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Alon Sammy - Final Year BSc Finance student

Alon Sammy is a final year student studying BSc Finance – now offered to new students as a BSc Banking and Digital Finance. He is also Ambassador for J.P. Morgan. He shares how his placement year at UBS in Zurich opened his eyes to the real world of wealth management.

Tell me about yourself, your degree, and why you chose the University of Sussex Business School.

I grew up in South Africa and Switzerland. The University of Sussex was a popular choice from past students at my high school in Switzerland so it was somewhere I was interested in applying to. Ever since I was a little kid, I was always interested in money and enjoyed saving in piggy banks. As I became older, I wanted to know more about the economy, how money is transferred and distributed on a wider scale. Therefore, I knew the Business School was for me and more specifically, a Finance degree.

What made you decide to do a placement year as part of your degree?

I became very aware that firms are requiring graduates to have some relevant work experience, so I decided to embark on the placement path as I wanted to give myself the best chance to stand out to recruiters when applying for graduate roles.

I also heard about previous placements students finding that they performed better in their studies after a year of work experience. The final year at university is supposedly the hardest and most intense study year, and I wanted to get the most out of my final year at Sussex. My placement year definitely taught me important key skills in communication and analytics, and it also provided me with a broader understanding of Finance.

What was your selection criteria for your placement year?

My selection criteria was straightforward. I wanted to work for a bank, no matter the division, because that was my dream and I was willing to take any role to make that happen. When I started to apply, I realized that some areas were more complex than others.

My area of interest was in Investment banking, which was extremely competitive, so I started looking at other areas too such as Accounting, Corporate Analytics and even Tax and HR. I realized I needed to be more open-minded if I wanted to get a decent placement so I applied for everything. I sent off 160 placement applications and I was lucky to get accepted at one of the most prestigious investment banks in the world – UBS.

What was it like working for a major Wealth Management bank UBS in Zurich, Switzerland?

At first it was an extremely nerve-wracking and daunting experience. Being in an office where everyone is more senior than you and has immense amounts of knowledge was quite intimidating. I had to quickly learn how to fit into that environment. I knew I needed to take risks and step out of my comfort zone, to meet new people. By doing this it showed me how important it is to try new things because these are the situations where you learn and grow the most.

Working directly at the UBS Headquarters in Zurich, I was placed in the front office. Hearing all the client discussions, and how you manage someone’s portfolio was a once in a life time experience. I learnt an incredible amount about finance and investments.

What challenges did you face during your placement and how did you overcome them?

My main challenge was learning the processes quickly enough and getting up to speed with what was required of me. This was all so new to me, it was work I had never done before, and the more you did, the more deadlines and projects you would receive.

I overcame this by reaching out to colleagues for support, taking risks and trying projects on my own, failing multiple times, and setting up meetings with my line manager to ensure I was staying on track. Overcoming these challenges made me realise that I have capacity to do much more than I first thought. I have learnt that I could be more analytical too. I never understood the meaning of giving 110% until my placement year.

What opportunities did UBS offer you in terms of future work prospects?

UBS offered me incredible career advice and essential training on Swiss banking laws, as well as learning the laws around financial compliance. We were also trained in Excel and a variety of different trading platforms including bi-weekly training sessions on the Bloomberg Terminal. This has provided me with a transferrable skill set that I can now take with me into any major International Bank.

Another advantage is that, as someone who completed their placement year at UBS I will now be fast tracked when applying for graduate roles within the company. I won’t have to complete the tests and pre-recorded interviews, I’ll just go straight to the assessment centre, so it definitely helps you stand out against the competition. 

How did the Business School support you during your placement year?

The Business School offered me a lot of support. I was able to call my placement advisor whenever I needed to discuss how I was feeling, what I liked and what I needed help with. They even came to visit me and my line manager to ensure that I was meeting the goals that related to my degree. Another useful tool was completing my monthly reflections. I was able to look back, see what I had done, and decide what I wanted to do next.

If you could go back to the day before your placement began, what advice would you give yourself now, having had the experience?

If I could go back to give myself advice again, it would be to reach out and communicate more with other staff at UBS. I only started truly networking with colleagues towards the end of my tenure, rather than at the start. I hadn’t realized that it was ok to approach any member of staff and ask to go for a coffee and chat about their career. These people are a wealth of knowledge so keeping up your communication with them is key as they could remain a good contact for the future.

It is so important to develop contacts in the industry, to make people aware of who you are. This would be the number one piece of advice to myself if I could restart the whole experience. I would also consider doing more rotations within different teams to continue learning more about what each team does and get an overview of how the entire business operates.

How has the placement year influenced your future career choices?

This placement helped me understand what I am truly interested in. I have now clearly seen that I want to work within investments, and work directly with clients. Whether it’s in Investment Banking or Wealth Management, I would be more than happy to work within these divisions. Doing the placement year opened my eyes, showing me what I’m good at, and where my real passions lie.

What effect has your placement year had on your motivation both in and out of your study time?

My placement year was extremely motivating. Working in such a large organization I realized how much competition there is for one job. This experience has made me want to work harder, stand out from the crowd and get the best job possible. This naturally transferred into my studies because I want to achieve the best I can, so by taking this motivation from work directly into university, I can now capitalize on that.

What advice would you give to a prospective or current student thinking about doing a placement year.

I would say just go for it. It is one year where you will learn so much about yourself and be able to relate it to what you are studying. There will be days which are boring and hard, but you must look at the bigger picture. You gain skills and experience that very few people have. It is a unique opportunity to go into the field of work you choose, to safely learn, fail, and enjoy every minute, because it’s truly an incredible experience.

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