A faultless path towards J.P. Morgan

WHAT WAS YOUR BACKGROUND BEFORE EDHEC BUSINESS SCHOOL?

After a scientific baccalaureate and two years of higher education in my native country Algeria, I joined the University of Lille.  I entered directly into the second year of my Bacherlor’s degree in management in order to be eligible for the EDHEC AST1 competition.

WHY EDHEC AND ITS FINANCE PROGRAMME?

I knew I wanted to join EDHEC right from the beginning of my higher education studies. Its excellent academic reputation in finance was the most important factor in my choice to join the school. This is just another proof of EDHEC’s high ranking in the international reference rankings (Financial Times, The Economist) and the increasing number of students who manage to get a job in the best investment banks (especially American).

YOU ARE A MASTER 2 STUDENT. WHAT ARE THE FACTS THAT HAVE MARKED YOUR PATH AT EDHEC?

The integration into the first year is very quick thanks to the school's rich network of associations and the large number of events organised. You quickly get into the EDHEC "mould" and Lille will always be my favourite city in France. The course content is interesting and the teaching staff is very good. If you do your share of work, you can easily find your balance. The conferences and workshops organized from the first year onwards allowed me to orientate myself and target those professions that interested me.

There is also a certain sense of solidarity and benevolence shown by those who graduated years ago. Their help was very useful in the search for internships and the preparation of interviews. Finally, the associative events, the people I met, and the links I made during my four years at EDHEC remain the most important and memorable part of my course.

YOUR BEST MEMORY WILL REMAIN...

Without any hesitation: the EDHEC Cruise Race in my second year.

COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR INTERNSHIPS?

For the first part of my gap year, I did an internship as an Assistant Trader in government bonds at CA-CIB. It was a very interesting experience where I discovered the particular environment of the trading rooms, and acquired good knowledge on the functioning of the financial markets, as well as on the modern economic and monetary mechanisms.

Afterwards, I joined Société Générale in the Debt Capital Markets SSA team (which covers government and supranational clients).  This was a choice that allowed me to clarify my professional aspirations and is the reason I have chosen this profession.

YOU BENEFITED FROM THE EDHECFORALL SCHOLARSHIP. WHAT DOES THE EDHECFORALL SCHOLARSHIP MEAN TO YOU?

It helped me a lot and allowed me to go through my EDHEC course with peace of mind, thanks again to the donors!

WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL ASPIRATIONS?

I got my permanent contract early this year, in March 2021. I will be joining the Investment Banking division of J.P. Morgan in London, in the Debt Capital Markets team. I start in June!

FINALLY, THREE WORDS TO SUM UP YOUR EXPERIENCE OF EDHEC.

Meetings, learning, conviviality!