For the consumer banking grad scheme, would you say you need a finance background to be successful?

Hey! I applied for this role also! I would also love to know what a typical day in this role looks like :)

Sorry we missed this question during the live chat. You do not a financial background to be successful on this scheme. The programme is a development programme and we accept any degree type. I'm afraid I personally cannot say what a typical day in this department is like as I don't work there but I am sure one of my colleagues will be able to comment.

Thank you both for your question. As Phillipa said, you don't need a financial background to be successful on the scheme. I didn't have one. I studied Business and Psychology at university and had no prior experience in Banking or Finance. Most of my work experience was in the third sector, hospitality and education. Of course, there is a learning curve and new concepts to learn, but there is enough support and resources to make it manageable and enjoyable.

A typical day on the scheme varies depending on the role, the team and the responsibilities. My current role is in Personal Current Accounts, and it is mostly project-based. I work from 9 to 5, but some of my colleagues have different schedules, for example 8-4. We all come to the office two days a week, which is 40% of our working week.

I am currently working as a Product Manager. My day could involve meeting with colleagues to discuss a project or checking in about the work I've been doing, putting together or delivering a presentation, using Excel to collate or analyse data or researching topics. I also have some side of desk activities, such as being the Leeds/Manchester Events rep and a Feedback Manager for the Graduate Working Party. For these roles, I could be creating a poster for an event, booking a venue or talking to a graduate about their feedback. I try and put some time aside each week for volunteering and learning/development activities depending on my workload.

My previous placement was in Homes, as an Onboarding Specialist within a Customer Experience team. This was also quite project-based and as part of my role I managed a Stakeholder Decision Forum, which meant that I was regularly checking and responding to submissions, chasing people for information or decisions and arranging meetings to discuss complex cases while also working on various other projects.

The roles a consumer banking grad could find themselves in are varied; some of our job titles right now range from Product Managers to eCommerce Assistant Managers, Business Support Assistants, Business Analysts or Strategy Managers. Current grads are spread out in several business areas, including Savings, Transport, Homes, Personal Current Accounts, Customer Insights and Financial Wellbeing.

I hope this helps you both. Let me know if you have any other questions.