Financial services applications FAQs
Find out all you could ever want to know about applying for a job in the financial services sector with these handy FAQs covering how to write the perfect application, interview techniques and what a typical assessment centre will involve.
Where do I find financial services graduate jobs?
The financial services industry encompasses a huge range of finance-related jobs for graduates and many different types of employers, including high street banks, consultancies, specialist finance firms and businesses that built their reputation in a different sector before diversifying into offering financial services products (for example, supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco). You can compare employer profiles on this website or by picking up a copy of TARGETjobs City & Finance free from your careers service.
How do I apply to financial sevices employers?
The variety of financial services employers means that recruitment processes will differ depending on the employer and the particular graduate role on offer. However, for the larger organisations, completion of an online application form is the norm, followed by attendance at an assessment centre. For smaller firms, candidates may be asked to submit a CV and covering letter.
What selection methods do finance recruiters use?
It’s a good idea to check the company’s website beforehand to find out what the recruitment process will involve and how long it will take to complete. Large financial services employers will usually ask a candidate to fill in an online application form. The next stage may then involve the completion of online personality, aptitude or numerical tests, depending on the job role a candidate is applying for. Be aware when completing online tests that cheating won’t pay. Organisations often retest candidates at an interview or assessment centre, so if you aren’t confident practise them online and ask your careers service for help.
Those who are successful in the first stages will often then be invited to attend an assessment centre or face-to-face interview. Assessment centres for financial services employers are made up of set activities and you may be asked to take part in group exercises and case studies, complete a work-related task and give a presentation. Candidates may also be asked to do a telephone interview or second-round interview after attending an assessment centre.
How do financial services recruiters assess my application?
Financial services recruiters and managers will have a list of skills and abilities that describe the perfect candidate in order to make sure that they recruit the right person for the finance job. These skills and abilities will be listed in the job description and could include communication, interpersonal and teamwork skills, as well as abilities such as commercial awareness and leadership potential. It is up to you to demonstrate that you have these skills and abilities throughout the recruitment process – on your application form, in interviews and at assessment centres.
Remember that every employer will have their own set of competences so you will need to do some research before you make your application to find out where they place their emphasis: their employer profile on targetjobs.co.uk and graduate recruitment website are good places to start. However, the following skills have been highlighted by financial services recruiters as being particularly important.
Teamwork
In many areas of the financial services world you’ll be working with teams of people on projects for a range of different clients so it’s essential that you are able to work well with others. Demonstrate this skill to recruiters on your application form by mentioning extra-curricular interests, such as being part of the football team at university. It’s also really important to make a good impression when taking part in group exercises at assessment centres. These exercises provide you with a great opportunity to show recruiters how you build relationships with your colleagues – make sure you respect other’s opinions, contribute ideas to the discussion when appropriate, encourage all members of the group to get involved and, above all, be yourself.
Interpersonal and communication skills
How you interact and communicate with people within the business, as well as with external clients and customers, is really important for a career in financial services. You will need to be able to communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds – for example, explaining technical detail in simple terms, for a client or communicating changes in processes or products to customers.
Creativity and problem-solving skills
The financial markets are highly changeable. Graduates will not only need to be able to cope with this but should also thrive on the challenges entailed in working in this kind of environment. In some roles, graduates will be required to deal with complex financial information and must be able to make accurate assumptions about that information, before offering a solution to the client. For roles like these, it’s essential that graduates can look at a problem from different angles and come up with creative solutions.
However, even if you work in other areas of the business where these skills are not essential to your day-to-day job, creative suggestions and new ideas will still be highly sought after. This is because they are widely recognised as being the key differentiator between one company and its competitors. Use examples of times when you have tried to improve processes or come up with an unusual approach to a task to demonstrate this skill to recruiters.
Commercial awareness
Candidates should aim to develop three levels of awareness: awareness of the sector as a whole, awareness of the specific company and awareness of the particular role on offer. You don’t need to be an expert in the field but you should have some knowledge of the current issues happening in the sector, as well as an understanding of why you want to work in financial services – and why for that company in particular. The best way to brush up on your commercial awareness is to read the Financial Times and to examine the organisation’s website carefully. Find out what the key issues are that affect the organisation’s business and be prepared to discuss these at interview – broad examples to look into could be terrorism and the economy.
How can I impress with my application form for a financial services vacancy?
- Tailor your application to the specific company and role – a one-size-fits-all application will not do you any favours.
- Check, check and recheck your application form for spelling and grammatical errors – a form riddled with mistakes is begging to be chucked in the bin.
- Fit your answers to the space provided – most online application forms now have character counts to help you judge this.
- Cut out waffle and unnecessary words – the more space you have to sell yourself and your skills the better. Use the STAR technique to structure your answers to competence-based questions, as it'll help you keep to the point: describe the Situation, outline the Tasks you had to complete, detail the Actions you took and say what the Results of those actions were.
- Answer the question you have been asked not the question you have prepared an answer for.
- Be very careful when cutting and pasting responses – saying you have always wanted to work for a company’s rivals by mistake will not have them beating a path to your door.
- Don’t undersell yourself or your abilities – nobody likes a show-off but if you don’t tell a recruiter how great you are they’ll never know.
How do I impress with my covering letter and CV for a finance graduate job?
- Always include a covering letter with your CV that expands on your skills, work experience and reasons for applying to the company but doesn’t just repeat the content of your CV.
- Find out the name of the contact you should be applying to and address your e-mail or covering letter to them in person.
- Ensure that the layout of your CV is clear and easy to read. While you should use of bold and/or bullet points to emphasise your strengths, too much formatting is distracting.
- Put the most relevant information at the top of the first page.
- Don’t leave gaps on your CV – recruiters are skilled at spotting discrepancies.
- Don’t assume recruiters will be too busy to check information – a new graduate represents a big investment for a company so a recruiter will need to be sure they get the right person.
- If you apply by e-mail, don’t just state that your CV is attached – either use the e-mail as your covering letter or attach a covering letter along with your CV and say something like: ‘Dear Mr James, Please find attached my CV and covering letter in application for a position on your actuarial graduate training programme.’
- Be professional in your correspondence – make sure your e-mail address is appropriate and write in full sentences.
How do I impress in interview and assessment centres?
Assessment centres are increasingly popular recruitment methods for financial services recruiters. A typical day will usually include a range of exercises, interviews and tests that are designed to allow recruiters to assess candidates’ skills in a variety of areas. Often candidates will complete the kind of tasks they would be asked to do on an everyday basis if they succeed with their application – so depending on the area you want to join you could be tested on your numerical skills, your ability to communicate your views to a wider audience, how you work in a team or how you handle working under pressure.
Interviews may be conducted as part of an assessment centre or at a different stage in the recruitment process. Remember that an interview is a two-way process that can help you to decide if you want to work the company, as well as help a recruiter decide if they want to employ you. Recruiters are not necessarily looking for candidates with in-depth financial knowledge – although this will depend on the area you are applying for and your degree background. Usually your commercial awareness and knowledge of what the job will involve are much more important. Use any work experience you have completed to sell yourself and your interest in the sector, read the organisation’s website and keep up to date with what’s happening in the markets. Be prepared to explain why you want to work for the organisation, why you’re interested in the particular role you are applying for and, most importantly, why they should hire you.
How do I sell my financial services application if I don't have a numerical degree?
Don’t panic. Some areas of the financial services world, such as actuarial positions that require in-depth financial knowledge, will be out of bounds to you without further study. However, most areas look for candidates who have a range of skills, good commercial awareness and an interest in the sector and the work a particular organisation does.
Your greatest challenge during the recruitment process will be to answer the question, ‘Why do you want to work in this area?’ Make sure you have a credible answer backed up by work experience if possible. Graduates from non-financial degree backgrounds are often able to demonstrate different skills and abilities from their financial counterparts, such as interpersonal or communications skills. These skills can actually make you more attractive to recruiters so use your degree as a selling point, not a hurdle to jump over.
What happens after the interview and/or assessment centre for a finance graduate job?
Larger organisations may take some time to get back to you after an assessment centre or interview if they have a large numbers of candidates to assess. Ask at the interview what the next steps in the recruitment process are and when you should expect to hear from them. Don’t be afraid to get in touch with the organisation’s HR department if you haven’t heard by the appointed time. Not only will you demonstrate your enthusiasm and interest in the role, you’ll also be in a better position to handle multiple job offers if you’re lucky enough to receive them – and it does happen!
If you do receive multiple job offers, the best policy is usually to be honest with recruiters. Some organisations actually offer a month’s acceptance period to ensure that candidates have the opportunity to attend other assessment centres if they want to. This allows graduates to make a more informed decision about the company and role that will suit them the most, which is in the best interests of all concerned. The last thing a recruiter wants is for a graduate to join their organisation and then decide after a couple of months that it just isn’t right for them. If you aren’t given a long acceptance period, be polite, diplomatic and keep each employer informed of your progress. Weigh up all the positives for each organisation and only make a decision when you have all the facts.
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