Accountancy & Finance Jobs- London

Blueberry101

I am planning on moving over to London very soon and am wondering about entry level finance and accounting positions and the job market in general for business grads. Do people recommend getting as much experience as possible before making the big move? Or is there scope to get a break in London starting off? Anyone have any experience with recruitment agencies?

About me- I am just starting to do ACCA by home study. My last job was in Real Estate with some experience in Credit Control. Undergraduate in Business from UL and Masters in International Management.

I'm pretty nervous about making the move and would love to hear from some wise minds who have already tackled the job market.

Playboy

Blueberry101 wrote: »

I am planning on moving over to London very soon and am wondering about entry level finance and accounting positions and the job market in general for business grads. Do people recommend getting as much experience as possible before making the big move? Or is there scope to get a break in London starting off? Anyone have any experience with recruitment agencies?

About me- I am just starting to do ACCA by home study. My last job was in Real Estate with some experience in Credit Control. Undergraduate in Business from UL and Masters in International Management.

I'm pretty nervous about making the move and would love to hear from some wise minds who have already tackled the job market.

Finance grad scheme in one of the banks. Will pay for you to do ACCA and give you time off to do it. Salaries range £35k to £50k+ for entry level finance grads

djpbarry

Playboy wrote: »

Finance grad scheme in one of the banks. Will pay for you to do ACCA and give you time off to do it. Salaries range £35k to £50k+ for entry level finance grads

Those are entry level salaries?!? Why pay so much for completely inexperienced staff?

Playboy

djpbarry wrote: »

Those are entry level salaries?!? Why pay so much for completely inexperienced staff?

They are all competing for the best graduates. They usually have a very rigorous selection process that can usually last a few months. When I joined one about 6 years ago the starting salary for a regular grad (finance were paid more) was £31k. The following year it had gone up to £38k and it increased most years as far as I know. The bank I joined wasnt anywhere near the top of the scale when it came to packages.

Fysh

If there's any similarity with the investment banking sector, the salaries are probably skewing that way as an added incentive to retain good people in the face of long, stressful hours.

Playboy

Fysh wrote: »

If there's any similarity with the investment banking sector, the salaries are probably skewing that way as an added incentive to retain good people in the face of long, stressful hours.

To an extent... Long stressful hours vary widely between organisations and within organisations. I honestly always felt the pressure has been to deliver what was needed/asked and hours worked or what time you got into the office was secondary. Some people work very efficiently and can get their work done in 40 hrs that others take 60 hrs to do. I think grad schemes are a way for banks and other organisations to advertise themselves and gain a certain amount of prestige. Attracting the top talent from the top universities is very difficult and competitive and the best way to do it is through salary. Are the grads worth it when they join... Not a chance but.. In 3/4 years they tend to repay the investment if the organisation manages to retain them.

Blueberry101

I probably should have noted that I dont have a 2:1!!! :-(

I am wondering if i should try a lower level job like accounts payable in industry and work my way up. Really dont know where to start. I hear in London though that once you get a job you are stuck in. Anyone have an luck with agencies? Every role I look at requires work experience. I really dont know how im going to crack the job market.

djpbarry

Playboy wrote: »

They are all competing for the best graduates. They usually have a very rigorous selection process that can usually last a few months. When I joined one about 6 years ago the starting salary for a regular grad (finance were paid more) was £31k. The following year it had gone up to £38k and it increased most years as far as I know. The bank I joined wasnt anywhere near the top of the scale when it came to packages.

I actually find that pretty depressing – no wonder The City hoovers up so many science and engineering graduates.

Fysh wrote: »

If there's any similarity with the investment banking sector, the salaries are probably skewing that way as an added incentive to retain good people in the face of long, stressful hours.

Lot’s of jobs that involve long, stressful hours don’t pay anywhere near £50k.

Fysh

djpbarry wrote: »

I actually find that pretty depressing – no wonder The City hoovers up so many science and engineering graduates.

I tend to agree, although at the same time from what I've seen working in the academic sector I can't exactly blame people (Private research firms pay better, but you generally can't go straight in there with "just" a degree, and the funding/competition for post-grad research postings are pretty ruthless...)

djpbarry wrote: »

Lots of jobs that involve long, stressful hours don’t pay anywhere near £50k.

Oh, I know. I personally disagree with the logic that you get the best people by shovelling money in their direction - you get the best people who are primarily financially oriented, sure, and there's probably a pretty good correlation between that subset of the available graduates and the group with the skills required. But this also comes back to the long-standing silliness (IMO) of assuming that third-level education is the best way of developing the skills required for employment. All of which is a genuinely interesting topic for conversation, but probably not a great deal of use to the OP

OP: In general, having experience to your name helps set you apart from the hordes of recent-graduate applicants, but everyone has to start somewhere. I wouldn't rule out agencies, but be aware that the quality of the recruiters you speak to may vary hugely so be careful not to assume they're being 100% honest at all times. It would be foolhardy not to put in the time and research to attempt to find roles directly.

Playboy

Fysh wrote: »

Oh, I know. I personally disagree with the logic that you get the best people by shovelling money in their direction - you get the best people who are primarily financially oriented, sure, and there's probably a pretty good correlation between that subset of the available graduates and the group with the skills required.

I'm not exactly saying that.. what I meant was that the best way to increase the attractiveness of your organisation and industry over another is to provide a superior financial package. Some people as you say arent simply as motivated by money as others are and will choose to follow their passion no matter the pay. Usually these people imo turn out to be the best people at what they do as there is no better motivator to become the best than a passion for something. Thats not to say there are no passionate people within finance in the city... lots of people live and breathe it and lucky for them they avail of fantastic salaries on top.

Playboy

Blueberry101 wrote: »

I probably should have noted that I dont have a 2:1!!! :-(

I am wondering if i should try a lower level job like accounts payable in industry and work my way up. Really dont know where to start. I hear in London though that once you get a job you are stuck in. Anyone have an luck with agencies? Every role I look at requires work experience. I really dont know how im going to crack the job market.

You may be able to get around the 2.1 requirement as you have a masters. They usually have an exceptions process where you can ask them for for permission to apply even though you dont have the minimum requirement. And there may be grad programmes that dont require a 2.1 .. I havent checked them all by any means. There are also a huge amount of companies outside of the finance sector looking for finance grads that might have a different process and would be worth checking out. Have a look on the Prospects website .. its usually quite good.

djpbarry

Fysh wrote: »

I tend to agree, although at the same time from what I've seen working in the academic sector I can't exactly blame people...

Sure, but I meant it more in the sense that few industries (if any) can afford to compete with those kind of salaries for fresh graduates, which heavily biases the recruitment process. I mean, I knew there was an element of this at play, I just had no idea the playing field was sloped so strongly in favour of the finance industry.

Anyways, as you say, not really a discussion for this thread.

Playboy

djpbarry wrote: »

Sure, but I meant it more in the sense that few industries (if any) can afford to compete with those kind of salaries for fresh graduates, which heavily biases the recruitment process. I mean, I knew there was an element of this at play, I just had no idea the playing field was sloped so strongly in favour of the finance industry.

Anyways, as you say, not really a discussion for this thread.

There are not that many hired though year on year. My intake was a 100 people from an applicant pool of over 10,000. All the banks in the square mile wouldnt top 1000 grads in total imo. There are still other ways into these organisations but they wouldnt be anywhere near as well paid. Still probably better than other industries though.

Reekwind

Blueberry101 wrote: »

I probably should have noted that I dont have a 2:1!!! :-(

As a rule a masters compensates for a 2:2. It did for me

djpbarry wrote:

Sure, but I meant it more in the sense that few industries (if any) can afford to compete with those kind of salaries for fresh graduates, which heavily biases the recruitment process

Which is a reflection of the wider economic climate. The reality is that these companies won't necessarily be competing for the best and brightest* but that there's so much money in financial services that some of it inevitably trickles down to the graduates at the bottom

*If they did then they'd probably take care not to work them to the bone. The graduate process for some large banks or consultancies can be brutal

Playboy wrote:

There are not that many hired though year on year. My intake was a 100 people from an applicant pool of over 10,000. All the banks in the square mile wouldnt top 1000 grads in total imo

Add in auditors and consultancies and you'd have a multiple of that. KPMG alone, which would also pay in £30k+ for a graduate, would have an annual intake of 600-700

Playboy

Reekwind wrote: »

Add in auditors and consultancies and you'd have a multiple of that. KPMG alone, which would also pay in £30k+ for a graduate, would have an annual intake of 600-700

Had no idea consultancies took on that many graduates!

Reekwind

Well for KPMG, plus the rest of the Big Four, that would include consultants, auditors and tax advisers. But even a large IT consultancy like Accenture would take in ~300 grads a year

Now only half of those might stick around for the two years but, on the whole, each year big numbers do enter 'professional services' firms via these programmes

Have a look at the different graduate websites if you want a graduate job:
http://www.milkround.com/
http://prospects.ac.uk/
http://www.gumtree.com/accounting-jobs/london
Some might still be hiring for a summer start.

They are probably all over subscribed and remember London can be expensive to live in. Not all jobs are created equal. Consider fund accounting jobs also.

Blueberry101

Deleted User wrote: »

Have a look at the different graduate websites if you want a graduate job:
http://www.milkround.com/
http://prospects.ac.uk/
http://www.gumtree.com/accounting-jobs/london
Some might still be hiring for a summer start.

They are probably all over subscribed and remember London can be expensive to live in. Not all jobs are created equal. Consider fund accounting jobs also.

Thanks for the info. Its a very competitive environment Im guessing? As a mature student should I consider going down a different route like Sales? Recruitment? Hr? If I am P'ing in the wind which I hope I'm not then I'd like to find out now I guess. Decisions... :-(
I have a short background in Credit Control & Sales maybe I should go down that route. Think London is a town of opportunity but competition aswell...

freeze4real

Blueberry101 wrote: »

Thanks for the info. Its a very competitive environment Im guessing? As a mature student should I consider going down a different route like Sales? Recruitment? Hr? If I am P'ing in the wind which I hope I'm not then I'd like to find out now I guess. Decisions... :-(
I have a short background in Credit Control & Sales maybe I should go down that route. Think London is a town of opportunity but competition aswell...

bluebrrry did you apply for any jobs, if so any sucess.

I am thinking of applying to some in england myself but have no experience.