Assistant Credit Analyst Review

I am an Assistant Credit Analyst within the Commercial Bank. My team undertake independent credit risk assessments for existing and new Large Corporate Clients. On a day-to-day basis, my role varies from writing credit recommendations to be submitted to a Credit Sanctioner, to also creating sector insights and responding to adhoc requests.

Within this role, I have developed a number of transferable skills including influencing abilities and communicating clearly (written, verbally etc). Skills specific to this role include the ability to assess a credit request and form my own opinion on the credit. I have developed subject matter expertise on a number of sectors and have learnt how to interpret financial accounts.

I have been completing my Apprenticeship alongside my day-to-day role as a way to further my skills and development. I have enjoyed my Apprenticeship as it has enabled me to undertake an additional professional qualification which has broadened my technical knowledge. The Apprenticeship has also taught me how to prioritise and balance studying alongside my role and I have enjoyed this challenge.

I have regular contact with my Talent Coach and as I have progressed I feel that the organisation of the Apprenticeship has improved. When I first started I found it difficult to understand the different stages of my learner journey and feel this could have been communicated more clearly from the beginning. My Apprenticeship was also adjusted by my provider halfway through to switch professional qualification. Although this was not ideal, it allowed me to change my qualification to one which is more applicable to my role.

My manager is fully supportive of my Apprenticeship and attends regular calls with my Talent Coach. As I am undertaking one of the higher level Apprenticeships which are relatively new to the organisation, some of my previous managers were not fully aware of what the requirements are and therefore I feel that there could have been more communication from the central Apprenticeships team to support this. Despite this, I would consider the support to be good overall.

The support was good for my technical qualification. Studying for the qualification involved a mixture of face to face workshops and virtual workshops and there was an online platform where I was able to ask questions about my assignments if required. My Talent Coach was also supportive of my qualification and was flexible with my other targets when I had deadlines and assignments due.

My technical qualification provided me with an opportunity to research further into the external environment and regulations in the financial services industry. Overall it has broadened my awareness of wider industry trends and regulation and I can incorporate some of this learning into my day-to-day role. The qualification was not specific to my role in Credit Risk.

As we have been mostly working from home in the past year, I have attended a number of virtual events such as social quizzes and webinars focused on career development. There are a number of networks to join which host their own social events, one in particular hosted weekly live yoga sessions throughout lockdown in March 2020.

Yes

I would recommend as it is an inclusive place to work with a strong focus on colleague wellbeing. There is also a focus on professional development and I have had the opportunity to be involved in a wide range of projects both inside and outside of my day-to-day role which have aided my career development, with full support from my managers to do so.

My advice would be to prepare examples of where you have gone above and beyond and use the skills listed in the job description to determine your examples. Technical knowledge can be taught and therefore it is important to demonstrate that you have a positive attitude and are willing to learn when applying for a role.