Underwriter Review

I work as a car finance underwriter. This requires me to deal with inbound and outbound calls every day to service customers who are looking at car finance. I mainly interview customers to get an understanding of their circumstances and look into their credit file to see what we can offer on a finance for them. I also work on some projects away from the main underwriting role to help improve our service as a company.

Obviously I have learnt how to underwrite but throughout my apprenticeship I have learned many other skills. I have learned about project management and how to manage a team. I have also had experience working in marketing and how to run different promotional campaigns to increase the response rate on letter we send out for our different products.

I really enjoyed my programme, I was glad to attend university whilst also working full time. This allowed me to develop not just academically but in the workplace aswell. It also meant i made new friends through work and university which wouldnt have been possible if I did one or the other.

As I was one of the first apprentices in my office, there was no direct structure tp my programme. I actually preferred this as it meant i didnt always know what was next and when a change would happen in my role. This meant I was always focused on doing my best and creating my own pathway.

I received a lot of support from First Response. I was given a dedicated apprenticeship mentor who would help me with any struggles I had at university and also in work. This was not about her telling me answers or writing my assignments but more about just having someone to talk to and bounce ideas off throughout the programme,

I also had a mentor assigned at my university who would help me with all things that were involved in my course. The university lecturers also always made time to go to them with any questions and book time in with them if i ever needed any one to one support.

I feel it helped mainly as I was in a group of other people who all had experiences in different fields and were working day to day. I feel university would have been a lot harder if it was made up of people who didn't work full time roles outside of the course.

There are a number of courses that my employer provides to help my development. I have completed one in full already and am closing in on completing another soon. There isn't necessarily specific sports team that represent my employer but I do have regular interaction outside or work with my colleagues on a more social level.

Yes

I feel they are a very good company to work for and really do care about their employees. I feel this may not be as common when speaking to friends in other jobs so I am grateful to work for First Response. I am on board with the culture they have created within the business.

At First Response you need to just be yourself and always be willing to learn and push yourself out of your comfort zone. There are many opportunities within the business but they do not get handed to you if you do not seek to find them yourself. You need to be determined and always willing to learn