A-Z Of Employers: Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers is one of the world's leading investment banks, founded in the United States, but with a worldwide reach and with London as its European HQ. The seed from which this global institution grew was planted when three brothers, Henry, Emanuel and Mayer Lehman, immigrants from Germany, opened a general store in Alabama in 1850.

The business now does a little more than supply groceries and garden tools. In a recent deal, the bank acted as sole financial adviser in a €2.1bn (£1.4bn) sale of the giant Scandinavian broadcasting conglomerate SBS to a private company: the largest ever public to private sale in the European Broadcasting sector. Lehman's clients include corporations, governments, big institutions and very rich individuals. This year it's already been voted Best Investment Bank by Euromoney magazine.

Vital statistics:

Big numbers abound. Globally, 20,000 employees, of whom 4,000 work in London. Handles around £100bn of assets under management.

The office:

Head office is in New York, with regional HQs in London and Tokyo, and smaller offices in many more European and Asian financial hubs.

Is this you?

Every year about 180 graduates start work in the London office. Most will take up analyst roles, with some earmarked to work in IT, finance or operations. You'll need to have a strong academic record good graduation prospects, and be able to demonstrate less tangible qualities such as problem solving, professional presence and leadership.

The recruitment process:

Campus events start the recruitment sweep, and your application needs to be in by the autumn the year before your finals. If you get an interview, you'll have to convince your inquisitors that you fit the "ideal candidate" template outlined in the careers section of the website (www.lehman.com). It might also help to practise your posture as you sit on a leather sofa reading the FT before you're called in!

The Lehman Brothers graduate programme for analysts lasts two to three years and begins with a few weeks' intensive training, giving you general experience across all business areas of the firm. Later on, you'll learn all technical and product-specific elements of your individual area, as well as related regulations laid down by the Financial Services Authority.

Top dollar?

This is one financial fact kept out of the public domain, the firm preferring to give a vague assurance that it is "competitive on compensation".

Beam me up, Scotty?

Assuming training goes well, analysts move up to associate level within three years, and then up to director level some three years after that.

Who's the boss?

Jeremy Isaacs, who's 41, is CEO for Europe and Asia. He joined the firm from Goldman Sachs in 1996, having started as an options trader in the City in the 1980s.

Little known fact:

Among the select group of fresh-faced graduates joining the analysts' global training programme last year were a Slovenian national Alpine skier, a South African national water polo player and a percussionist from New York's Carnegie Hall.