corporate Accounting), Technology, Operations, Legal and Human Capital Management.
WHERE DO WE GET OUR CANDIDATES?
City Fellows is a national program. We recruit from a large pool of candidates identified for us by a nationwide group of partners. These include 18 organizations dedicated to minority leadership development in business and finance , historically black colleges and business schools.
HOW DO WE SELECT OUR CANDIDATES?
The selection process is rigorous. It encompasses a completed application form, an academic transcript, a personal essay, strong letters of recommendation, a day of psychological exercises, and an hour- long interview. We evaluate each application on the following criteria : the quality of the candidate’s educational background, length, quality and relevance of work experience and skills in the finance to the skill-set requirements set out for the role by our partner. We also evaluate the candidate’s leadership potential, communication skills, emotional intelligence, personal qualities, capacity to function internationally and as part of team. If a candidate is successful in getting a nomination for one of the Fellowships, they must also complete up to three hours of confirming interviews with Goldman Sachs executives in New York. Before being nominated to Goldman Sachs, every candidate has to pass a criminal background check and credit check.
WHY HAVE WE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL?
There are five reasons :
– Because we have over 20 years experience
– Because of a rigorous selection process
– Because of a carefully-planned in-depth orientation that helps the Fellows learn the culture of the firm and how to succeed in it
– Because of a system of 3 month appraisals that enables managers and Fellows to identify precise areas of growth and development with clear deliverables
– Because of intense engagement with each Fellow to ensure that they have fully understood and acted upon their critical feedback from their managers
– Because of intensive coaching/mentoring
WHAT IS THE FELLOWHIP TENURE AND RECENT CONVERSION SUCCESS RATE?
Initially, the Fellowship is a one year performance-based contract: a 50 week interview to enable our partner firm to decide whether or not they want to make the City Fellow a permanent offer. Of our most recent class at Goldman Sachs , 100 per cent were converted to permanent employees. Our average conversion rate with Goldman Sachs has been 75 percent.
WHAT IS THE TIMETABLE FOR THE 2015-2016 CITY FELLOWSHIP ?
The application date is likely to be at the end of June with interviews following in mid-late July. The new class will take up their Fellowships in early March 2016.
George Bahamondes
Associate | Real Estate Finance
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
Global Markets Research
60 Wall Street, 10005 New York, NY, USA
Tel: +1(212)250-1587
Email: george.bahamondes@…