Tarun's placement year at Nomura

This is a guest post from Tarun Hariharan. Tarun is studying BSc Management (Year in Business) and has just returned to his 4th year at Royal Holloway having finished a placement year with Nomura Structured Finance Services in Mumbai. Tarun has clearly demonstrated the importance of networking both while finding his placement and during the placement year.

Tarun used Bloomberg on a daily basis in his placement

We posed a number of questions to Tarun:

How did you find the application process?

As this was my first proper job I had a lot of questions in my mind. After a session with the Careers center, I reworked my CV and shortlisted a few jobs from a website called Ratemyplacement. I did try around 7 to 8 firms before Nomura. I learnt of an opportunity there through a friend of mine who was an intern there in the asset management department. She forwarded my CV to HR who interviewed and selected me. My first role was for 4 months in the Client Account Management & Strategy (CAMS) team. When I began with Nomura, I struck a good rapport with the bosses there and to my luck a lady in research working for the EMEA Product Management Group (EMEA PMG) was about to go for a 6-month maternity leave. The MD head of research was also in charge of Client Account Management & Strategy. He liked me and recommended me for the job. After a videoconference interview with an ED in London and two people from the team in Mumbai, I landed the job. Doing the job of an Associate at the age of 21, it was not only a learning experience but also an honor.

What approaches do you recommend for other students?

I personally believe students should start early. They should plan what industries they wish to enter and selectively look for jobs. Also networking is extremely and useful, as you may have figured from my story. Thus it would be beneficial to attend networking events, job fairs etc. Don’t have a closed mindset; do look for jobs outside the UK.

What is your job title and what are the major projects you have been involved in?

I was an Intern at Nomura involved in real life projects replacing permanent employees. In the client Account Management and Strategy team I was making reports analyzing revenues and broker votes etc. In the Product Management Group I was involved in making a number of reports that managed the equity products of the firm.

What has been the best thing about your placement?

The best thing about my placement would definitely be the fact that I coped doing a very difficult and highly skilled job in probably the most competitive industry. I also earned a lot of appreciation from very senior employees about the same. Moreover I was also used as an example, and was titled “a successful experiment”.

Has there been any aspect of my placement you would have changed?

I wish I had taken accounting or finance in my second year, I would have been able to add more to my job (which was in the financial services industry). However I did manage to learn a fair bit on the job. Also I wish I was trained in advance excel as it is very useful in investment banking.

How has this placement prepared you for your final year at University?

Well I must say, working under trained managers and business leaders helped me to better understand what I had studied in my first 2 years in university. Working for a global investment bank, has increased my knowledge of the global business and economic environment. Also in my 12 months at Nomura I have had various situations thrown at me. These situations have taught me valuable lessons on how to be a better manager and also a better employee. Thus having this knowledge and experience I can add more input to my final year than I could have otherwise.