“Where did you spend your work experience?” has been the most talked about question in our office this week. Prompted, of course, by our newest and youngest-ever recruit.
Looking back, most of us at Hartsfield had pretty random (and mostly poor) work experience placements when we were at school.
The advice gap in financial services, along with the skills gap in attracting young talent, is a growing concern.
As financial service firms, we can all do more to shine a light on the profession we love, to encourage more young people (especially young women) to consider a career in financial advice.
So last month, we spent a week showing Elliot Wright, a year-12 student from Hardenhuish school, what a firm of financial planners really gets up to every day!
In his own words, here’s what he learned:
Day 1 – Young people have little experience in financial planning and investment
Elliot jumps in at the deep end…
“I am currently studying economics, maths and history A-Levels and hope to study economics at university. But we have only briefly touched on the financial services sector in economics, despite it being such an important component of the UK economy. I find most depictions in film or TV pretty implausible.
“People, especially of my age group, tend to have little insight into the financial services sector. While almost everyone will have used banking, many people will have little to no experience with financial planning and investment.
“There’s also a tendency to lump all the jobs in an industry together, as people often do by simplifying the legal and medical sectors down to ‘lawyers’ and ‘doctors’. So, I want to highlight the many different careers – such as financial planning, paraplanning, and investment management – as well as other roles in departments like marketing and administration.”
Day 2 – Business development is just a fancy word for raising a company’s profile
Elliot learns there’s more to business than finances…
“I met with George Fleming, the business development manager, who took me through his responsibilities, specifically his role in marketing and raising the profile of Hartsfield. We also discussed Insight, an app created to allow clients to better understand their finances and the continual change in their pensions and investments.
“George showed me how to look at the analytics behind Hartsfield’s website and social media and how this is used to maximise accessibility for users and the number of potential clients.
“I also learnt more about the ‘right-fit’ process and how Hartsfield can ensure any ‘prospects’ are a good fit, and who they can help.”
Day 3 – What’s a Paraplanner?
Day 3 was all about paraplanning, pods and DISC profiles…
“I started Day 3 of my work experience by talking to Georgina Syrett about her experience as a paraplanner, a role I was unaware of before my week at Hartsfield, despite its importance in every financial planning firm.
“I learnt about a paraplanner’s duties, which include compiling research, reviewing financial plans, and creating suitability reports. My favourite part was the modelling of people’s future finances based on different scenarios, which is useful for recommending how much to spend and save over time.”
The power of the Pod
“Afterwards I sat in on a ‘pod’ meeting, where the Wiltshire office came together to discuss changes or new areas of focus, and feedback on any ideas or suggestions. It really demonstrated how all the different roles in the office fit together.”
DISC Personality Profiling
“I took a DISC assessment, which describes your personality, and the way you respond and interact with different types of people and environments. Just a quarter of an hour’s worth of questions – based around which statement from four options describes you best – is enough to give an incredible amount of data on how best to perform in interviews and different work settings.
“Overall, it was very useful to reflect on the different characteristics you possess, that self-awareness helps you improve how you work with others, and work independently.”
Day 4 – There’s more to compliance than you think
Turns out compliance and investments are actually quite interesting…
“Today I met Mark Futcher, Hartfield’s compliance officer, who told me about his role and his career in the wider financial services industry.
“A summary of his role revealed a much wider range of responsibilities than I had originally anticipated: risk management, client outreach, building the Hartsfield intranet, sitting on the investment committee, as well as ensuring Hartsfield operates correctly and fully under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) guidelines.
“Afterwards, I met with Gareth Lewis, who manages Hartsfield’s investments.
“This was a meeting I was particularly looking forward to, since, post-university, I could see myself working in a similar area.
“The process of selecting funds in which to invest, based on the client’s appetite for risk, ethical choices, and starting capital was complex but fascinating. It was also very useful to have an introduction to the software and platforms that are used for investing and generating reports for clients.”
Day 5 – Financial services is a lot more than managing finances
It’s all about the acronyms…
SIPPs and SSASs
“My final day of work experience started with learning about Hartsfield Trustee, and more about the different products offered.
“Paul Verwoert explained self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) and small self-administered schemes (SSASs), and how they could be used to help individuals and businesses. Getting an insight into the work Hartsfield does to help businesses was particularly useful as I am interested in working in business consultancy in the future.
“This week has shown me just how many different careers there are to pursue in the industry.
“I’ve gained an insight into the industry I hope to work in one day, seen first-hand the wide range of pursuable careers in finance, and their different responsibilities, and I’ve been able to look at how a local business operates.
“I feel like I’m leaving with a massively improved appreciation of how the financial services industry works, and what it’s like to work inside it.”
Contact us
We’ve loved welcoming Elliot behind the scenes of a growing financial services company.
If you or anyone you know is looking for summer work experience in Bristol, Bath, or Cheltenham, please email us at: bristol@hartsfield.co.uk.