If you are looking to kick start a career in Finance (Investment Banking, Private Equity, Venture Capital):

You need to build BOTH your numbers and people skills.

Most of these firms tend to check for 2 questions:

(1) Can we present this person in front of clients?

- So you need to be a people's person, communicate effectively and hold conversations.

- This skill sounds rudimentary, but takes years to build.

(2) Can this person get the job done? (i.e core skills)

- This can be communicated via your ability with numbers AND

- Displaying that you have the requisite core skills for the job: number crunching, market research and other aspects outlined on the job description.

****

While folks focus a lot on #2, most miss out on #1.

In fact, even BEFORE you get an official interview invite, you would need to network with your target firms.

During these chats, you have to tell your personal and professional stories (in a memorable manner).

If you don't do that, you are unlikely to get an interview invite. So don't discount the value of developing people skills.