In the United States, the coronavirus spread is still in its full swing. Millions of people are still working from home and making sure they continue with their life while maintaining the restrictions and precautions.

You could say that the Covid-19 popped the 2020 party. Nonetheless, with so much spare time on hands now, people have started discovering new habits that they could not take time out for in the pre-coronavirus days.

Believe it or not, there is a silver lining to the pandemic. The coronavirus outbreak is not altogether bad. If you start noticing, you will figure out some newly developed habits in yourself this year. While some of the habits might not be as useful, such as getting lesser sleep or not exercising while staying at home, some of the coronavirus-influenced habits are beneficial for your lifestyle.

After months into the pandemic, it has become easy to understand the changes that has occurred in our lives. It has also become easy to dissect the newly developed habits to find out which are beneficial enough to hold on to and which you should let go of.

Now that things are slowly getting back to normal, it would be better that you take some lessons and habits and enter the normal routine as a new person. We have mentioned some of the good things, which if you have developed, you should hold on to.

Appreciate Nature

In the initial wave of coronavirus spread almost every workplace closed down and sent employees to homes. These temporary changes in work mode can even lead to a permanent working mode for many employees as organizations in the United States are thinking to extend remote working schedules for their workforce.

This entirely new dynamic of new work brought many people close to nature. Previously, in the pre-coronavirus days, we hardly got time to do something different rather than following the list of regular chores.

However, with the opportunity to work from home, people have developed a habit to quit the toxic routine of their life and leverage the change to the fullest. For instance, now we have the time morning walks, sitting in the park, hitting the gym, etc.

Less Internet Streaming Entertainment

Before the coronavirus outbreak, people were habitual of binge-watching TV shows and movies on internet-streaming platforms. However, now with an increase in demand for cable TV people have been switching their entertainment preferences. Cable TV companies such as  Wow TV  have been going the extra mile to compete with streaming services and provide better entertainment at affordable rates. Plus, cable TV will always have an edge considering it comes with a complete package of sports as well as news.

Switching to cable TV can be considered a healthy habit, as TV watching doesn’t hook you to the screen for too long. However, on the other hand, internet streaming platforms based entertainment is most consumed on smartphones, which are glued to our hands.

Also, the increase in Cable TV watching has helped parents in correcting screen time consumption and behaviors of their kids. Cable TV entertainment allows parents to restrict their kids to particular channels and also make a time table for them to follow in home with regards to screen time.

Increased Physical Activity

In the initial days of the coronavirus outbreak, the closure of gyms and fitness centers resulted in a hit on the fitness goals of many people.

However, now that months have passed in this monotonous routine, people have started changing their habits for their good.

According to the report by RunRepeat, people that exercised 1-2 times per week in the pre-coronavirus days have now increased their physical activities by almost 88%. This indicates that people have started focusing on their health to come out in better shape when this pandemic ends.

This habit should be considered the most beneficial one and should be made part of the post coronavirus world.  

The ‘Me’ Time

When the coronavirus outbreak caused the closure of gyms, cafes, pubs, and even workplaces, people started relying on themselves to kill time.

This ample amount of time gave people the opportunity to learn a new skill and even refresh the old ones. People also resumed  the projects that they had put on hold.

Psychological experts think that taking on these personal tasks cause more benefit than just killing boredom by doing nothing.

 Stick to Your Habits

Pandemic has led to the development of some beneficial habits in people that should not be let go of once this ends.  Rather they should be made a part of the lifestyle.

As a result of the COVID pandemic, the size of the workforce in the investment banking sector has reduced by 5%, compared to last year. But, we can expect light at the end of the tunnel, as some day or the other, the economy will revive itself, and the things will fall back to the normal. Sooner or later, the pandemic will come to an end, and the financial markets will reopen to recruiting, once again.

And that’s why, you need to be prepared for grabbing those rare opportunities that will emerge, soon after the pandemic ends. Enroling in an investment banking certification program, can prove to be a great choice, preparing for an entry-level job role in investment banking. Firstly, it’s cost-efficient, and secondly, you don’t need much time to acquire professional credentials in the said sector. Examinations too, are held online, to acquire such valuable skill-based banking credentials.

Size of the workforce in the investment banking sector, globally, amid Q1 2015 to Q1 2020 (in 1,000s)

Source: Statista

As per the renowned German market-research firm Statista, in the wake of the recent lay-offs, powered by the pandemic, there is a significant decrease observed this year, in the number of active investment bankers, globally. Only 49,000 professionals across the world were reported to be working in the first quarter of 2020, which is a big drop in number, compared to the Q1 of 2019. 

What Do We Mean by Investment Banking?

It is a division of a bank or financial institution that provides financial advisory services to corporations, wealthy institutions, and the government. Investment bankers offer financial advisory regarding capital-raising, and M& A deals. 

Investment banks provide for a variety of financial services to high net worth individuals and institutional investors, such as underwriting, commercial banking support, asset management, equity research, and Mergers & Acquisitions advisory.

Is It Worth It to Become an Investment Banker?

If you like money, a luxurious lifestyle, and love traveling, investment banking career is custom-made for you. Investment bankers enjoy a variety of perks, being associated with the said sector. You earn handsome pays, yearly bonuses, and a respectable position in the financial services industry.

You work long hours, may be 16-17 hours a day, at the start of your career, but then, you feel an adrenaline rush each day, being working in a job role that deal in millions and billion dollar deals.  It’s an interesting job to be into, and you feel important, each day at work.

In the best way possible, we can describe the life of an investment banking professional as what’s shown in the movie – ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. It’s fast-moving, sucks all your energy in a few hours in the day, and there are big ups and downs in the financial markets that happen in a matter of a few hours in the day. It’s basically, a roller coaster ride, that you ride each day.

The risks are big, and the tensions grow even bigger each second you spend in the financial markets. It’s not for the chicken-hearted, that’s for sure.

How One Can Become an Investment Banker?

Investment banking is an elitist job, and you need to be preparing for it, well in advance, starting from your education. Having a suitable educational ground plays a critical role, in you being taken seriously for the entry-level jobs in investment banking.

 Steps to becoming an investment banker: 

• Secure a college degree in finance, or a related subject discipline.
• Try taking admission into an ivy league business school.
• Acquire an advanced degree in finance, may be an MBA in finance, from a top-tier business school, or university.
• Networking is key, to get interviews for entry-level roles. 

Securing an Investment Banking Internship

A majority of big investment banks offer summer internships to college graduates in finance, across the world. A few of these comprise – the RBS Group, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, among many others. If your application gets accepted at any of these big banks, don’t even think of missing it. 

Investment Bankers’ Day-to-Day Activities

On an average, an investment banker works 80-100 hours a week. It amounts to an excess work, equivalent to more than 50% of what an average professional in some other industry would work in a week. As per, what renowned investment banker, Andrew Gutmann, wrote in his book, an investment banker starts his day at 10 in the morning, and has to extend it to 2 in the morning, the next day, most of the time.

Critical Skills, Required to Succeed as a Potential Banker

• Financial modeling
• LBO models
• DCF (discounted cash flow) models
• Statement models
• Creating Financial Reports and Pitch Books
• Performing transaction documentation
• Performing business valuation tasks
• Sales and business development capabilities
• Networking & negotiation skills
• Soft skills, to build robust professional relationships

How, an Investment Banking Professional, Spends His Working Day?

However, it depends on, what position you work at, in the hierarchy. The workday, usually starts quite late, as the financial markets in New York don’t open in the early hours of the day. One more reason for investment bankers starting their day late, is that they end their workday at around 2 in the night (or one could say, morning), and hence, simply cannot start their next day at 7 in the morning.

Bankers work much slower during the mornings, as compared to the remaining hours in the day, which is a fact. Analysts and associates in the early hours of the working day, take onto the tasks assigned by the senior team members. 

Important Note: As a junior member in an investment banking team, try answering as much emails and messages during the morning hours, as you can. It would help you throughout the workday, as the professionals working as analysts and associates are not allowed more than 15 minutes to respond to mails from senior management. You can succeed in lessening your workload to a certain extent by taking onto the mails, at the start of the day. 

Lunch is limited to a duration of 45 minutes. Hierarchical structure is quite rigid at an investment bank, and you must not try playing around with the seniors, across divisions, and in your team. 

Blockchain in the trending topic in the industry right now as more organizations is using the technology to improve their business operations and process payments between various clients. Modern organizations are preparing to use blockchain technology amid the global pandemic. Many countries are exploring the option of blockchain in navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the supply chain, food, healthcare, and employment network.

To explore blockchain for business benefits, business decision-makers must get familiar with the basic principles and practices so as to leverage the technology in the enterprise. As the demand for blockchain professionals keeps rising, educational sectors and credentialing organizations are tweaking their syllabus and course materials enabling professionals and young students to get acquainted with the technology.

Many universities, tertiary institutions, and certifying bodies are trying to cater to the sudden need of blockchain professionals. They are introducing certifications and educational courses to introduce students to this technology.

Studies show that 42 percent of top universities introduced blockchain programs at different levels in 2019. British Columbia in Canada has a separate dedicated research unit on the blockchain. Ivy League universities like Cornell, York University School of Continuing Studies have introduced blockchain courses for students. Many more institutions are starting educational courses on blockchain across the globe. Likewise, there are certifying bodies like Blockchain Council, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Central Blockchain Council of America, Simplilearn, Udacity, and many more.

The blockchain certifications provided by these bodies are ideal for C-suite level professionals, decision-makers, young professionals, and students working for industries like finance, law, government, or the law.

Let’s get introduced to the main certifications provided by these certifying bodies.

Central Blockchain Council of America (CBCA) offers the most advanced certification programs. CBCA credentials for blockchain professionals cover all the clusters of blockchain-like blockchain and its functions, i.e., investment advisory, business, and blockchain application development. CBCA offers 3 main blockchain certifications like Business Blockchain Professional (BBP™), Certified Blockchain Engineer (CBE™), and Global Blockchain Leader (GBL^TM) programs.

These programs enable the blockchain professionals get acquainted with the concepts of business blockchain, its impact on the companies, advanced concepts to engineer the technology for business benefits, and address the knowledge and essentials in the blockchain space including strategy, implementation, and governance.

Likewise, MIT Professional Education has introduced blockchain course – Blockchain: Disruptive Technology, for CIOs, CTOs, CEOs, technical professionals, entrepreneurs, and functional managers. The participants can understand the technological and commercial forces that led to the technology emergence; analyze blockchain’s impact across industries; master the fundamentals; learn blockchain Ethereum network, and get familiar with blockchain applications in industries.

Similarly, Blockchain Council offers blockchain certifications that are specific to the industries. The certifications provide in-depth knowledge of blockchain core concepts. The certifications focus on specializations like Smart contracts, Quorum, Hyperledger, Corda, and others. They are specific to industries like supply chain, healthcare, digital marketing, etc.

Most of the certifications are available online facilitating you to work simultaneously. As they are self-paced too, it enables you to work on your free time and get acquainted with the knowledge easily.

To conclude…

These credentials validate your skills and knowledge that are specific to the technology and industries as applicable and improves your candidature for a career at reputed organizations. While all these ways are available, it is left to you to choose the best platforms which give online training that is self-paced, provide experts’ advice, along with globally recognized credentials. This would help you to stand distinct from the competitors and ace the interview successfully.

Learn blockchain, the trending technology today, and the future is promising as more organizations are adopting the technology for business benefits. Get acquainted with blockchain knowledge and build a futuristic career.