Anyone work in finance? I really want to work in finance

Hello, long story short, I REALLY want to work in finance. I have no experience in anything to do with finance or accounting and this is of course holding me back. I’ve had two interviews for accounting apprenticeships but didn’t get them (early last year). I gave up trying to get an apprenticeship though as I was literally trying for over two years and the “training centres” we’re f*cking useless and as I’m now 22 the wage isn’t liveable. I currently work in retail and in a cafe. I really want to get out of this though but I don’t know how. All of the jobs I see for finance I’m actually so sad that I can’t apply as they require a couple of years of experience or the “assistant” jobs I never hear back from. Going to university isn’t an option for me currently due to financial and family circumstances. Does anyone know how I could be able to get into finance as I know everything’s possible I just have to try but I’m completely lost. How did you get into finance? Thank you :smile:

Reply 1

Mosaic4

17

Original post by Anonymous

Hello, long story short, I REALLY want to work in finance. I have no experience in anything to do with finance or accounting and this is of course holding me back. I’ve had two interviews for accounting apprenticeships but didn’t get them (early last year). I gave up trying to get an apprenticeship though as I was literally trying for over two years and the “training centres” we’re f*cking useless and as I’m now 22 the wage isn’t liveable. I currently work in retail and in a cafe. I really want to get out of this though but I don’t know how. All of the jobs I see for finance I’m actually so sad that I can’t apply as they require a couple of years of experience or the “assistant” jobs I never hear back from. Going to university isn’t an option for me currently due to financial and family circumstances. Does anyone know how I could be able to get into finance as I know everything’s possible I just have to try but I’m completely lost. How did you get into finance? Thank you :smile:

Hi. First of all, don’t give up.

Instead of looking at assistant accountant roles, have you tried searching for finance trainee roles instead? These will generally take on people with no previous finance experience but you need to explain how the roles in retail and a cafe are relevant. I have recruited people from both these areas to be finance trainees in the past, you just need to think how to sell your skills.

E.g. both should have given you good communication skills which are important. Have you got any examples where you’ve had to make decisions, manage your own time, deal with difficult customers, solve a problem. I bet you’ve got examples of all of these, you just need to make sure you are showing how the experience you’ve got can be converted into a finance role.

I would also still look at apprenticeships as they are a good route to get into a finance department and more and more businesses are using this route to take on new staff. The apprentice wage does vary with age and so it might be more doable now you are a bit older. Some firms may pay slightly more than this too, so it’s worth looking into.

You don’t need to do a degree to get into finance. The entry level qualification for someone with no previous experience/ qualification is AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians). Perhaps you can search to see if there any jobs which mention this in the title. AAT themselves might be able to highlight roles in your area if you contact them.

Best of luck.

Edit: I have just checked on the AAT website and there is a facility to search for apprenticeships in your area that offer the AAT qualification. There are also links to local training providers that may be able to match you up with suitable employers too (we do this with the training provider in our area) plus there are also links to various jobs sites which offer AAT. It’s worth a look.

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 2

ajj2000

20

Original post by Anonymous

Hello, long story short, I REALLY want to work in finance. I have no experience in anything to do with finance or accounting and this is of course holding me back. I’ve had two interviews for accounting apprenticeships but didn’t get them (early last year). I gave up trying to get an apprenticeship though as I was literally trying for over two years and the “training centres” we’re f*cking useless and as I’m now 22 the wage isn’t liveable. I currently work in retail and in a cafe. I really want to get out of this though but I don’t know how. All of the jobs I see for finance I’m actually so sad that I can’t apply as they require a couple of years of experience or the “assistant” jobs I never hear back from. Going to university isn’t an option for me currently due to financial and family circumstances. Does anyone know how I could be able to get into finance as I know everything’s possible I just have to try but I’m completely lost. How did you get into finance? Thank you :smile:

What qualifications (GCSE , A Levels) do you have? Which part of the country are you in?