Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Ensuring that the UK’s largest Building Society has the right level of financial resources to remain a viable financial organisation. I helped Nationwide survive the Financial Crisis, meaning that we protected our members, where other institutions fell by the wayside. We’re one of the most financially robust financial institutions in the UK and I am proud to have played my part in that.

I monitor regulatory change in the UK and EU and make sure the business understands the implications and is prepared for it. Sometimes I might be involved in lobbying the politicians, regulators, and industry groups that make these regulations, making sure they allow for our mutual status.

Today, I’ve been writing a paper for the Board to get approval for a new policy which will affect all areas of the business. This has required a lot of time negotiating and explaining to senior management all across the business. I have to understand the impact on, and individual circumstances of, a wide variety of business areas in order to get their support. Whilst the technical challenges of this are great, probably this is more testing of my personal skills.

The current flood of regulatory change has meant that every day brings a different challenge and sometimes you are dealing with stuff which is straight off the front page of the papers. The technical aspects of the job give a real intellectual challenge but there is also a really satisfying inter-personal dynamic when dealing with all the various stakeholders inside and outside of the business.

There’s been a bewildering amount of change in the industry and keeping track of it all, particularly in technical areas such as Risk Modelling or Treasury is a 24-7 job. It’s also really tough to challenge experts who are much more experienced in their field than you are.

Whilst seemingly technical, much of my role is about influencing people. It’s about protecting our member’s interests by conducting business in the right way and in a prudent manner. As a Compliance Manager, I have to ensure that Senior Management understand their obligations to the market, the business and most importantly to the members. Successfully influencing a Senior Manager, colleague or even a regulator can be a real challenge but getting the right result is a great reward for the hard work.

I qualified as a Financial Risk Manager but my degree (although seemingly completely unrelated to my role) taught me to see patterns in data and human behaviour. Being able to see causal links without being blinded by all the other stuff going on is probably the most used skill I have.

It’s easy to forget that financial data actually relates to real people with real needs. In Compliance you need to understand the relationships between ‘information’ and ‘people’ to provide the best protection to our members.

There is a wide array of training available, both internal and external.

Having decided I didn’t wish to continue in Archaeology, I decided I wanted a career which would allow me to use my analytical side. I worked for a number of smaller insurance companies in an audit role before joining Legal & General, where I changed to risk management.

Having been made redundant for the second time during the financial crisis, I took the opportunity to switch to banking when Nationwide advertised for people to work in its Capital Management department. I started knowing nothing about capital and liquidity, but within 6 months I had picked up a firm grasp of the basics of capital and finished my risk management qualification - the rest is history.

I’ve had a couple of career changes already, so I guess looking too far into the future is dangerous. I’ll probably look for a sideways move just to keep myself fresh and enjoy a new challenge.
I strongly believe in a good work-life balance, so my career should follow my goals in life, not the other way around. Nationwide supports this as there are plenty of opportunities and they encourage flexible working for their employees.

Be honest with yourself especially about your strengths and weaknesses. What you think you want right now may not really be what you want in the future. Being able to reflect on your experiences and desires should help you to find the right direction in your career.
I found getting some qualifications off your own back can really help you in your quests for a job. Studying relevant financial qualifications at the local college in the evenings really opened doors for me. People looking at CVs have to narrow down the field, and having a relevant qualification makes it easier for them to justify interviewing you.