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Missed getting on to a graduate training scheme? Temping is increasingly a viable route into investment banking by the back door.

Back office rather than front

Don’t expect to use temping as a route into a front-office role in corporate finance or on the trading floor, however. Oliver Harris, managing director of the temporary recruitment team at Robert Walters, says most temporary roles are in back and middle-office functions, such as operations (eg, clearing and settlements), IT and client services.

Having come in as a temp, you’re also unlikely to be able to move into the front office in future, says Harris – be warned!

Who to approach

Robert Walters places fresh graduates into temporary roles in banks. Other agencies to approach include Euro London Appointments, which specialises in placing graduates into positions involving languages, and Fresh Minds, which puts new graduates into temporary research and analysis positions in investment banks and consultancy firms.

The pay

Pay for temps in investment banks isn’t bad, but nor is it wildly good. It obviously varies by role and experience, but typically starts at around £10 to £14 an hour. Thanks to wage inflation, hourly rates are rising by as much as £4 an hour, according to Harris.

What to avoid

If you do go for the temping option, it's a good idea to try a range of roles. Otherwise you risk being pigeonholed and ending up in an area you didn’t bargain for.

“You have to work very closely with your consultant. If you just do private equity settlements for two years then you will of course end up labelled a private equity settlements guru,” explains Harris.

“There is a balance that needs to be struck between moving around, gaining experience, and being seen to be jumping from one thing to another,” he adds.

Becoming permanent

Most temp assignments last between three and six months. At the end of that period, between 10% and 20% of people are offered permanent roles with the organisation, says Alastair Leathwood, managing director of Fresh Minds.

Who’s done it?

As proof that it can be done, we spoke to Thomas Hamilton, 25, who started temping in operations with Deutsche Bank in May last year, after graduating from Capetown University with a degree in politics and history. He's set to move into a permanent role with the bank next month.

“I really kicked myself because I left it too late to get on the graduate schemes. What I do is really just the routine reconciliation side, although I have been moving more into the client relationship side,” says Thomas.

Thomas’s permanent role will the same as his temping role. Ultimately, he aspires to move out of the back office, however.

He says the most invaluable part of being a temp is that it gets you ‘face time’: “I’m quite a social guy so I do go out and have a few drinks and get to know the team. I’ve also taken on extra projects. People know if they leave something with me it will get done.”