My Aspiration to Obtain a Master's in Corporate Finance

Concerning my academic interests, I am genuinely passionate about the Finance and doing a major in Corporate Finance is my ambition. From my perspective, Corporate Finance provides methods to analyse complex corporate situations and develop the best strategy to maximize clients’ diverse objectives. Ultimately, these academic interests defined my professional interests.

They have sparked my desire to pursue a career with a leading Investment Bank, as it has a steep learning curve and allows to establish a strong foundation for valuation skills and to understand real industry sectors. I love playing football and I was the captain of my team in high school. I played with my team on school’s championships and it has been a great way to make friends and get involved in school activities. In addition to football, I also love playing chess. Chess is a great tool for building not only critical reasoning skills, but also relationships. Upon arriving at university, a rush of emotion overcame me; I was excited to start my studies in an environment of like-minded people. At university my passion for analysis complex corporate situations could finally flourish. Hence, shortly afterwards the admission, I decided to participate in an All-Russian case competition “Sberbank’s Business Case”. The case seemed exciting for me because it required a full immersion in the process of resolving the real issues of Sberbank’s business in Russia. During the following 5 days I had to form a team and find the solution to Sberbank’s problem. Nevertheless, after days and nights of hard work and planning, we have come up with the solution that turned out to be the best one.

Therefore, I am very proud that under time constraints on the first year at university I managed to devise a competitive solution to business problems. On the very first year of studying at university although I had very rigorous core courses, which covered both social human and mathematical sciences, I decided to take more responsibility and to take almost all optional electives. This schedule has eventually led to some academic problems during my examination period. Now I see that had I made my course schedule less intensive, I would have attained more academic success in my first term. Therefore, I have learned from this situation to manage time more properly and wisely. Since the first term, my academic performance has significantly advanced, because of the improvement of planning skills.

Over the last years, I have completed internships in both private and public sectors, internships which equipped me with exceptional confidence, leadership skills - in short, with working and communication skills. Firstly, I joined Sberbank and then had an internship at Colliers International. My latest internships were extremely useful in terms of gaining practical knowledge and helpful in selecting the desired future career.

For instance, in McKinsey & Company I had to deal with highly intense projects from different industries, broadening my knowledge of business. At this moment I am intern at Credit Suisse, and this internship has given me an amazing opportunity to see with my own eyes how global bulge bracket banks operate and to gain an enriching experience in a very wide range of directions. I have a chance to work in various departments, including Equity Sales and Trading, Private Banking and finally Investment Banking. HEC has an extensive history of more than 135 years. That means not only that it is excellent in terms of teaching, but also that it is profoundly global and has a huge alumni network. I am intrigued by the opportunities that Master in International Finance has to offer. Endless research opportunities in the field of Finance captivate my imagination. The courses are rigorous and quantitative and they truly lay the necessary foundation for any career in Finance.

What sets this Master program apart is the opportunity to tailor program that HEC offers towards student’s field of expertise. Student can choose either Business track or Accelerated track, depending on his background. I am particularly excited about advanced core courses, which have no equal. Such courses as Derivatives and Financial modelling would be very useful and I would welcome an opportunity to study them. I have always been fascinated by the capital markets and by the strategic interaction among companies. Therefore, I would absolutely cherish the chance to pursue career with an Investment bank, because the sense of purpose that the Investment Bank offers has nothing short of rewarding, and I honestly believe that this is where I can make a contribution because my skill set is exceptionally suitable for finance-related jobs. Moreover, because Paris is increasingly becoming Europe’s banking hub as Britain leaves the European Union, I would welcome an opportunity to gain an exposure on rapidly expanding French job market. Several companies, such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch and BlackRock, have already chosen to move jobs to the French capital.

Hence, HEC is located in the proximity to one of the largest financial centres in the world, centre that is undergoing massive changes at the moment, and I would appreciate an opportunity to benefit from this transformation of Paris. Master in International Finance from HEC is an ideal fit for me. But not only would I love to learn at HEC, but also I wish to offer my unique international perspective on issues. Thank you so much for giving me your time and consideration.