Investor Relations: The Best Path to Getting a Life, Securing Stability and a Solid Paycheck, and Going Benefit Hopping on Friday Nights?

Bored of working 100 hour weeks? About to break up with your significant other because he / she barely sees you?

One solution is to quit and become a ski bum.

Another is to go work at a normal company and get better hours in corporate development, corporate finance, and yes, also Investor Relations – one area that has generated lots of comments and questions over the years.

Today’s interviewee is an Investor Relations Manager at a Fortune 500 company in Asia – and he’s worked in similar roles at another company in the region over the past 6 years.

Here’s what we convinced him to share with you:

• How to break into Investor Relations
• What you do in IR and how it’s different from investment banking and corporate finance
• The structure and hierarchy within IR and the different roles available
• Interview questions you might encounter in your IR interviews
• Exit opportunities if you decide you want to go back to those 100-hour workweeks

Pitching to Investors: It’s All About the Story

The Corporate Finance Jobs Hierarchy at a Fortune 500 Company: From Analyst Monkey to CFO

You’re sitting in front of your computer reading your 102nd rejection email:

“Thanks for your interest, but we have already hired for this position.”

You start to feel desperate, when out of the blue a friend calls. “I have a job for you, it’s a Corporate Finance Analyst position at a Fortune 500 company, what do you say?”

You answer without even thinking: “Are you joking? You know that it’s banking or bust for me!”

If that’s you, you need to rethink what you just said.

No, Corporate Finance is NOT as “prestigious” as investment banking, and it doesn’t give you as many exit opportunities.

It’s a different world altogether.

But it’s also a world where you can still make hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even into the millions if you’re at the right company in the right role.

Here’s what you’re going to learn in this comprehensive breakdown of the Corporate Finance world:

• How the finance department is organized at a Fortune 500 company
• What you do on a daily basis in the Financial Planning division
• Why accounting is not (always) just a 9-to-5 job that bores you to death
• Why Treasury roles are crucial and why they can mean life or death for a company
• How you can become a CFO and make it to the top of the ladder

CFO: The King of the Castle

A Day in the Life of a Corporate Finance Analyst: Casual Friday, Mocking Consultants, and “Critical Emergencies”

Warning: This article doesn’t feature models (or bottles), all-nighters, screaming Managing Directors, or VPs punching their fists through car windows. If you want to see some of that, please check out 24 Hours in the life of an IB Analyst.

But if you’re looking to maintain your sanity and still get paid well without selling your soul, you just might be interested in what corporate finance has to offer.

Here’s what to expect in your average day (only 10 hours, because you just don’t work as much in corporate finance):