Aside from not putting in the study time – recommended at around 300 hours per level – there are surprisingly common mistakes or assumptions people sitting the exam make, which often make the different between a pass and a fail.

1. Assume there are clues in the structure of the multiple choice questions

The ‘item sets’ in CFA level I and II are essentially multiple choice, which means it’s tempting to roll out that classic pub quiz technique – if you don’t know the answer, choose ‘B’. Other popular assumptions include thinking either the shortest or longest sentence is the correct one or answers with the word ‘never’ or ‘always’ are a warning sign. This is bunk – there’s no pattern.

“There is no way to discover a secret formula to answering multiple choice questions,” says Tom Robinson, CFA, managing director of education at CFA Institute.

“The questions written in as open language as possible, and the multiple choice answers can be very similar. So, if it’s a written answer you need to understand the subject thoroughly, or if it’s a calculation they will make two of the three options answers you could have easily landed at if you made simple error,” adds Richard Fernand, global head of CFA training for 7city Learning.

2. Skimp over certain modules (particularly ethics)

It’s tempting to assume that getting more points on more numerical elements of the exam like, say, financial statement analysis, will make up for glaring weaknesses or a lack of preparation in the softer elements such as standards, ethics and regulations. Sadly not.

“Some elements of the course will help with others – financial statement analysis will help you understand equity investments, for instance, or quantitative methods will increase your understanding of fixed income,” says Fernand. “But all syllabus points could be tested, so paying less attention to some could be the difference between a pass and a fail.”

“For candidates at the margin of the minimum passing score, performance on the ethics portion of the exam is important,” says Robinson.

3. Be overly reliant on study guides

It wasn’t so long ago that the recommended number of study hours per CFA level exam was 250 – it’s now been upped to 300. Suffice to say, cutting corners isn’t wise and, as helpful as they are, relying more or less solely a study guide is just that.

“Historically, people simply used materials by companies like Schweser and Stalla to guide them through the exams,” says Fernand. “I wouldn’t recommend using them exclusively – you need to also closely study the syllabus.”

“CFA Institute does not consult with or provide planned exam content information to prep course providers at any point during the exam development process,” warns Robinson.

4. Assume the written parts of level three mean composing a novel

For most of us, writing vast pontificating essays is something last done at university when it was perfectly acceptable to get your point across in 2,000 words. The level III exam is indeed the only one with a written element, but you’re not Charles Dickens.

“It’s not an essay, and don’t assume that flowery language will score you extra points,” says Fernand. “Think of it as writing a memo to your boss – they want to see the facts and their implications in clear, concise language.”

5. Apply the same study techniques to each exam level

“Surprisingly, some people – particularly those with a finance-based degree – breeze through level I, because many of the concepts are familiar to them,” says Fernand. “They apply the same (often less rigorous) study techniques to level II – possibly because they’re more senior and have less time – and then they come a cropper.”

This is clearly reflected in the CFA’s stats – 22% of level I, 58% of level II and 49% of level III candidates found the questions to be more difficult than expected, Robinson tells us.

Not too long ago, with a Top 5-10 MBA in tow, you could write your own ticket. Guys and gals going through the MBA pipeline in the late 90’s/early 00’s had six-figure offers in the multiples by the end of their first-year summer.

But now, according to Business Week , 16.5% of Top 30 MBA program grads in 2009 did not get a single offer by the time their schools published placement statistics 3 months post-graduation. More and more schools are listing “N/A” in the “% hired” column of their program catalogs. Many recent grads are joining support groups . Heads up to all you GMAT 99-percenters.

In Harvard, 11% moved to private equity (compared to 18% in 2008) and a measly 6% looked towards investment banking as a career path. At Insead, just 2.3% entered private equity, while 36% of LBS’s MBA grads entered finance this year – the lowest level since 2003.

As applications decrease across the board, Executive MBA programs are thriving, recording a 59% increase in apps. This may be a telling tale of the future value (at least in the near term) of the MBA diploma.

As to what the future holds for this often debated degree, it is likely to be strongly correlated with the overall economy. Meanwhile, with job scarcity and higher demand for specific areas of expertise, bespoke suits such as Masters of Finance and Masters of Management programs (up 24% and 20% in recent applications, respectively) are worn far more than ever before. We may even see a return to the double-breasted suit and belt buckle loafer.

Recruitment spree for investment professionals range from the small – Lothian Pension Fund is looking for two investment professionals – to the large (Universities Superannuation Scheme, which says it intends to add nearly 50 investment professionals over the next three years).

The benefits to the pension scheme are obvious – they can create more tailored investment strategies and it’s a cheaper option than using a third-party. But how can they convince investment professionals to switch from mainstream asset managers?

USS’s trio of hires earlier in the year suggest this is where they will look for new recruits.

“Historically, pension funds simply haven’t paid enough to attract top professionals, and any that do move go for reasons other than money,” says Richard Parkhouse, chief executive of asset management remuneration specialist PRPi Consulting. “On the other hand, compensation within asset management houses has been going down, and continues to do so, so this may present an opportunity to the pension funds.”

Salaries can be fairly miserly – Lothian was offering £45-52k for its investment roles, for instance – but the highest paid position at USS was paid £480k last year, according to the scheme’s accounts, which compares relatively favourably with asset managers.

David Crum, who previously worked for Lothian Pension Fund and Strathclyde Pension Fund before moving to investment consulting, believes the range of opportunities and work-life balance are big selling points.

“Compared to a larger asset manager, there’s a lot more freedom in the role and you tend not to get pigeon-holed in the same way,” he says. “In my role, for instance, I started in UK equity passive management, but was able to do some UK active equity management as well as performance measurement, corporate governance, reporting and analysis and other areas. It’s a very stimulating role.”

One asset management headhunter adds that as most larger firms are not indulging in a great deal of recruitment currently, any investment roles within pension funds are likely to attract higher calibre candidates than would have been the case in a more buoyant market.

1) Have impeccable academics- Top grades from a top school are a totally necessary but absolutely non-sufficient condition for front office occupations. “Good academics are taken for granted,” reflects Andrew Pullman, former head of HR at Dresdner, turned managing consultant at People Risk Solutions.

2) Make a big deal out of the impeccable academics- “Most other candidates will have a similar level of academic achievement,” muses Peter Harrison of investment banking careers specialist Harrison Careers. Therefore, he suggests that you: “Include any prizes you won, anything special at university, or even when you came second in a class exam at university. If you dress it up and make it sound like something you are really proud of, and you include three or four of these little examples, then a pattern of higher academic achievement will come across.” This will only be necessary if you’ve graduated within the past 3 years.

3) Make use of bullet points – Recruiters scan hundreds of CVs every day. They want to read something succinct and to the point. Bullet points will suggest that your CV is both, says Pullman. 

4) Provide detail where appropriate – It’s no good having a long list of bullet points with job titles, but absolutely no elaboration on what you did. “You need to give detail on what you have done, making it all sound much more impressive than it really was,” advises Harrison. 

5) Speak in terms of achievements – When you are providing detail (previous point), make sure you speak in terms of personal achievements rather than generalities. Eg. “I was the top ranked salesperson three quarters running and increased the value of key client accounts by 75% during that period.” 

6) Show consistency – The best CVs show consistent ambition and a career path which progresses harmoniously with that ambition. You will, for example, be viewed with deep suspicion if you have a history of working in corporate finance and suddenly express an urge to switch to algorithmic trading. 

7) Show commitment: – “Potential employers like to see commitment to a particular organisation when they are recruiting for permanent staff,” says Hakan Enver, a consultant at Morgan McKinley. He adds that: “You need to be clear about your motivation for leaving – you can’t say you outgrew a role after only six months.” 

Suggest that you have a personality – “A lot of CVs for investment banking jobs are exactly the same,” says Pullman. “You need something that differentiates your CV, that whets people’s appetite, and that will give you something to talk about in interview.” That thing may include sailing across Lake Garda in a bouncy castle, or skateboarding across America for charity. It probably doesn’t include anything as mundane as a triathlon, which everyone’s doing nowadays.

9) Be free of spelling mistakes and grammatically correct - As some of the comments on this website testify, not everyone can spell. 

10) Be laden with words that will ensure it’s pulled up on a database – Your CV will probably end up on a database somewhere. If you’re a top ranked oil and gas researcher with a CFA, make sure you mention this several times for maximum search-friendliness.

And the absolutely perfect investment banking CV WONT…

1) Be more than two pages long - You are not trying to bore people. “When you get a CV which is 10-12 pages long, which I have come across in the past, you start to feel you are wasting your life,” contemplates Pullman. 

2) Be printed on pink/purple/baby blue paper – White is acceptable, all else is simply odd. 

3) Include a large photograph of the applicant, surfing – Photos are not mandatory in the UK. If you must include one, ensure you look normal and are in business attire. 

4) Have boxes around key sections – Recruiters are not receptive to fancy graphics. “I hate all that stuff,” says one. 

5) Speak in clichés – “Corporate-speak destroys value on a resumé,” says Harrison. “Analytical thinker, demonstrated leadership ability, team-playing skills, an ability to learn fast on the job.” This is totally meaningless and counts for nothing. Get rid of any stuff like this,” he commands, forcibly. 

6) List previous jobs and responsibilities without saying what your individual contribution was – No one wants to know that the business you worked in performed exceptionally between 2006 and 2007; they want to know whether you had anything to do with it. 

7) Be printed in a strange font – You are not living in medieval times and neither are you part of an artistic printers’ collective. Recruiters are simple beasts, so keep it plain (see 4).

List Word and Excel as skills and reading and shopping as hobbies – Word and Excel are not skills. Shopping and reading are not hobbies. Sorry. 

9) Tell lies - You WILL get found out. 

10) Include every single educational attainment in your life, despite the fact that you graduated more than 10 years ago – You only need to add A level results if you graduated in the last five years. Equally, if you’ve been working for more than 10 years, a quick summary of the most temporally distant roles is perfectly acceptable.

In July last year David Cameron promised to abolish the main City regulator, the FSA, and today his chancellor did just that.

George Osborne said the FSA will lose its name and powers, which will be split among several new regulators, chiefly the Bank of England.

The FSA will continue until 2012, by which time many of its staff will have transferred to one of two new Bank of England supervision units, with the remainder decamping to a consumer protection and markets agency and a financial education body.

Supervision will be split between the Bank of England and the consumer protection agency.

Within the Bank, Britain’s banks, building societies, insurers and other financial companies will be regulated, with a second body given overall charge of watching for trends in the industry that could trigger another financial crisis.

Hector Sants, the current boss of the FSA, will take on the role of chief executive of the first overseeing agency, which will be called the Prudential Regulatory Authority. It be separately constituted as a subsidiary of the Bank of England.

The second, more overarching, body, the Financial Policy Committee, will be firmly within Threadneedle Street. Sants will be a key figure on the body along with his new deputy, Andrew Bailey, the Bank’s chief cashier.

However, the governor of the Bank, Mervyn King, will chair both the committee and the prudential authority, and is expected to exercise ultimate control over all areas of supervision.

In effect, the FSA will be subsumed within the Bank of England and its senior staff will report to committees under the ultimate control of the governor.

Even the FSA’s offices in Canary Wharf are under threat. The Bank has about 500 staff working behind its austere high walls, sandwiched between the Royal Exchange and the old NatWest headquarters on Lothbury. It is understood that King is uncomfortable that the majority of his new staff will be several miles away on the Isle of Dogs and will be seeking ways to bring them into the City, if not to Threadneedle Street.

King said he was delighted Sants had agreed to tear up his resignation notice, which he offered earlier this year, and agreed to join him at the Bank. “In the new regime, regulation will reflect two different, though complementary, perspectives,” he said.

“The first, as now, is a bottom-up perspective, focused on setting institution-specific capital requirements. Those would be fixed requirements that banks could not breach.

“The second is an overall perspective, with a set of system-wide capital requirements that vary over the economic cycle. Judgments on the level of these capital buffers will be part of the remit of the new Financial Policy Committee.

“The prudential regulator, with its micro-prudential responsibilities, and the Financial Policy Committee, with its macro-prudential responsibilities, will need to work closely together, and that is one reason why it is sensible that they are both in the central bank,” King said.

Only weeks before the election, the City minister, Mark Hoban, was telling bankers that a new Conservative government would spend at least six months listening to their views before making a decision on whether to scrap the FSA.

But the chancellor, George Osborne, said further debate on the overall structure was unnecessary and he was ready to push ahead with radical reform.

Behind the revamp are several key figures, including Sir James Sassoon, the Eton and Oxford-educated former SG Warburg banker, who was an adviser to Labour until 2008 when he quit to join the Tories. He wrote a document last year calling for the FSA to be abolished. Sassoon, who became a Treasury minister in the new government, is expected to play a key role in pushing through the reforms.

Cameron said last year that the decisions that led to the financial crisis represent “a policy crisis of historic proportions” and “in the United States, they have called on the Federal Reserve, and it is time to call on the Bank of England”.