From London to the Middle East: How to Break Into Investment Banking in Dubai

While you’ve learned all about working in Dubai and other parts of the Middle East from previous interviews, we haven’t focused on recruiting much – until now.

The interviewee you’re about to hear from went from spotty A-Level performance and low first-year university grades to multiple bulge bracket offers.

And if you think that’s impressive, you’ll also learn all about:

• How to apply to both London and Dubai, and how different banks recruit in both places.
• The key differences in the recruiting timeline and interviews.
• Whether or not networking “works” – and the best way to break into Dubai if you live halfway around the world.
• What to do if you’re already working full-time and want to move to the Middle East.

Let’s get started.

Investment Banking: Pakistan Edition

OK, I’ll admit it upfront: while this site has featured lots of interviews from readers in “hot” emerging markets such as China and India, I haven’t gotten too many requests for Pakistan.

But this is such a good interview and has such specific information that I wanted to publish it anyway.

Plus, the interviewee has been a long-time reader of M&I and captured the personality of the site very well. So let’s get started and learn all about banking, PE, recruiting, and the lifestyle in an emerging market that might be completely off your radar.

Why Bankers Don’t Make Bank: Where Your Paycheck Actually Goes and What to Do About It

If you want to be in finance, you probably like money quite a bit.

And once you break in and become a banker you’ll be making tons of cash – even if bonuses aren’t as good as they were in the old days.

But then you’ll waste it all on $200,000 sports cars, drugs, and alimony – right?

While that scenario applies to many seniors bankers and explains why some finance veterans don’t save much, the problems actually start much earlier – with your first paycheck.