Internship in Canary Wharf!

[JamesNEA]

Hey guys

I recently got accepted for a 6 month expenses paid internship in Canary Wharf. When I went in for the interview it was with two young guys (about 21-24) and it was obvious that they were salesmen. They were bragging about how much they earn, how much they go out and party and stuff. They said that the oldest guy in the office was 25 (allegedly) They also said that the basic was £18k/y but the commission makes that lunch money, he also said one guy is earning £250k/month, then tapped on how some of them live in knights bridge/Kensington.

Im not sure if this is actually for real or if they are just hunting for Ni-eve young lads to get 6 months free work out of. Anyone had experience with this sort of thing??? and is this normal

The company deals with foreign exchange.

hope sumone can help put me at ease. It just sounds to good to be true and as we all know.... if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is.

cheers

Edited by JamesNEA on Sunday 26th September 15:58

[Silver]

Is it with a broker? That sort of behaviour sounds fairly standard within the financial industry, especially within brokers.

Are you able to talk to someone else who has interned there?

From a purely personal POV, the two guys doing the interview remind me of the scene in Boiler Room where Ben Affleck gives the interns the low down on the firm.

Jim Young said:

If you become an employee of this firm, you will make your first million within three years. Okay? I'm gonna repeat that. You will make a million dollars within three years of your first day of employment at J.T. Marlin. There is no question as to whether or not you'll become a millionaire working here. The only question is how many times over. You think I'm joking? I am not joking. I am a millionaire. It's a weird thing to hear, right? I'll tell ya. It's a weird thing to say. I am a fking millionaire. I am a fking millionaire. And guess how old I am. Twenty-seven. You know what that makes me here? A fkin' senior citizen. This firm is entirely comprised of people your age, not mine.

Lucky for me, I'm very fking good at my job, or I'd be out of one. You guys are the new blood. You're gonna go home with the kessef. You are the future big swinging dicks of this firm. Now, you all look money hungry, and that's good. Anybody tells you money is the root of all evil doesn't fkin' have any. They say money can't buy happiness? Look at the fkin' smile on my face. Ear to ear, baby. You want details? Fine. I drive a Ferrari 355 Cabriolet. What's up? I have a ridiculous house in the South Fork.

I have every toy you could possibly imagine. And best of all, kids, I am liquid. So, now that you know what's possible. Let me tell you what's required. You are required to work your fking ass off at this firm. We want winners here, not pikers. A piker walks at the bell. A piker asks how much vacation time you get in the first year. Vacation time? People come and work at this firm for one reason: to become filthy rich. That's it. We're not here to make friends. We're not savin' the fkin' manatees here, guys.

You want vacation time? Go teach third grade, public school. The first three months at the firm are as a trainee. You make $150 a week. After you're done training, you take the Series Seven. You pass that, you become a junior broker and you're opening accounts for your team leader. You open 40 accounts, you start workin' for yourself. Sky's the limit. Word or two about being a trainee. Friends, parents, other brokers, whoever, they're gonna give you st about it. It's true. $150 a week? Not a lot of money. Pay them no mind. You need to learn this business, and this is the time to do it.

Once you pass the test, none of that's gonna matter. Your friends are st. You tell them you made 25 grand last month, they're not gonna fkin' believe you. fk them! fk 'em! Parents don't like the life you lead? 'fk you, Mom and Dad.' See how it feels when you're makin' their fkin' Lexus payments. Now, go home and think about it. Think about whether or not this is really for you. If you decide it isn't, listen, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's not for everyone. Thanks. But if you really want this, you call me on Monday and we'll talk. Just don't waste my fkin' time.

Edited by Silver on Sunday 26th September 16:15

[Chilli]

Who cares what these guys are earning? It sounds like a good opportunity to see what goes on in that type of world, so if you have an interest in persuing a career in that field, then why not? What's the company like, a well known well established firm? Get in there, learn what you can and see where it goes.
What other choices do you have for the next 6 months?

Back when I was earning 250 a month...

[JamesNEA]

Silver:

I havnt seen that film. But I want to now! and that is almost exactly how these guys were I cant believe it lol. The company deals with corporate contracts for importing/exporting offering "the best" exchange rate.

Chilli:

You are right! at the end of the day if it is something I want to get into then I will need to stick it out

[Chilli]

JamesNEA said:

Chilli:

You are right! at the end of the day if it is something I want to get into then I will need to stick it out

Of course I'm right....and in a couple of years when you're earning 250 large a month, you'll remember your uncle Chilli and drop him a line.

[okgo]

I seriously doubt those figures, I once went for an interview at a fairly large fx broker, and there was money being made, but I'd be surprised if anyone was on even half the money mentioned above.

[Traveller]

250K a month, blackballed and broke in 3, unlikely is an understatement. 250K a year is certainly possible though.

Edited by Traveller on Sunday 26th September 19:45

[mattdaniels]

James. I work in FX. I work in Canary Warf. Drop me a PM if you want to chat.

[bigandclever]

Chilli said:

Who cares what these guys are earning? It sounds like a good opportunity to see what goes on in that type of world, so if you have an interest in persuing a career in that field, then why not? What's the company like, a well known well established firm? Get in there, learn what you can and see where it goes.
What other choices do you have for the next 6 months?

OP, Chilli has a good take on it, providing you're comfortable with the terms of your 'job'. You seem switched on enough that you know it's 6 months of no income traded for some experience. The expenses bit aren't your expenses, of course - they're company expenses. Otherwise you'll be getting the harrier jump jet in from Monaco every morning, with a quick nosh and bacon butty on the way in, won't you? What that experience will give you is really going to be down to you. You'll be penniless, treated like the greedy bh you are, tasty carrots will be dangled in front of you time after time, and so on. Any knob can rent a room in a shared flat in Knightsbridge for £700 pcm... hope you've got some savings

In case it's not clear, I say go for it with your eyes wide open.

Edit to remove awful apostrophe

Edited by bigandclever on Sunday 26th September 22:17

[playerone]

It will be telesales.
It will be selling a product that isnt that competitive.
You will work with guys whos last job was at Carphone Warehouse.
The guy who sits next to you will leave on your second day.
If you survive all that and have skin as thick as an elephant then you will probably make decent money.

[JamesNEA]

mattdaniels:

I tried to email you through PH but it says you don't have one!? email me I would like to speak 2 you if your available.

Anyhow im definitely going to give it a try. The figures could be 10x less than what I was told and it will still be worth it!

[okgo]

playerone said:

It will be telesales.
It will be selling a product that isnt that competitive.
You will work with guys whos last job was at Carphone Warehouse.
The guy who sits next to you will leave on your second day.
If you survive all that and have skin as thick as an elephant then you will probably make decent money.

So true.

[princeperch]

you'll soon find yourself going over to abacus on a friday night giving it large.

[Jonathan27]

James, I can assure you that there is no chance that the £250k per month is for real unless this is one of the major banks, brokers, or funds.
There is decent money in fx, but that seems a bit steep to me. Someone suggested that it would be tele-sales and that you would be working with 'carphonewarehouse types'. That sounds abut right to me. Look the firm up online, speak to people in the industry, if they have a poor reputation then it may be worth avoiding.
That being said, if the position comes with expenses and some wage and you have no other plans for the 6 months, you could just give it a try and walk if it turns out to be a joke!

[Chris_]

James, I have been working in FX for around 15 years in exactly the type of business that you are talking about (commercial/deliverable fx/better rates/yadda yadda yadda) If you would like to know a bit more about it as an industry then feel free to get in touch.

[JamesNEA]

Jonathan27:

Your telling me mate! I would imagine the owner of the company probably makes £250k/m but when you think how much money you would need to turn over a month to make £250k profit for yourself would be ridiculous!

Chris_:

I emailed you

[Chris_]

Likewise.

[awesome_welles]

playerone said:

It will be telesales.
It will be selling a product that isnt that competitive.
You will work with guys whos last job was at Carphone Warehouse.
The guy who sits next to you will leave on your second day.
If you survive all that and have skin as thick as an elephant then you will probably make decent money.

That post, as well as the post from Boiler Room, is all completely true in finance (I once worked for 5 weeks in Financial Services Firm). Yes, there are people making obscene amounts of money, but they all work horrifically long hours- you can pretty much kiss your life goodbye. Sadly, the telesales guys are right down the bottom of the food chain. Probably, you'll be booking appointments for a senior broker, who will then get the lion's share of the commission. When I did that, I was great as booking appointments but nearly all of them ended up "swerving", either not showing up or not answering their phone. It was incredibly fustrating so I quit.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me here or PM me.

Edited by awesome_welles on Wednesday 29th September 15:09

[Carl_Docklands]

playerone said:

It will be telesales.
It will be selling a product that isnt that competitive.
You will work with guys whos last job was at Carphone Warehouse.
The guy who sits next to you will leave on your second day.
If you survive all that and have skin as thick as an elephant then you will probably make decent money.

Funny post!