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If you’re thinking about studying business or finance, chances are that going into banking has crossed your mind, but how do you know if it’s really the right choice for you? While they come from many different backgrounds, all successful bankers share the five personality traits below. If you do as well, banking just may be your perfect career match.
1. Passion for Numbers
The world of finance turns on numbers. Whether it’s calculating interest rates, assessing the value of investments or preparing new loans, they make up most of what bankers do on a daily basis. If math has never been your strong suit in school, you might have a very hard time adjusting to the typical demands of a banker’s to-do list. That’s not to say that you need to be a master statistician to get started. If you like working with numbers and take an active interest in finance, a proper education and on-the-job training will help you refine the skills you need to build a rewarding career in the banking sector.
2. Integrity
Bankers are pretty important people. From providing financial advice to overseeing large-scale transfers and processing loan applications, they handle a variety of sensitive transactions that have a real impact on their clients’ everyday lives. With so much power comes great responsibility. In the wake of the financial crisis, clients are especially wary about putting their money and future stability into someone else’s hands. As a banker, it’s your job to show that you’re trustworthy, reliable and accountable enough to keep their best interests in mind at all times.
3. Engaging and Friendly Personality
While tellers take walk-ins for simple transactions like money orders, withdrawals and deposits, bankers handle more complex and ongoing tasks like maintaining loans and long-term accounts. That translates to a lot of one-on-one time with people who may at times be nervous, excited, rushed, angry or confused. Whatever the situation may be – and it can change quickly depending on who needs help next – great bankers always know how to make every client feel more comfortable and confident. Their customer service skills are expected to be on par with their positions as first-line representatives of their employers.
4. Attention to Detail
Mistakes can happen in any profession. The difference in banking is that one big error can cause devastating real-life consequences, among them financial losses and identity theft. Since no one can possibly be perfect all the time, there are safeguards in place to catch potential problems, but they’re more like emergency brakes than tools you can use every day. Responsible for managing a large number of high-profile accounts at any given time, bankers are held to a higher standard than other employees. To stay on track, they need to have a great eye for detail and be able to instantly spot inconsistencies.
5. Good Judgment
Bankers not only play an integral role in risk management, helping banks minimize losses by carefully screening accounts and analyzing investments, but they’re also on the frontlines of preventing fraud. Before the web, fraud protection involved digging through mountains of paperwork and making multiple phone calls to cross-check information. While digital data systems have now made most of these old practices obsolete, in some ways, preventing fraud today is more complicated than ever before. With identity theft and other computer crimes on the rise, bankers need to know how to find red flags before they can cause any damage.
Despite the financial crisis, banking remains is one of the most desirable, prestigious and exciting careers in the financial industry. With new regulations firmly in place, it’s set to grow at a safer pace than in the past, so if you choose to join the industry, you can look forward to enjoying a secure career with plenty of opportunities for advancement.
