Morning Coffee: 96%+ of the people applying for any finance job are no good. Goldman Sachs as an elite CV signifier

If you're applying for a finance job and you're 'good' (as in, you have excellent academics, a genuine interest in the industry, an awareness of what you want to do and - if you're experienced, a certifiable track record of excellence), then you're in luck: the very vast majority of people applying for finance jobs are not good and are therefore rejected. This applies across the board: whichever area of finance you look at, 96%+ of applicants are turned away.

Take Goldman Sachs, which only accepted 3% of applicants last year.  Take Deloitte, which only accepts 4%. Take EY, which only accepts 2%. Or take Steve Cohen's Point 72 Asset management, which accepts anything from 2% to 4%. 

Now, you might think the low acceptance rate is because finance jobs are popular and finance firms simply can't take on all the exceptionally talented people who want to work for them. You would be wrong. - Steve Cohen said yesterday that the reason he doesn't hire anyone is that "talent is very thin." Cohen added that he's, "frankly...blown away by the lack of talent." If you are talented, this should come as very good news.

Separately, why do an MBA when you can simply complete a bachelors degree and burnish your credentials with a few years at Goldman Sachs? The Wall Street Journal reports that this has become a popular method of conducting oneself in China, where senior staff at most of the country's technology firms appear to be Goldman alumni.

Meanwhile:

Working for Bridgewater is like being a navy Seal, says Ray Dalio. (Asset International) 

Traders are beating banks in court cases for wrongful dismissal, but theirs are Pyrrhic victories as no one will employ them afterwards. (Euromoney)  

David Harding of hedge fund Winton Capital Management says machines will take fewer finance jobs than you think: “It won’t completely change the whole field. It won’t replace distressed-credit arbitrage or something like that.” (Bloomberg)

“There are certain banks, which over the years have recruited a lot of people [into compliance] on a contract basis, and I think a lot of them are probably being let go.” (Financial News)

RBS bankers were exceptionally unimpressed with last year's bonuses. (The Tally)

Why bank shares are falling: “In the world of low interest rates, then you have to look at banks as a yield play, similar to a utility.” (Financial Times)

If you put “incoming analyst” on your CV, you will be ridiculed. (WSO) 

Mizuho’s got some new heads of its fixed income and ECM businesses in ex-Japan Asia. (Global Capital) 

Jacques Brand, Deutsche's head of North America is off to boutique investment bank PJT Partners. (WSJ) 

44 year-old Frenchman sues employer for "descent into hell" due to boring job. (Guardian)

Long distance flying will mess with your mind. (Vox) 

Photo credit: Lemmings by Pierre-Alain Dorange is licensed under CC BY 2.0.