How to get into Banking industry?
 

Does anyone know how to get into Banking sector? I am interested to work in entry-level like Operations assistant and Administrative role. I have not worked in banking corporate companies before. I am a fresh psychology grad interested to work in growth-oriented sector where I can develop my skills. I do not have friends or family network that works in a bank. Have a few direct contacts who are recruiters in the banking sector but they are more inclined to move the hiring process with internal transfers rather than oustider applications. I have exhausted my options here. Is someone willing to share a few pointers to land on a bank job? Heartfull thanks.

whats ur background?

psychology bsc hons degree. have some intern experience as a research assistant. thats it.

are you a girl or guy?

if guy forget it. Girl can try wear short skirt. increase chance

Try contract admin, usually data entry roles doesnt require any experience, you just have to make yourself presentable and make it known that you will put in the effort and hardwork.

Can try applying for contract roles with chances of conversion if you really want to go into banking:

You're missing important information. Which school? Any internship experience? Any working experience at all?

I break into the Banking industry a couple of years ago. It is not easy to enter the industry if you do not have connections or relevant skill sets. This is a very closed industry and people basically musical chair from bank to bank. Only those already working in the industry will have the relevant experience to move upwards. Therefore, you need to find a foot in. Once you are inside, it is very easy to move. From Operations to Compliance, Finance to Product Control, Project Management to Front Office Support.

For someone with no experience or connection... You can either apply the grad positions of respective banks and hopefully get a foot in. If not, taking up contract role helps alot. Many people working in the industry started out as contractor. Lastly, the longer way is to obtain the relevant experience. Banks love to hire people from MAS, Big 4, Technology Firms, Consulting Firms etc depends on your interest.

Hope this helps.

coventry uni psych bsc hons. intern for a research assistant. food counter attendant fam biz for 8 years. now trying to set a foot in banking industry.

you went overseas for study?

your internship might not be a good match for the banking industry. you might need to start from entry level contract jobs.

yes i went overseas to study. what kind of contract jobs u suggest? thank you

oh yes i know im incompetent atm. i did try for ops assistant role in a bank but the recruiter does not even want to bother giving me the role as he feels i might be over-qualified. he said for ops role need o level cert only and the pay is too low. i said im ok with 2K as a start but he then slams saying that the role is now open for internal transfers only. so i understand from myself from this that i cant go too low or entry level if bank recruiters are not willing to give anyone above diploma level for entry starters.

Transaction Banking sales
 

Hi all, what are your views on transaction banking sales in corporate or FI sectors?
I know it is not as prestige as your IBD and S&T, can it still be considered as a good FO role?
What are the chances for junior Mid/Back office executives to make the switch or even fresh grad?

How is the progression and compensation like in a short or long run?

It might not be as prestigious as IBD and S&T, but it is still a front office role which will give you more excitement and prospects compared to MO/BO.

How easy it is depends on your internship experiences as well as how relevant your current role is. There are many MO and BO roles, and they are not the same.

I'd imagine if you are currently in Treasury, it would be easier to go into transaction banking sales because you might have the relevant product knowledge already.

if you are a girl, and pretty enough, you will find it easier to enter as entry or fresh. can go for RM roles. To score a few big deals when you are new helps your progression tremendously. find a male sponsor (boss) and be prepared to Go the Extra Mile (GEM) esp during probation period.

btw, for certain jobs, they look at where u stay as well.

I don't think it is worth doing operations and programming type of jobs in banks. These type of jobs have moved to India for one fifth of your salary.

I believe there are 2 ways.

1. Get a professional cert related to the area of banking you wish to enter. Give HR a reason to call u in for an interview.

2. Keep applying, especially contract roles. The shorter the contract, the lower the amount of applicants. This is how i got in, my degree was totally irrelevant to banking but i accepted a 3 month contract to remediate some admin stuffs. Slogged like crazy and completed all the remediation in less than a month. As there are 2 months left, i was helping the team with their BAU stuffs. Someone resigned within the 2 months and i was the no brainer choice to take over in a permanent capacity.

2nd option is a brilliant strategy. thumbs up

Admire that you have the hunger and tenacity to go for what you want, and glad that things turn out well for you!

Having been in the banking & financial industry for more than 10 years previously, my word of advice, don't enter into back office operations now, especially if you are new, young and thinking of working your way up the corporate ladder in BO ops. As someone has shared previously, many banks have shifted their BO functions to overseas offices, unless you are aiming for local banks. Alternatively, I would suggest asset/fund management companies, which also have operations functions.

If your desire is to get into the banks (in any kind of role), and is willing to learn and pick up official certification or degrees, why not try taking up a specialise degrees in areas like quants finance or data science, or certifications like risk management? These niche skills or certification will give you an edge to apply for specific roles in the banks.

In today's world of fast moving technology, automation, and data science, generic BO operations functions are being phase out very quickly. I have started out as Ops many years ago, and over the years my role evolved to something that is no longer pure Ops (of course in between include alot of retraining, taking up new skills, etc.).

In any case, good luck in your search.

Thank you for the enlightened post. I am a degree holder but don’t want to pursue what i studied at the same time I don’t want to do Masters as it expensive. What kind of certifications should I do?

Certification like FRM or CFA are quite popular with banks or FM.
Alternatively look at the job description of the roles you are interested in, and see what qualifications or skills they need and work towards that.

There are many functions in the banking and financial industry, you have to be clear of which and what you want. If you are unsure, go lookup and search at some of the short courses conduct by local universities on financial markets and instruments, etc. Get yourself familiar with the industry, and understand the different functions.

And if you don't care about the functions but just want to gain exposure working in the bank, another option is to look for temporary roles or short contract roles (which are usually created to tide over sudden shortage of manpower such as maternity coverage). You can easily search and find these in efinanical page, many of which are via job agents. Try to apply, if they reject, talk to the agents and tell them your desire to find a job in the industry and is willing to accept temp or contract roles. Ask them to keep you posted.
However, do note usually big banks and FMs are quite specific on their requirement for such roles and will normally require for people with prior experience, hence try to gain some experience by starting out in smaller foreign banks or small FMs.

dont understand the misconception about workins in Ops sector in bank. i knew a few colleagues who started in Ops andworking in analyst positions now.. what say

those are exceptions unfortunately. The 100% truth is that if you want to work in the front office , you start off in the front office.

Simple analogy - if you are Real Madrid and you are looking for a striker, will you look for a good striker in Aston Villa or a good defender in Barcelona to fill the role?

Not really la.. I started in Ops now a FI RM after 3 years. I know quite a few folks also transited into FO roles from Ops/IT. It's the mindset and hunger for success - too many BO people resigned to fate and never moved up from there.

Will it be easy to jump to banks or investment firms from working in corporate finance/treasury department of companies or what are the exit opportunities?

Or jumping to banks or investment firms from insurance companies?

This one shouldn't be too difficult, but fund management companies will be easier.
But really depends on what kind of job you are doing in insurance. Say if you are financial planner or sales, it would be possible to move to similar sales jobs in banks. If you are in the investment management arm of insurance firms, moving to fund mgmt will be an almost similar industry move.
But if say you want to move from sales in insurance to IT in banks, then of course not easy unless you have the relevant qualifications. Simply to say, different industry is not the hinder, it is the skillset and qualifications, whether it is transferable or not. Otherwise if you willing to reset and start from bottom.. Anything also possible.

What is the annual package range for associate / senior associate at DBS? Assuming ops role or mid office

if you get the offer they will tell you.

bank contract jobs are not easy to get in like 5 years before. even admin positions are competitive

Are you a troll or are you just stupid - I asked because I don't have an offer yet duh?

Can try those call centre 24x7 roles as not so easy to find sgp candidates, assuming u are sgp as this role is usually filled by foreigners due to the working hrs.

Or if not try junior sales roles if u are persuasive.

alot of ppl recc sales role for struggling job seekers but what us introverted shy people who cant even be confident while talking on the phone until u wanna cry? and call centre is not a good job like pls lmao its very stressful

If you don't have an offer then no point asking.

look at what you have typed. so incoherent, still want to get into banking industry? if you cant even muster up your courage to SPEAK to people for eg. the call centre roles, then what rights do you have to want a job in this industry?

That's true. Being an introvert is not an excuse. Even if your job is a back office or middle office role where you don't meet clients, if you are afraid to talk to others your promotion will be affected.

That is the truth. Last year I spent 6 months going for call centre job interview and they werent even interested in hiring me, I am a singaporean btw 25yo f, and most bank call centre is filled with foreigners. Man I tried so hard landing an entry level job but its funny how they ask for experience for a call centre job. Now I am trying for admin contract roles... but this one seems to be "foreigners favourite" as well so it is extremely competitive. I went two UOB bank associate interviews last week and did not hear anything back. So depressing man. :(

Yes I knew a few colleagues who started off being shy and became confident throughout. There is no need to panic. Working can be educational for yourself too if you choose to learn with an open mind.

Transition into FO
 

Hi, do you mind sharing what type of ops roles were you and your colleagues in, and what type of FO roles have they moved to? Also to clarify, I'm interested to know what exactly do you do in your FI RM role. Is it more of a trade finance/corp loans RM?
Thanks for sharing!