Commercial awareness: what retail banking, actuarial and insurance employers want you to know

Most employers within the financial services sector will test your commercial awareness during your graduate interview. And your understanding of the bank, insurance broker, actuarial firm, consultancy or regulator to which you’ve applied, and the market in which it operates will be taken into account to decide whether you get the job.

What is commercial awareness?

Commercial awareness could be broadly broken down into three core components:

1. An understanding of the business to which you’ve applied and others like it, and what makes it successful
2. Knowledge of the market place in which the business operates and who it interacts with, such as clients, customers, regulators, investors etc
3. The ability to identify competitors and factors that could impact the employer’s overall business performance.

In essence, the employer wants you to have a deep understanding of the business and its competitors, and the potential impact that financial, political and global events could have on its profitability and business strategy.

Why is commercial awareness vital for retail banking, actuarial and insurance roles?

Graduate jobs in financial services are hotly contested by scores of qualified candidates. Commercial awareness is one of the employability skills that’ll add an extra spark to your application and interview, and set you apart.

It will:

• help you to make the right career choices. Once you understand a business and the respective industry, you can make a wise decision about joining it
• show the interviewer that you’re interested in and knowledgeable about the business
• show the interviewer that you’re committed to a career in financial services
• enable you to answer certain questions (see examples below) with confidence.

Example questions you may be asked to demonstrate commercial awareness

• What do you know about our business?
• Why would you like to work for us?
• What has interested you in the news recently?
• How could you demonstrate commercial awareness?
• What skills have you learned from your experiences?
• How will these skills help you in future roles?
• What do you see as being the main challenges facing our business? And what opportunities can we take advantage of?
• What differentiates us from our competitors?

How can I expand my commercial awareness?

Read...

• The employer profile on targetjobs: this provides an overview of what the organisation does and what it offers graduate recruits. Some employers also have ‘Interview tips’ articles and advertising features, which contain insights into the recruitment process and what it is like to work there.
• The employer’s website: focus particularly on its mission statement and information about its aims, values, culture, strategy and structure.
• Newspapers and magazines (print and online): finance publications, or those with finance sections, provide general or specific advice about businesses, finance and the economy.
• Professional magazines: specialised journals associated with an area of work, such as The Actuary magazine for actuaries, offer specific information that you might not find elsewhere.

Watch...

• Video clips: some employers have video footage on their website or on YouTube. You can also watch via the targetjobs YouTube channel .
• Quality TV: certain TV content – such as domestic and international news, live parliamentary footage and factual programmes – offer a great overview of topical issues.
• Webinars and online panel discussions: these are often held by individual employers and industry bofies. targetjobs runs its own series of webinars – find out what’s coming up and register here or watch previous webinars on the targetjobs YouTube channel .

Network...

• Work experience: an internship or work placement with your chosen employer, or one like it, will give you an idea of how your role contributes to the wider business and its revenue. It’s also a chance to form connections with key employees. Many students are hired by the financial services employers they did a work placement with.
• Campus events: some employers arrange university campus events during the year, which include careers fairs, presentations, networking and skills sessions. They are an excellent way to find out about the business and meet employees of all levels.
• Open days: some businesses hold open days, which offer prospective graduate hires a chance to find out more about the employer and meet members of staff. These may be virtual during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Social media: the majority of employers nowadays have a presence on social media – whether it’s LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram. It’s a good way to find out what’s trending, who key employees are, or to join discussions.

Article last updated 24 February 2021.