Day In The Life: Joanna Alves, fixed income sales graduate trainee

0600 My day begins at 6am in Clapham. I share a flat with a friend who works in investment banking. She isn't usually awake at that time.

I don't think I'll ever be completely used to getting up so early, but I'm getting better at it as time goes on.

I aim to be at work by 7am, which means getting on the tube at 6.30. One advantage of an early start is that it's quick and easy to travel at that time in the morning.

0700 I arrive at my desk, in time for the morning meeting at 7.20. As a salesperson, I sit on the trading floor with the other salespeople and the traders, around 300 people in total.

The morning meeting is more of a presentation. Everyone on the trading floor sits at their desk and listens to some of the traders talking over a loudspeaker system. They discuss the market: what happened yesterday and what they think will happen today.

0745 I start calling clients. I work in a team of four fixed income sales people covering the Iberian market. I'm focused on Portugal. My clients are fund managers, banks and insurance companies. 90% of my job can be done from London, but every other month I go to Portugal to meet clients and maintain the relationship.

Technically, I'm still a trainee. Classroom-based graduate training at UBS Warburg lasts five weeks, after which you start working on a desk and learn on the job. But you're considered a graduate trainee for around two years; I've got one year to go.

I sell corporate bonds instead of other fixed income products, like government bonds for example. This is a good time to work in the fixed income division; equity markets are not doing well and clients have been keen to move into fixed income products instead.

The corporate bond market is not completely unaffected by the equity market, however. Bond prices are more volatile than usual, making my job more exciting. In times like this, we nearly always outperform equities; fixed income has more to give in a bad market.

1100 I call one of my clients to discuss the market opening. The number of people I contact varies considerably from day to day. If something new has happened, I call twenty to thirty clients at the most. My client base isn't huge, so it isn't possible to call hundreds of people.

I also take time out to keep up to date with current events. Corporate bonds are affected by changes in credits ratings and the ability of companies to repay their debt, so I need to take note of company announcements. Research analysts usually let me know when results came out and provide me with a briefing, as do traders with a sector specialism. If there are any major events, I call clients and let them know.

1230 I take some time out for lunch. There's a deli nearby that serves salad sandwiches and I normally buy one of those to eat on the desk. If a client calls, lunch is postponed.

1400 The afternoon is much the same at the morning. My job is very market driven: if the market changes dramatically, all hell will break loose and I have to call lots of clients immediately.

On a quieter day, there's a chance to call clients for a chat about what they're doing and their plans for the future.

1800 I close down my system and leave the desk. This is quite early. On busy days, I stay later in order to catch up with things like settlements and research comments. I rarely leave later than 7.30pm though.

I usually go out after work. I like to think my life isn't just going to work and going straight home. I go out for a drink with friends from UBS, or from other banks. We generally stick to the City, but when the days are longer in the summer, we head to the park.

2200 I aim to be home so that I can get into bed no later than 10.30pm. Sometimes I make it, sometimes I don't.