Victor grew up in East London where he still lives. He went to school at St Edward’s school in Romford before moving to The Coopers Company and Coburn school for 6th form and is currently an Equity Trader, helping fund managers trade stocks in companies.
The move to Coopers was a key development in his educational career because they had a great careers programme with really supportive, well connected careers staff. While at Coopers he registered with The Brokerage and took part in masterclasses on topics like communication and banking, which he says really opened his eyes to the potential careers he could pursue.
The summer before Year 13 saw Victor take part in two work experience opportunities, one with PWC and one with BDO, where he was able to shadow different accountants and learn more about the financial services industry.
Victor applied for a Brokerage internship with a fintech company. He was successful and worked for them in the summer before starting university.
“I got on to a Brokerage internship with a Fintech company – I absolutely loved it.”
Through interning at the fintech company, Victor was able to learn about the company and wider financial institutions. He also met the Head of Marketing there who really helped him start and manage his own LinkedIn profile.
After 6th form Victor went to study Economics at Warwick. During his studies he took part in Internships as part of the Credit Suisse Steps to Success programme. After taking part in that programme, Credit Suisse offered him a graduate post as an Equity Trader.
“I’ve never skied in my life”
Going into some of the companies he has worked with was sometimes a bit of a culture shock.
“A lot of my colleagues have a more affluent background than me. Many had cultural experiences I couldn’t share. Everyone knows about football, but I’ve never skied in my life – yet skiing is normal for lots of my colleagues.”
There are also issues around race and ethnic diversity. Victor – an accomplished public speaker – has sat on panels on these issues. It’s moving in the right direction, but there is more work to be done on this issue.
And while it is sometimes a bit of culture shock, Victor sees lots of positives aspects in working with so many diverse colleagues.
“Our cultures are different – but that means you get to learn about different cultures.”
“This wasn’t all easy!”
Looking back, it might look like Victor easily moved from work experience to internship to full-time work, but in reality it wasn’t that easy.
“I put out so many applications, to so many insight days or work experiences. There was a banking programme my friend got on at the LSE and I got rejected. And I thought we had similar applications. It changed after I had the first work experience – because I could pin that on my CV and say ‘other people have said yes and you should too.”
Another challenge was imposter syndrome. Although Victor got onto several work experience programmes, he still sometimes felt as if he did not deserve to be there, as if he just got lucky and might be found out. It took time to realise he was hired because the companies genuinely wanted him to be there because of his unique skillset and ability.
“You really have to believe in yourself. At the interviews I went to I had the attitude that ‘there is no-one else who should do this role but me,’ not arrogantly but just by being confident”.
Valuable
As well as his work as an Equity Trader, Victor is an experienced public speaker, skills he has put to use in his podcast ‘Valuable’ where he speaks to inspiring people about their journeys.
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