Before looking into a career in finance, it is important to know what finance is and whether this is something that may be of interest to you or be suitable to your skill sets.
Sarah Fennel, former Acting Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) says that,
Finance is how the world works. So, with no money there's no trade. If there's no trade, you can't go into a shop and buy a banana. Finance and the people that work in it really are the sort of hidden infrastructure that allows everything else to happen.
Furthermore, when it comes to Finance Counselling and Financial Services, there are many functions under this sector, which include services in banking, insurance, investments, pension funds, and so on. Jenny Barber, Director of Careers Talent at Investment 20/20 says,
the sector is very much about ensuring that...people globally have access to the right services, that they manage their money and also to grow their wealth so that they have planned for retirement and for other things that are happening within their life.
To successfully inhabit a career in finance, one would need to understand that “Finance can be so varied, and can be viewed from so many different angles, but one thing about finance is, it actually is the underpinning of all good decisions in business”, says Professor Karl George, a partner at RSM UK.
Furthermore, if you are unsure as to whether or not you meet the criteria for a career in finance, Professor George says,
If you want to be an accountant, whether you're young or old, black or white, whether you've got a university degree or not got a university degree there is a route for you to get to the top of the industry. I didn't go through university, I messed up my A levels. I had the potential to do better but I still got to the top of my career as a finance professional.
The finance industry is also an incredibly diverse one. It has to be a diverse industry because the customer bases are so diverse. So, if you don't have a diverse number of staff then you can't understand the needs of a diverse range of customers.
You're never going to come up with a new solution to the same problem if everyone looks at it in the same way, so the industry needs different people to come up with different ideas.
Professor Karl George speaks to this diversity a bit more, saying that “some people do finance related roles in business, some do finance related roles in voluntary organisations and others do finance related roles in schools”.
Furthermore, Sarah-Jane Anderson, Head of Finance at the Diocese of Coventry Multi Academy Trust, talks about the diversity of her own experience working in finance, saying,
I've worked in retail, I've worked in manufacturing, I've worked in a school, so I think that just goes to show that it covers all sorts of different areas.
A common misconception about the finance industry is that all you need to thrive in such a career is to be good with numbers. Although they do look for individuals with adequate numeracy skills, some of the more important facets of working in finance include being a strong communicator, being helpful, being personable, and upholding consistently good client relations.
Another misconception is that you have to have a degree to break into the world of finance. While that may help some individuals, there are also other ways to enter the industry, including through apprenticeships.
Many current professionals in finance did not go to school for finance specifically, but managed to make names for themselves in the industry. Sarah-Jane Anderson says, “If you've got an interest in finance, follow your dreams, find out a bit more about it and see if its the right career path for you.”
