A career in banking

Graduate Profile

A career in banking can place you in a highly dynamic growing industry. However, don’t take our world for it. X-Cel talks to Sarah Green a 22 year old graduate from Nottingham who has recently graduated from studying a BSc inBbusiness, Economics and Finance. Sarah is now working in banking for Lloyds TSB as a Finance Management Trainee and is currently in the IT & Operations Finance sector.

So, why choose a career in banking?
I’ve always had a head for numbers and enjoy applying this practically so banking was an obvious choice for me, supported by my degree choice.  Plus I did not want to pigeon-hole myself too early on - in banking there are so many different roles and so much scope to move around that I felt I would have a lot of options open to me. 

What was it about Lloyds- TSB that interested you?
Having looked at a lot of employers I felt the scheme offered by Lloyds TSB would offer me the most support in my early career, and the structure meant that I would be able to gain a lot of diverse experiences over my 3 years.  The offer to sponsor my CIMA qualification was also a big attraction for me.

Talk me through your average day.
In my current role no day seems to be average!  Typically I get in at around 8am and the first port of call is to check my emails for any urgent queries or anything that I can deal with quickly.  We are currently in the middle of month end reporting so I am having to pull together figures from all over the business and analyse them so that we can report up to the directors on the Group’s performance and monitor whether everything is going to plan or not.  The rest of my time is filled with ad hoc requests and queries which may include anything from looking at how to improve processes we use or analysing the impact of a change on the business to helping plan our next finance conference.  I get to use a lot of skills through the day from accountancy and reporting to people skills and elements of project management.

What is it you like about your job?
What I like about my current role in Lloyds is that there is a lot of variety. I am getting quite a broad overview of a large area of the bank which forms an essential support function, I am also gaining a lot of the basic skills I will need as I move forwards and working with people in senior roles – even doing work that will be directly seen by directors.  On a more general note, the graduate scheme itself is allowing me to move around the bank and gain a lot of diverse experience.  Lloyds TSB also invest a lot of time in their graduates and give them lots of extra opportunities, for example, in the past year I have attended numerous training courses, had a breakfast meeting with our Finance director, helped out at selection centres and been on events with other Lloyds TSB graduates to help build up the network between us all. 

Are their any down sides?
The hardest part of being A Management Trainee is that people have high expectations of us and in each new role you really do have to hit the ground running. In each of the 3 years there is always going to be a period where you have to go through a steep learning curve, learning a new job and new skills whilst also working towards CIMA exams.  It can be tough at times and you have to get the balance right between your job and your studies at certain times of the year but it really does show you what you are made of and pushes you to achieve, which can be really satisfying.  

What are your long – term career goals?
Long term I definitely think I will stay in finance and I would love to be in a role managing my own team in the not too distant future.  However, I am still keeping a very open mind of where I want to be ultimately, though it would be great if I could combine finance with my love of fashion and maybe be finance director of a company in that industry. 

Would you recommend Lloyds- TSB as an employer?
Yes – they have really helped me boost my career and I get the experience and support I need to hopefully go far in the future.

What advice would you give to any graduates out there considering a career in banking?
I would recommend really doing your research before making your decision and make sure it is something you will genuinely be interested in.  Don’t just be attracted by the financial rewards of going into banking as you will be expected to put the hard work in!  I would also recommend finding out whether you have any preference in the sort of work you want to do or if there is a particular professional qualification you want so you know exactly what you are after as there are a lot of different employers and graduate schemes out there so this will help you to narrow them down.

For more information on a career in banking contact the:
Chartered Institute of Bankers 
www.ciobs.org.uk

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