Typical finance jobs for graduates

Finding a job within finance can be incredibly difficult – it’s a competitive market, especially for young graduates with little experience. However, if you have the right attitude and lots of enthusiasm, you’re sure to succeed in shaping a new career for yourself.

First things first though, what type of job do you want to get within the finance sector? Before any job search can begin, this is the first question you need to ask yourself – and once you’ve done that you can begin your search. To help you, we’ve identified the typical finance jobs graduates can expect to enter below.

Financial Adviser

A financial adviser is responsible for providing clients with advice on how to properly utilise their money. The general work activities for this role is researching financial products and knowing how to link these products to the specific customer groups.

There are two different types of financial advisers, restricted and independent financial advisers. A restricted adviser generally offers advice that only focus on a smaller, restricted range of products from a limited variety of providers, whereas an independent financial adviser can tailor their advice to the client’s needs and advise them based on their specification. Jobs Available: None available at this time

Insurance Broker

An insurance broker generally works in retail or commercial insurance, and takes care of the communication between the consumer and larger businesses. The job of an insurance broker in the retail sector is to arrange insurance cover while researching the best policy from a number of insurance providers. In the commercial sector the job is very similar but deals with higher-level clients within the oil, aviation or financial sectors.

Financial Trader

Dealing with high-value clients and being able to research market trends through valuation and data analysis are primary factors of this role. A financial trader usually liaises with investment banks and individuals to buy and sell shares, assets or bonds. Some of the job activities for a financial trader include carrying out trades via phone or electronically, communicating with clients/traders on market projections and buying/selling stocks accordingly.

Retail Banker

A retail banker is a usually someone who works in a bank or building society, and deals with the general day-to-day operations of the branches. Being in charge of recruitment, supervising and training of staff within the bank are responsibilities you can expect to perform within this particular role. Other duties outside of these tasks include setting saving accounts, loans and saving bonds for clients, authorising loans and overdraft facilities and generally helping the financial necessities of both businesses and individuals.

Tax Adviser

A tax adviser provides assistance to clients to ensure tax is paid correctly and efficiently, ensuring their finances are arranged so tax isn’t overpaid. It won’t be just individuals this adviser will deal with; international, corporate, trust and inheritance clients representing small and large businesses will be a part of the client base. Main duties of a tax adviser include collating and analysing information to identify the amount of tax payable, auditing tax records, acting as the intermediary between HM Revenue and Custom and the client as well as being aware of any changes in tax regulations and laws.

Further Career Advice

To find further career advice and general information, check out our Careers Advice section, where you can find information and advice on where to begin when choosing the right career, interview advice as well as steps to take when applying for a job.