Top 5 Skills Graduate Accountants Wish They’d Worked on at University

Contrary to popular belief, accountancy and financial management are not just about crunching numbers. While strong numerical abilities are essential, there are other important skills that employers seek in candidates which are not normally associated with the industry.

TARGETjobs compiled a list of the top five skills accountancy graduates wish they’d worked on at university, precisely because they hadn’t realized such skills would be necessary in their line of work.

You’ll notice that all the skills mentioned in the article are transferrable skills, which you can gain through university assignments or extracurricular activities. Recruiters from all professional sectors are looking for well-rounded applicants, so it’s important to make the most of your university experience by expanding your knowledge and skills beyond your field of study.

If you want to find out more about transferrable skills and how to use your academic or work experience to highlight them, drop by our office in Room WG3 in theQueens’ Building or call us on 020 7882 8533 to book an appointment with one of our advisers.

Raluca Maria Chereji
2^nd Year French and Politics student

The City Course 2012 – Applications Are Open

The event, taking place from 17 -20 September 2012, is an amazing opportunity for you to get a look inside a range of different city firms, take part in seminars and business games aimed at showing you how the various parts of the City work together.

Confirmed organisations taking part are: Accenture, Bank of England, Bloomberg, Financial Services Authority, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Slaughter and May and Standard Chartered

This is a course only open to students from the University of London, and last year Queen Mary Students had the second highest number of attendees on this course (and a record number of attendees).

Here’s a video of last year’s event:

Here’s what some previous Queen Mary attendees thought of the session:

Punit Ghumra
Accounts, Operations Division at Gordian Knot Limited.

What did you enjoy most about the City Course?
The aspect of the city course that I enjoyed the most had to be ‘networking’, not just with the host and company representatives but also the other students participating in the program. I used this opportunity to build contacts both seeded in accounting and finance and those looking to pursue a career in it, this had benefits such as being able to gain advice in applying to prospective employers and buildings strong friendships.

How did the City Course help you clarify what you wanted to do in your career? 
The city course opened my eyes to a career as a Chartered Accountant, listening to the talks at the Chartered Accountants Hall provided light on the course content and the practice of studying whilst working, it aided to the extent that I am now looking to become a qualified ACA.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is thinking about a career in City and Finance? 
Find out as much information about your probable career path now and do not leave your applications until after you graduate. The economy is still recovering and many recruiters have reduced their intake is a precautionary measure, by researching certain sectors prior to applying to them you will better your industry awareness which will follow through to an application standing more chance of success.

Punit Ghumra graduated in 2010 with a BSc(Econ) in Economics from Queen Mary, University of London. 

Naresh Bhojwani
Business Analyst, Deutsche Bank

What did you enjoy most about the City Course?
The City Course is one of the best career advice courses I have attended during my final year of my university degree. It also has a good network and resources with various different financial companies and will always be recognised for its networking exposure it provides to the students. What I enjoyed about this course was that whilst it covered advice and guidance, it gave me the chance to participate in some of activities / workshops. This gave me an understanding about the job responsibilities and provided an exposure to day-to-day functions. The organisers were very helpful and motivational and made my learning experience all the more worthwhile.

How did the City Course help you clarify what you wanted to do in your career?
With exposure to the networking sessions, presentation sessions and advice received through the course, I was able to understand various career opportunities and paths available for me. Even during the various Q/A sessions within the Finance companies helped me to clarify my questions about the various career paths which I was interested in.

Could you give a brief description of your current role and an idea of typical activities or issues you deal with?
I’m currently working in investment banking technology and my job involves providing innovation, speed and accuracy in technology which is the backbone of Deutsche Bank’s competitive edge.

My current role as a Business Analyst is to be responsible for analyzing the requirements and requests of business and operations, including the coordination of User Acceptance (UAT) exercises. Overall my role is to act as the contact for the various internal business divisions and technology solution providers.

A part of my day to day activities involves performing data analysis on business requirements. This helps me to define and collect business requirements in collaboration with the various internal business lines. Once I’ve documented the requirements I collaborate closely with the functional analysts and developers to close out any issues with the proposed design solutions.

How did you find out about this option and how did you get into it?
Through the knowledge gained at the City Course I decided to pursue the banking sector because I’m interested in business and IT and technology roles within the Investment Banking sector. I come across Deutsche Bank’s graduate programs via their careers website. The opportunities were appealing from what I had read on its website and therefore I applied for the relevant role. Upon successfully completing its application, I was invited to attend an interview. I had to research into the company’s functioning, history and its most significant achievements/awards. In addition I practised interviews, numerical, verbal and logical reasoning tests. This provided me with an idea of what would be expected from me. Eventually I was successful and was offered the role in November 2008.

What are the most and least enjoyable aspects of this role?
During my role, I enjoy liaising with various different people cross the investment banking business areas. Hence during this process I learn about investment banking products and subsequently increase my knowledge within this area. Moreover there have some great challenging experiences during the steep learning curve in a short period to understand how various different business lines operate. This certainly has become one of my strong skills on the business knowledge.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is thinking about a career in City and Finance?

1. Read materials to find out what job options / opportunities are available to you and then filter out what job interests you as a career. It is also very important to read about the company and get related information about the company for the job that you are applying for.
2. Evaluate your skills, strengths and weaknesses and improve them by doing activities during the university. I did voluntary work and internship in order to gain some practical work experience. . The work experience gave me an insight of banking and enabled me to confidently respond to interview questions about working in bank
3. Go for any presentations or courses that you can such as the City Course run by The Careers Group. I went on this course and the training and exposure gained through the course was highly valuable to me and helped me secure my job.

Naresh graduated in 2009 from Queen Mary with a MEng in Communication Engineering.

Applications close on 22 June 2012 via www.careers.lon.ac.uk/city

Want to work in Finance? Have you considered insurance?

I braved the rain on Friday and went to an event organised by the Financial Skills Partnership about the various careers in Insurance.

The key themes that came out of the session were

• ¼ of the Financial Services Industry Workforce is in Insurance
• Growth is greater than Accountancy (According to the Reed Job Index, see this previous blog written by our Information Manager Kirsti for more details about the Reed Job Index)
• There are a number of areas that make up ‘insurance’ (more on this in a minute!)
• You don’t have to be a mathematician, but you do have to be people orientated, nosy, and enthusiastic!

So what roles are available in Insurance?

This is a question that pre-occupied most of the session, as there is a general perception that the Insurance sector doesn’t actually explain what it does to the general public very well.

Below I’ve listed some of the areas with a link to more information

• Claims – www.directions.org.uk/profiles/claims-management/
• Broking – www.directions.org.uk/profiles/insurance-broking
• Underwriting – www.pcal.info/careerpath.cfm
• Loss Adjuster – www.cila.co.uk/node/1010

Also look at the Lloyd’s Graduate Website for Labour Market Information and details of the London Insurance Market www.graduates.lloyds.com

Here are some slides from speakers at the event:
Step Into Insurance: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-EdaLRovSACTlMxbVdSOGpDZm8
Role of a Loss Adjuster: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-EdaLRovSACSmFJZE92UzRsbTA

We’ll be running an event with the Chartered Institute of Insurance in October, and have a look at their student facing website: http://www.discoverrisk.co.uk/

James Weaver
Employer Liaison & Events

Accountancy is not all about numbers…

Are you looking for a well paid career where you carry out a variety of work with a diverse range of people and businesses? Have you considered a job in a medium sized accountancy firm?

It’s not all numbers
It’s easy to think that working as a Chartered Accountant means dealing with figures all day. This is not true! You need to have enough number confidence to complete the training that leads to membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, but the job involves so much more.

No two clients in a medium sized accountancy firm are identical and it’s certain that before long you’ll be dealing with them independently. To understand what clients want you’ll need great listening skills and the ability to explain concepts that are sometimes difficult for clients to comprehend. You will need to be a good communicator both verbally and in writing.

What are the advantages of working for a medium rather than a large firm?
Many trainees find working in a medium sized firm exciting as they gain good client exposure and early responsibility. There is usually the chance to work alongside a range of associates and partners and personal contribution is encouraged and quickly recognised.

What are the challenges?
Studying for exams and working at the same time is always hard work but medium sized firms are often in a position to support their trainees during this period. There is usually a community feel within the firms and most medium sized employers are proud of the work- life balance that they offer to their staff.

Applying for a training contract
Students from any discipline can apply to a medium sized accountancy firm for a training contract. This is usually done by completing an online application form. If successful you will be invited to an assessment day where employers will ask you to complete a range of assessments, take part in group work and attend an interview.

For more information about working for a medium sized accountancy firm follow these links:

• Careers Tagged
  http://www.careerstagged.co.uk/home/search.aspx?tag=accountancy
• The Association of Practicing Accountants
  http://www.apa-uk.co.uk/becoming_a_chartered_accountant.php
• Prospects: Accountancy and business services:
  http://www.prospects.ac.uk/industries_accountancy_overview.htm

You can also find information about current vacancies at:

• ACA Training Vacancies
  http://trainingvacancies.icaew.com/

Pippa Heath
Careers Consultant
QM Careers

Work or study in Europe

Eurograduate have launched the digital issue of Eurograduate 2012.

Eurograduate focuses on graduate recruitment and further study opportunities in Europe. This issue includes:

Working abroad

Women in the workplace

Industry information from Tourism to Automotive

Postgraduate courses

University profiles.

You can view the magazine online and save a copy.  For more information about working or studying abroad please see Prospects and visit Careers in WG3 in the Queens’ Building.

Finance Industry Insight: what is interdealer broking?

In careeers you get to find out about new areas of work and new job titles all the time. These come about because of the way industry has to respond to the rapidly changing world.  A friend of mine is a Social Media Monitoring Officer. These jobs didn’t exist a few years ago! Sometimes it can be hard to find out about what particular or specialist job involves, because there is so little information out there. One question we had recently was about interdealer broking. This is what we found out:

Interdealer broking is about bringing buyers and sellers together to execute a transaction.  In this field there are two kinds of broking: electronic broking and voice broking (human brokers).  With the electronic broking the most common deals are FX-transactions ? these are foreign exchange transactions.   It?s easy to buy and sell on the FX market.  For more complex products, you need a person to negotiate before an agreed transaction can be reached.  In these instances voice broking is used.  For example, if two banks were to trade with each other the interdealer voice broker would transact the bond based on instructions receive from the traders at each of the banks.

Due to the recent financial crises there is a lot of new legislation around transparency, which the industry will have to adapt to, as well as greater obligation to transact through electronic mediums.  Technology evolving rapidly also means that the broking industry has to constantly adapt.

Looking for a career in finance – have you considered the pensions industry?

The finance sector continues to attract many graduates despite the recent and ongoing uncertainty in the industry. However, one area with career potential which has tended to be overlooked is the pensions industry. Perhaps a career in pensions appears at face value to be less dynamic and rewarding than its investment or commercial banking cousins. The facts tell a different story, so read on…

Scale: £1 trillion of assets is managed by UK pension funds. The top ten pension funds in the private sector (including Barclays plc, BP and others) combined with the top ten funds in the public sector (including Royal Mail, the BBC and Civil Aviation Authority) account for around 25% of this total.

Innovation: Reform and change are major features of the UK market as the industry grapples with the impacts of the financial crisis and changing demographics. See http://www.pensions-management.co.uk

Professionalism: Standards of conduct are high and the industry has a qualification framework overseen by the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) http://www.insidecareers.co.uk/__802574D800564425.nsf/id/7nggkjcwis!opendocument

Media interest: The media profile of the pensions industry has never been higher. Career opportunities include communications roles, marketing and journalism.

Salaries and reward: The PMI points out that, in contrast with many sectors, salaries in the pensions industry have risen at rates above inflation in recent years. Benefit packages tend to be good too and you’d expect there to be a decent pension…! Traditionally the industry has not had the long hours culture of some other parts of the financial sector, however current pressures may lead to change in that area.

Career development: The industry can offer a relatively structured career path and opportunities for continuing professional development.  At the same time, there are a number of career options within it, including IT, communications, actuarial, accountancy, legal and administration routes.

Inside Careers has worked with the PMI to produce information on the different roles within the pensions industry and how to get started. Take a look at
http://www.insidecareers.co.uk/__802574d800564425.nsf/id/83nknmcwis!opendocument

Sue Moseley
Freelance Careers Consultant

Internships and insight courses – impressing investment banks

Citi recently ran an event on campus which gave valuable inside information on how to be successful in your applications for internships and/or insight courses. Their advice is relevant not just for Citi, but for other investment banks too. Joanna, who ran the session, has worked for both Citi and Barclays and knows a great deal about the do’s and don’ts for graduates.  So read on (and if in doubt about how to put this advice into practice, come to Careers for support)…

DO

• Get involved as early in your course as you can. Doing an insight course will give you a stronger change of getting an internship.  Many graduate hires are previous successful interns, so an insight course really can make a difference.
• Write a cover letter that is concise (no more than one page) and is laid out as a formal letter with your address, the date and appropriate sign-off.
• Use your cover letter to communication your passion for a role in investment banking and with that bank in particular.  Be specific. Research beyond what’s on the website so that you can say why it’s Citi (or Deutchshe etc) you want to work for and what business area you are focusing on.
• Use a clear layout with headings for your CV.  The advice was that one full page is good.  But avoid one and half as it looks as though you have run out of things to say.
• Be meticulous in your application. City alone receives around 30,000 graduate applications a year for its courses, internships and graduate programmes. A typo or lacklustre cover letter will give a busy recruiter the reason they need to dismiss your application and move on to the next one.

DON’T

• Give up! Yes it’s competitive, but it’s possible. If you don’t get the internship you want, consider reapplying as some schemes flex their criteria e.g. there may be internship places for strong graduates who missed out during their earlier years.
• Think your work is done once you have got a place. Building contact during any insight course or internship is essential and so is keeping in touch one you have moved on.

Build a Bank – how do banks work?

Speakers from JPMorganChase and Barclays Wealth, working in asset management and wealth management entertained a hundred students on Monday night at the first of our ‘Focus on Finance Fortnight’ events, Build a Bank.  The speakers, both alumni of Queen Mary, outlined what their functions involve, giving detailed insight into the workings of a bank.  We learnt about affluent, high net worth and ultra high net worth clients in wealth management, how new clients are found, how performance analysts look at the performance of stocks and shares and report that to front office asset managers, and more.

Both speakers talked about the value of extra curricular activities, such as societies and positions of responsibility on or off campus, to make your CV stand out to employers. They highlighted networking as a key way of finding out useful information for a job search and leveraging work experience opportunities. When applying to banks, they advised reading the FT for a month before interview, having an overview of the markets and what’s going on in the finance world, as well as learning about the differences between IBs and retail banks, and how the division you are applying to works.

Some websites you might like to explore in the light of this are Investopedia, EfinancialCareers and SEO London.

For further details about how to network, as well as what to ask, see the resources page of our website.

Employer Visit: Lloyds Banking Group

Last week I visited Lloyds Banking Group  to find out more about their opportunities (they opened their scheme on 31 August).

I was particularly interested in their hiring numbers for 2011-12. They are recruiting around 200 ( at the time of writing) full time hires with around 50% of these into their General Management Scheme.

They also recruit around 100 penultimate year students each year for the intern programme and around 80% from 2011 have been offered full time roles as a result.

So in effect they have, by my rough calculations, 120 roles (give or take a few) for the 2012 cohort.

So with tough competition (they have around 15,000 applicants) what can you do to secure a role with Lloyds Banking Group (some of this can be applied to any organisation)?

• Apply Early! – With limited roles some areas (like Corporate Banking) will fill very quickly

• In your online application include strong evidence of team working, managing, leading and influencing – Applicants should think as wide as possible within their experience and include extra-curricular/non academic examples

• Research Lloyds Banking Group and the programme content before a telephone interview and assessment centre

• Keep abreast of current financial and banking industry headlines, and try to read beyond the ‘Tabloid’ angle e.g. the Independent Commission on Banking Report due to be released on 12 September.

James Weaver

Employer Liaison & Events Officer