What to do after getting qualified in Financial Services

What to do after getting qualified in Financial Services

Steps to take after getting qualified in Financial Services

Many people when they become qualified in their desired role believe that they can walk straight into their dream job. This is unfortunately not the case! In this blog hopefully, we will be able to give some practical and applicable advice on how you can obtain your desired role once you have gained the correct qualification.

General Advice for Mortgage Advisors, Paraplanners and Financial Advisors when getting qualified

Identify your personal stepping stones

Mortgage advice is a career commonly transitioned into from people outside of the industry and can be accessed much more easily than when compared to a role such as financial advice. Your stepping stones will inevitably vary depending on what prior experience you have, what company you are applying to and more. The most common requirement for Mortgage Advisors outside of CeMAP is targeted sales experience. If you meet this requirement, in addition to CeMAP, you may be able to increase your chances of obtaining a Mortgage Advisor roles. This would be different if you have no CeMAP and no sales experience, it is still achievable it is just the path to get that first job will be different. Every individual circumstance is unique, so it is hard to give a path that is absolute as this does not and cannot exist. Another factor that will significantly boost your job prospects when seeking a role as a Mortgage Advisor, is having the ability to self-generate business. This could be from friends, family or your personal network. This would be an attractive quality to businesses, as it helps to derisk their investment in you, as you will be helping to generate new business opportunities!

Paraplanners can expect to serve as some form of Administrator before progressing into Paraplanning. Whereas for Financial Advisors, this can have a few more steps. The process usually begins at the Administrator stage and then progresses into a Junior Paraplanner / Paraplanner role. This will then progress into a Trainee Financial Advisor / Financial Advisor role.

By creating your career stepping stones you have something to work towards in your career which can help with motivation and shows determination to employers or prospective employers. 

Contact a specialist recruiter 

A great tip when looking for a first job in any industry is to contact a specialist recruiter, a topic we have covered previously on our blog, to summarise:

  1. Guide you through the recruitment process
  2. Utilise the Recruiters niche industry knowledge
  3. Save time using a Recruiter 
  4. Recruiters provide interview preparation
  5. Recruiters negotiate the best deal for you

And it’s free if you’re job seeking!

Know what you are looking for when using job boards 

The most common way people will look for a new role is through online job boards the most common being Totaljobs, reed, CV-library and indeed. It is a good idea to make a list of your prerequisites and set realistic expectations when looking for a role. You will likely be looking out for junior or trainee roles as these accommodate the more entry-level Paraplanners, Mortgage Advisors and Financial Advisors. This is a far superior strategy when compared to going in blindly and applying for any old role that you happen to see and a strategy that should see higher response levels from employers / interviewers.