The Student Room Group

Regulatory References for Graduate jobs after Dismissal

My cousin (22) was recently dismissed from his finance job after emailing sensitive company data to his personal email while working from home. His intentions were to complete additional work, not anything malicious. However, the company dismissed him for misconduct regardless.

In job applications for graduate finance roles (at firms like Barclays, Lloyds, Deloitte etc.) he worries they will request a regulatory reference that mentions the specifics of his termination. He's anxious whether this dismissal, despite his intentions, might still be problematic or disqualify him. My current advice is to explain the reasons transparently if asked by interviewers about leaving his finance job. He also wonders if using positive references from previous jobs in hospitality and tutoring would raise suspicions over omitting the finance role’s regulatory reference. Given his current low confidence, any advice to reassure him on transparency about the dismissal or using alternative references would be greatly appreciated.