Banking and finance

Have a look at Prospects and targetjobs to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:

• Commodity broker
• Corporate investment banker
• Financial adviser
• Financial trader
• Investment analyst
• Investment fund manager
• Operational investment banker
• Retail banker
• Stockbroker

• an understanding of and interest in financial markets and the banking industry
• strong numerical and analytical skills
• excellent relationship building and communication skills
• confidence in making decisions and having significant responsibility
• the ability to cope with pressure and high levels of stress

According to a 2023 report from High Fliers, investment banking is one of the highest paid graduate roles. The median starting salary is £55,000.

• browse our NCL Graduate Employment Outcomes directory. See examples of what our graduates were doing 15 months after their studies
• use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
• search our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank
• attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
• sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
• attend events, including recruitment events and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

• RateMyPlacement placement year reviews written by students.
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

Read career guides for this sector, such as:

• Banking and Investments (Inside Careers)
• Investment banking and investment (TARGETjobs)
• eFinancialCareers - news and insights
• eFinancialCareers 2022 -23 Banking Careers Guide
• Prospects - overview of the finance sector

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from your industry. Reading about trends and developments can be useful for applications and interviews.

Examples include:

• Financial Times
• FT Adviser
• Bloomberg.com
• The Economist
• Reuters
• The Banker
• The Motley Fool

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry.

• Women in Banking and Finance – nationwide events open to non-members
• banking and investment events for women (targetjobs)

Many big employers and professional bodies run events, eg J.P.Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citi.

See also our events, including recruitment events and employer & sector insights.

Join banking and finance specific student societies

The Accounting and Finance Society and the Investment Society often organise and promote events and invite guest speakers to talk about their careers.

Use social media to find industry insights

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

Find out more about how to use social media for your career.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network

Professional bodies often:

• run networking events
• have specialist groups you could join
• post vacancies on behalf of their members
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications

Key organisations include:

Banking

• UK Finance
• Building Societies Association
• Chartered Banker Institute

Investment

• Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME)
• FIA - trade organisation for futures, options and cleared swaps
• CFA Society of the UK - professional body for chartered financial analysts
• Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment
• Association of Investment Companies
• Investment Management Association

Financial advice

• Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (PIMFA)

Regulatory bodies

The Prudential Regulation Authority supervises UK banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and investment firms. The Financial Conduct Authority regulates the financial services industry in the UK, including financial advisers.

Finding professional bodies worldwide

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.  

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled. 

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Internships, placements & shadowing - links to vacancy sites
• Global work experience - for internships or placements abroad

Insight programmes

Insight programmes are common in banking and finance. These tend to be for one to five days during Easter and/or Christmas holidays. They are a good way to find out more about a company and get the edge for internship applications.

• E4S: Insight Days - list of insight days, including accountancy and banking firms
• Rate my Placement: insight schemes
• SEO offer insight programmes in banking with partner companies
• Student Ladder

• The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage.
• You can search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer - just type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box.

Access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them. 

For graduate schemes, apply as early as possible.  

UK applications typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled. 

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies. 

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

Banking and finance vacancy sites

• eFinancial Careers
• British Finance Jobs
• City Jobs
• Women in Banking and Finance - jobs

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites.

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities: 

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in. 
2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company. 
3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated. 

If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying! 

 You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you: 

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin 

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’ 
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page 
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed  

• find companies on MyCareer - click ‘Search' then 'Organisations’ to find companies the Careers Service has worked with. Can filter by keyword, sector and region
• targetjobs: Organisations - search by sector, eg banking and finance
• UK Finance – lists member banks operating in the UK
• AFME list full members and associate members operating in the financial industry
• London Stock Exchange – member firm directory
• Association of Investment Companies – search for an investment company by name, location or industry
• PIMFA – includes a members' directory, useful for research and speculative applications
• LinkedIn Find Alumni tool – search through Newcastle University graduate profiles for inspiration. Filter by location, area of work, degree studied and skills to see where they are working. Consider how they got into their career, where they have worked, what kind of experience have they had etc
• Researching employers – includes ways to source and research companies
• professional body websites sometimes include member directories, which are helpful for finding employers

Search GoinGlobal’s employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of recruitment agencies in specific countries. They are listed under the following headings:

• staffing agencies and temporary help firms
• executive recruiters and search firms

Recruitment agencies may not operate in the same way in different countries. In the UK agencies are free for job seekers, but this may not be the case elsewhere. Explore the terms and conditions of an agency before signing up to use them.