Career & Job Opportunities in the Banking & Finance sector

The role of banking is becoming increasingly important in today’s times. People are turning to banks to secure their money and deposit valuables. Along with it, EMI-based purchases, loans, accounting, internet banking, phone banking, wallets, remote payments, and other services being offered by banks are finding increasing takers. The financial sector is also growing hand-in-hand with the banking sector. People are turning towards accountants for handling their businesses, filing tax returns, and financial planning. They are also searching for more work opportunities in industries needing professionals to manage their finances. As a result, this growing industry has been ever in need of talent and expertise.

Now, in the banking and finance sector, the doors are equally open for freshers and experienced professionals alike. Freshers can opt for banking courses as early as after 12th and upskill themselves to land a job in the banking and finance sectors. Add to that the challenges and job satisfaction, along with the easy availability of a number of bank courses for a job, and it explains why the youth is motivated to take up banking and financial careers. Read on to know more about why you should opt for a career in the banking or the financial sector and the skills needed for it-

Why choose a career in banking or the financial industry?

The financial and banking sectors are growing at a fast pace. This calls for skilled professionals at the executive and managerial positions. Every year, thousands of vacancies are advertised by the banks (government as well as private). So what makes a banking career so lucrative? Let’s look at five benefits of opting for a banking career.

Good Salary 

The most important reason is the attractive salary packages financial and banking careers come with. Also, you get benefit from a minimum rate of interest on loans, medical benefits, insurances and pension benefits and others. 

Stability

Bank jobs are associated with security. A banking job in the public sector can last as long as 60 years. Also, the growth is good. You can fill in senior positions by clearing internal examinations. Jobs in the financial sector are equally rewarding. You can further start independent consulting.

Challenging job

Financial and banking careers are far from the dull desk jobs that they are often perceived to be. They involve a lot of data analyses, research, market predictions, risk analyses and much more. It makes the job more exciting.

Fixed working hours

Bank jobs have set timings. You would not find bankers toiling extra hours every day. There might be a critical project or two that might require you to put in long hours, but most of the times, bankers stay true to the working hours of the bank.

Open for everyone

Bank jobs are open to everyone. You could be a graduate from any field- Engineering, Commerce, and Biotechnology, among others, and you could still apply for a banking job. Short term courses from institutes like NIIT can help you gain the essential skills for cracking banking exams and interviews to land a plum job.

What are the skills required for a successful career in the banking and financial sector?

Bank careers may be challenging, but they are known to reap rich rewards. For making it big in banking, you should possess some specific skills. We list some of the important ones.

Analytical skills

Analytical skills are a must-have for banking. What this means is that you need to have an eye to recognise patterns, trends and behaviour from vast reams of data. Also, being well versed with analytical tools like Excel, or Python, or being aware of how to run queries in SQL is an added plus. This will help you sift through large data sets and find what you are looking for easily. 

Commercial Awareness

You need to be commercially aware to make it big in banking and finance. You need to have a knack for knowing where the market is headed, what the latest financial trends are, and how to identify new and upcoming business areas. It can help grow or protect your bank’s portfolio. Also, these skills come in handy when you are working with businesses. You will also need to identify the risks and ideas of potential growth in businesses.

Attention to Detail

You need to have an eye for detail. It can help you spot trends or activities that have gone unnoticed and pick up anomalies or flaws. It also enables you to be extra cautious when you prepare complex reports, risk analyses and business propositions for your clients.

Determination

A successful career in banking and finance is built upon many sacrifices. You have to work long hours and cut back on personal life to make it big. Even though the financial rewards of a successful banking career are many, you have to overcome many obstacles to reach there, and this is where determination comes into play.

Work Ethic

A proper work ethic is necessary for working in this field. Along with long hours, you need to be on time, be well-organised, and take the initiative; Only then you can manage to grow within the banking system and end up with a fruitful career.

Confidence

Confidence is an important trait when it comes to banking and finance. You need to portray confidence to individuals when handling their money and investments. You also need to have confidence in your ability to meet investment targets and generate profit for the bank as well as the customers. 

Technical Skills

Technology is the need of the hour. Every decision that you make needs to be backed up with data. You need to organise, sort and analyse vast reams of data. You would also need technical skills to access and process this data. You also need skills to be able to prepare reports using this data (this also requires special proprietary software in most banks). You can make simple reports in Excel too. For more complicated reports, you can use Python or other software. You can look for banking courses after graduation or after the 12th class that can better prepare you for this.

Stress Mangement

With the extreme pressure, long working hours, expectations and the cut-throat competition, you are likely to be stressed. Hence you need to be able to manage this stress and stay motivated all the time.

Communication Skills

Communication skills, both verbal and written, are essential for banking jobs. You need to communicate your ideas effectively to clients who may be or may not be financially savvy, compile and present reports, or interact with the higher management and put forward your views. Therefore, you need to polish your communication skills before taking up a banking job.

What’s great is you can start working on your skills from early on. Institutes like NIIT offer banking courses for students after 12th commerce or science who are interested in making a career in the financial sector.

How to prepare for a career in banking or finance?

You can prepare for a career in banking or finance by following the steps suggested below-

Research

Conduct research on the career options in the banking sector or financial services and based on your interests and aims, shortlist a position.

Apply for the position

This step is for those who are aspiring for government positions. The Indian government advertises vacancies for many posts with government banks every year- right from bank clerk to cadre officers. Once you have shortlisted the job profile, the next step would be to apply for the exams that take place for that position. It might involve having to fill up forms and submit documents and pay the exam fee.

Prepare

What comes next is the preparation phase. You can download study materials from the government website in case you are preparing for a government exam, or study independently in case you want to work with the private banks. You can also join institutes offering short-term banking and finance courses that can help with your aspirations of making a career in banking and financial sector.

What remains at the end, is appearing the exam and going for the interview.

What are the educational qualifications for careers in banking and finance?

The educational qualifications for banking jobs are quite lenient as compared to getting into the financial sector. You can apply for a vacancy after passing the 12th class. Higher positions in government banks have certain eligibility criteria that might involve minimum qualifications for applying for a job. Managerial positions require you to at least be a graduate.

The financial sector is quite stringent on the candidates that can get in. You need to be a graduate in commerce or must have cleared 12th. You can opt for courses in finance after graduation or appear for and clear the CA and CFA exams to become an accountant or get an MBA degree in finance. There are other finance certification courses offered by reputed institutes like NIIT that prepare you for a job in the financial sector.

NIIT offers a range of courses to prepare you for a job in the banking and financial sector. They range from short-term courses to a full-time PGDM program in finance. You will be trained by industry experts and exposed to real-life scenarios. These courses will make you better prepared to tackle the challenges that come with a banking or a financial job apart from boosting your resume. For more details, you can reach out to an NIIT centre near you.