How I progressed from intern to Senior Strategy Analyst at Capital One

Why I applied to Capital One

One of the main reasons I chose to apply for a job here was because I had heard the business had a good working culture – and I can confirm that it has! The people around me are very friendly and smart, and it feels like a really healthy working environment.

How did you find the application process?

The most challenging aspect of the application process for me was completing the group interview, largely because I had to cooperate with strangers!

If you are looking for ways to improve your answers and perform well for interviews, I suggest asking a group of friends to practice with you beforehand – a good way to prepare yourself.

What does your job involve?

My day-to-day role currently involves making improvements on the valuation model that values the accounts we’ve booked. In the past I’ve worked on UK high street acquisition, monitoring framework improvements, for example. I also perform monitoring on Capital One’s model and historical accounts. One of my favourite projects so far has been working on introducing a new framework into our monitoring which allows us to understand the credit performance change in a much more straightforward way.

What part does technology play in your job?

On the team I work in we use Python, SQL and GitHub to build our models, but different Business Analyst teams rely on technology differently, so I wouldn’t say you would feel at a disadvantage if you joined without a specialised tech background.

Has anything surprised you about working at Capital One?

Something I’ve been pleasantly surprised to discover since starting work here is the wide range of teams that a business analyst can rotate to – for example, fraud, customer acquisition, customer management and finance, to name just a few. I hadn’t fully appreciated the variety of opportunities open to me before I joined the graduate programme.

Has anything in particular helped you in your role?

The key skills I have found most useful so far have been problem solving and communication. It may sound obvious, but both are important as in this role achieving your goals will depend on being able to solve a problem and communicate with others about how to go about solving it. Plus, communication is the key to getting support from others when you need it.

You can do your own research and improve your problem-solving abilities ahead of making job applications through research and practice. I suggest checking out the advice available on Capital One’s early careers pages. The Business Analyst graduate project leaflet on the Capital One early careers website has more information that would definitely be helpful, or search targetjobs for more information across the board.