Buying and selling financial products for clients, pricing risk in real time.
What the job is
Sales and trading teams buy and sell shares, bonds, currencies and other products for big clients - pension funds, governments and companies - and trade the bank's own money. It is fast, client-facing and reactive: prices move every second and the desk has to keep up.
A day in the role
Follow overnight market moves and build a view before the open
Take client orders and price the risk behind them
Talk to clients all day - what moved, why it matters, what is next
Track your trades and your record against the market
Skills that matter
Commercial awareness: what moved the market this week and why
Quick mental maths under pressure
Clear, confident communication
Decisions with incomplete information
Typical routes in
Spring week - the clearest early route onto a markets desk
Summer internship in your penultimate year
Degree apprenticeship
Graduate role after university
Live sales and trading roles on onTime
The most recent live roles from the onTime tracker. See every role
What does a sales and trading graduate earn in the UK?
Starting pay varies by firm, role and location. onDesk does not guarantee any job or salary.
Do you need to be a maths genius for trading?
No. Desks want commercial awareness, quick mental maths and clear communication. Strong maths helps, but the traders who last are the ones who understand clients and markets.
What is the difference between sales and trading?
Sales builds and keeps client relationships and passes orders and views to the desk. Trading prices and executes those orders and manages the risk. They sit side by side and work as one team.
How do you get a spring week on a markets desk?
Apply as early as the window opens - many open in the summer before your second year and fill on a rolling basis. A written application, online tests and interviews all test commercial awareness first.
Other areas we coach
Investment banking
Advising companies on deals: buying businesses, raising money and listing on the stock market.
Suited to students who are organised, resilient and happy to be pushed hard on detail.
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