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Trying to “cram” commercial awareness right before an interview isn’t an ideal approach, as you’ll likely only pick up a shallow understanding of the commercial topics that you read about. If your understanding is shallow, you’ll also likely have little interest in what you’re reading about and discussing, which won’t come across well during an interview. 

Think about the first few pages of a dense novel. It’s harder to maintain your interest at the start, as you don’t yet understand the context or the history of the characters. It’s the history and the development that draw you in, meaning stories tend to become far more gripping once you start to understand how the sections you are reading fit into the broader context of the book. 

It’s the same with commercial awareness. News stories and commercial concepts are not generally interesting in isolation, but once you start to understand how it all fits together - and the impact this can have on firms, clients and industries - you’ll likely find it all a lot more interesting and become more confident talking about it in interviews.

It’s better to get into the habit of building your commercial awareness on a regular basis, and even 5 minutes per day can make all the difference. You’ll be surprised at how much more interested you become in business news and commercial concepts more generally once you have started to understand the bigger picture. To that end, I’m now going to cover a collection of recommended resources that you can use to help build your commercial awareness.

Business news

You should get into the habit of reading the news daily, if only for a few minutes. You will soon build a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of what is going on in the business areas relevant to the organisations to which you are applying. 

There are many sources you can use to build your awareness, knowledge and understanding of current affairs. BBC Business News (online) is probably my favourite source for readings about the news, as the articles are short, concise and (generally) jargon-free. 

Helpfully, these articles also tend to include a series of “related” links at the bottom, which can help you to trace back the history of a particular event or trend, and access supplementary information (such as the spectrum of opinions around a particular story). Reading these related articles can help you to build a more comprehensive understanding of different topics. 

I used to copy and paste major headlines from news websites into a Word document, the add to the document as related stories and developments emerged. This helped to boost my general knowledge and understanding of what was going on in the world, whilst also providing a consolidated document that I could quickly and conveniently refer back to before interviews to remind myself of the news stories that I have followed.

You might also want to place an additional focus on two to three topical issues that really engage and interest you. Research them in greater depth and consider not only the debate and critical analysis surrounding the issues, but also the ways in which the issues could affect City firms and their clients. I created mini reports, which really helped me to prepare for in-depth discussions about the stories during interviews.

Commercial digests

Signing up to news digests can help to get you in the habit of digesting the news in bite-sized chunks. The Financial Times and the Economist provide solid insights into some of the most relevant topical issues affecting the business, finance and political worlds. I strongly recommend subscribing to The Economist’s free weekly digest email, as this succinctly summarises 8 – 12 of the key news stories from around the world. 

If you’re interested in tech and the investment landscape, I would also strongly recommend the free weekly digests available from CB Insights and AngelList and I’m sure there are also countless other digests covering the full spectrum of business-related news.

Each of these digest takes only a few minutes to read, but over time they can help you to build a comprehensive picture of what’s going on in the world without feeling like you’re committing hours and hours to developing your commercial awareness. 

Business books

You should aim to develop your business, finance and (where relevant) legal knowledge so that you can demonstrate and apply strong commercial logic during case studies and commercial awareness interviews. Do not just regurgitate definitions. Demonstrate an ability to flexibly apply the concepts to the facts of the case study provided and assess in context which concepts are likely to be the most relevant and effective.

There are so many books available to help you build your knowledge of commercial, financial and legal concepts. As mentioned, this course aims to provide you with a solid grounding in the technical concepts that you may be required to understand and apply when tackling commercial awareness interviews and case studies. City Career Series has also published focused guides designed to cover the key technical concepts that tend to come up in investment banking and consulting commercial awareness interviews.

I personally used Christopher Stoakes’ book “All You Need To Know About The City” when preparing for my interviews, and I can’t recommend it enough. One of my favourite ways of learning about how businesses operate is by reading books about the history of well-known businesses and founder biographies. I particularly enjoyed “The Upstarts” by Brad Stone, which charts the entrepreneurial journeys of Uber and Air BnB, from the early days of knocking on doors and absorbing rejection after rejection, right through to them joining the realm of tech superstars. I would also recommend Brad Stone’s “The Everything Store” (which covers the founding and growth of Amazon) and “Shoe Dog” by the founder of Nike, among others.

If there is anything in these books that you don’t understand, the Investopedia online dictionary provides really great explanations of thousands of key business terms, commercial concepts and City jargon.

Firm news

Even if you are not currently applying to a particular firm, researching the firm in advance and keeping up to date with its deals and announcements could hold you in good stead if you are later required to discuss your motivation for wanting to work at the firm in depth. 

Read the firm’s annual review, news stories on its website, “client alerts” (which tend to summarise relevant political, legal and regulatory developments) and general news articles that mention the firm (Google can be a good place to start). Also consider subscribing to firm newsletters, some of which might give you access to free email digests that can help to keep you abreast of insightful firm, industry and global news. You might also want to follow prospective employers’ social media channels, as employers have been known to check to see if you have followed or liked them!

Other sources

If a particular issue has attracted widespread debate (for instance, whether the UK should leave the EU), look for supplementary articles or journals that explore the wider issues surrounding the story. Interviewers may want to see whether you can provide a balanced, critical opinion on the topic (including acknowledgement of the pros and cons where relevant), and these sources can really help.

You can also follow well-known commentators and publications on Twitter, subscribe to business podcasts, join interest groups on platforms such as LinkedIn, delve into blogs focusing on financial services, and watch YouTube videos that focus on topical issues. The list is (almost literally) endless.

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