27th October 2017
The banking industry in Nigeria stands out as one of the most attractive industries for qualified candidates in Nigeria. Evidence of this was revealed in the ranking of 3 banks within the top 10 in the Best 100 Companies to Work For in Nigeria.
What makes the banks so alluring to qualified candidates? This article will highlight 5 factors that make banks such great places to work in.
Employee Benefits
Bank employees enjoy employee benefits that compete favourably across other high-performing industries. Remuneration is also competitive, especially for mid-level and senior level employees.
Did you know that most banking firms offer benefits that cover medical insurance and disability insurance, sick leave and vacation, and retirement options? Banking firms are highly regulated and supervised financial operations. This makes them a safe and rewarding place to work.
First Bank of Nigeria, for instance, recently unveiled new career employment models to accelerate career growth and development for staff members. This forms a part of the bank’s efforts to continuously integrate leadership into its culture and build a pool of talent and next-generation leaders who will be groomed to steer the ship of the Bank’s business expansion and continuous growth in Africa.
Heightened Social Skills
The typical banker meets with and attends to the needs of a large number of men and women from different fields and diverse cultures; from career professionals to highflying entrepreneurs.
As a banker, you interact with lots of people and provide financial solutions to their challenges and questions. A good example would be when you inform customers about the different services the bank has for them. This could include opening a certificate of deposit or money market account to help them make more money than they would have done with a savings account.
The constant interaction with people makes it important and easier for you to build your confidence as well as your social skills.
A Better Understanding of Investment Opportunities
By default, banks are into the business financial transactions and one of these include helping individuals and organisations save and grow their money.
How do banks help you invest? One way banks can help you invest your money is through what is called ‘money market instruments.’ Money market instruments like the FBN Money Market Fund give businesses, financial institutions and governments a means to finance their short-term cash requirements.
How does this benefit you as an individual? Getting a portion of your investment into the money market is an option that you should consider. The money market offers you fixed income securities, so, they operate like bonds and help you generate a steady stream of income.
Income from investment of this nature is denominated in interest rates. Some are quoted on yield basis while others are quoted on a discount basis. In any case, you earn income and in some cases, you also enjoy the safety of your capital.
This is a clear example of the information that working in a bank exposes you to. This is, however, merely a tip of the iceberg as there are many other investment opportunities that you become exposed to.
Developing Personal Skills
A great part of your career as a banker will revolve around trust, responsibility and integrity. In the course of dealing with money that belongs to others, you will acquire a number of skills along the line. These include your ability to record transactions accurately, balancing accounting books and respecting the confidentiality of information.
If you ever have a need to change jobs, these skills would prove invaluable. You should also bear in mind that when employers need to fill a role for banking and finance roles, they often favour those with experience in the banking industry.
Making You a Better Salesperson
There are certain departments in a bank that help you improve your ability to sell. As a customer service representative, for instance, you get to recommend different services and packages from the bank to prospective customers and existing ones as well.
Marketing is an essential part of most organisations, which makes sales skills quite desirable across different fields.
Banking jobs have a lot of things going for them and this is precisely why they have stayed attractive to job seekers. Outside the reasons on our list, are there other reasons that make you consider the banking sector a great place to pursue your career goals?
