Required Skills
- Interpersonal
- Critical thinking skills
- Works well under pressure
- Analytical skills
- Learns quickly
- Communications skills
- Adjusts well to change
Typical Day
- 8am: Morning meeting
- 9am: Update presentation (pitch book) for MD
- 11am: Run financial modelling on companies
- 1pm: Join client pitch meeting
- 3pm: Prepare briefing materials for MD
- 5pm: Make edits to pitch book for team
- 7pm: Re-run financial models with new assumptions
Meet Lily Zhang, Equity Capital Markets (ECM)
Why did you pick your program and university?
In grade 11, I had the opportunity to attend a leadership conference for high school students at Queen’s University. Over the course of that weekend I got a preview of what it was like as a full-time student at the business school. I fell in love with the campus and was drawn to the close-knit community of the business school. I pretty much decided that weekend that I wanted to go to Queen’s following high school.
What made you decide to pursue finance once you started university?
I actually didn’t know that I wanted to pursue finance until much later in university. My high school curriculum was heavily focused on science and my parents were also in sciences, so I had little exposure to finance prior to university. With that said, I’ve always liked math and I really enjoyed an economics course I took in high school. I was ultimately inspired to pursue a career in finance after really enjoying some of the finance courses in university. Through summer internships, I gained hands-on work experience and learned that I enjoy a fast pace work environment which led me to pursue a career in capital markets.
What kind of internships or job experience did you complete while in school?
One summer I completed an internship in the Treasury group at a large consumer packaged goods company in Duesseldorf, Germany. I also spent a summer working in Corporate Banking at Scotiabank in Toronto.
Describe your current role and your typical day.
I currently work in Equity Capital Markets (ECM) at Scotiabank, where in partnership with my Corporate and Investment Banking colleagues, we help our corporate clients raise capital in the equity markets.
In ECM, I don’t really have a typical day, but I’m generally working with my team on executing a transaction or meeting with existing or new clients to discuss a potential transaction. I start the day with a review of overnight news, checking the market and considering which clients we need to brief on market conditions. The rest of the day, I’m collaborating with my colleagues, discussing upcoming and potential transactions, doing analytical work and advising clients.
I have a role that affords me the opportunity to work across Global Banking and Markets, coordinating and collaborating with other teams to determine what capital structure or financing solutions we should pitch to our clients and what helps them achieve their strategic goals. It’s never the same day twice!
What's one piece of advice that you would give someone in high school looking to a career in your field?
If you know that you want to ultimately pursue a career in Finance, that’s great! If you don’t already know but are interested – that’s great too! I would recommend speaking and meeting with people in the field – join a finance club or join WCM. At Scotiabank we also have a mentorship program run by our campus recruitment team that matches professionals to students. Be sure to reach out!
Meet Chantelle Samavarchian, I-Banking
