Ex-Investment Banker (Senior VP) with >10yrs experience interviewing for internships and full-time roles at top US bank

Find out more about Ben

• 1) When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  Coming from a family of medics, I was interested in the world of finance from a young age, primarily because it was a field which no one seemed to know much about but which I could see had a huge impact on global events. The global financial crisis of 2007/08 occurred during my final years at school and this piqued my interest in studying economics at university. I went on to study a masters in finance before starting a career in Investment Banking in 2014. After 10 years working in Investment Banking, I decided to make a career change and move to a completely different sector but thought that my experience in finance and economics could be helpful for those looking to break into the industry.

• 2) Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  My objective is to help students maximise their chances of landing an internship or full-time role in Investment Banking. I also offer tutoring for CFA (all levels), accounting and corporate finance, as well as career advice for the finance industry. I enjoy discussing current financial news stories with my students, to help them build confidence talking about such subjects in interview.

• 3) Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  When I started on the analyst training programme at Citi in 2014, we had a fantastic accounting teacher called Paul who brought the subject of accounting to life with hilarious anecdotes and sweet treats for those who answered questions correctly in class. Paul inspired me to try and make my classes fun and engaging even when the subject matter is a little dry!

• 4) What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  I think that being able to explain a concept in different ways is really important. Students don’t always learn in the same way, so being able to try different approaches to convey an idea can be really helpful to ensure students fully internalise the concept.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  During my early years working at Citi, I realised I’d made a mistake in some analysis for a client meeting. My MD was on his way to the meeting with the printed pitch books in his bag. I was torn between saying nothing and hoping the mistake wasn’t discovered, or calling my MD to admit my error before he met the client. I decided to call my MD who was obviously annoyed to discover about the mistake. I felt terrible about ruining the meeting and was dreading the conversation with my MD when he returned to the office. When he got back, my MD came by my desk to talk to me. “Great meeting” he said. “What about the analysis though?” I responded. “We did a verbal meeting instead, I left the pitch books in my bag” he answered. “Reputation is everything.” The experience taught me a valuable lesson about the importance of owning mistakes early, even when it seems like there is no good outcome, as there may be another way to handle a situation!

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  My main challenge was balancing my personal life with very long working hours in IB. It’s an intense, high pressure industry where you are expected to always be performing at a top level. Finding ways to disconnect from work was crucial to enable me to keep going for multiple years, but it wasn’t always easy to do so.

• 7) Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I really enjoy teaching in general! I love seeing a student have the “lightbulb” moment when they understand a new concept or idea.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I’d say that my main “Superprof” strength is breaking down complicated concepts and making them easy to understand for students who have the motivation to learn.