A lot of people think that to have a successful career in banking you need to be great at mathematics, but that’s not the case. While you need to be comfortable working with numbers in most of our roles, we look for talented people of all disciplines and backgrounds who are ready to learn and bring their natural skills to the table. People like Jerry; student body president, philosophy graduate and all-round people person.
“At university, I didn’t want to study anything related to mathematics. I chose philosophy because I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, and it taught me to be curious about everything.”
Getting a feel for finance
Jerry applied for a range of internships and secured a place at a financial services start-up helping unbanked people. Despite a lack of direct experience, he found he really enjoyed learning about anti-money laundering and conducting know-your-customer background checks.
The internship opened up new interests and using a skills-matching tool at his college, Jerry was able identify employers and roles that best matched his skills and abilities. To his surprise, he found that Deutsche Bank was a perfect match.
“I definitely didn’t expect to work at a bank. But once I read the job description and saw the similarities to my internship, I thought I might as well apply. I honestly didn’t expect them to get back to me.”
Serving clients with confidence
Although he was worried that other grads had more technical knowledge than he did, Jerry had confidence in his experience, his skills and his ability to translate them into impact. He focussed on what he was good at and worked hard to catch up on the technical side.
“At the end of the day, none of us had worked at a bank before, so we were all on a relatively level playing field. But I was confident talking in front of large groups of people, which gave me an advantage.”
”Now Jerry’s putting his organizational and people skills to good use, serving a wide portfolio of clients across India, North America and the Caribbean as a Client Service Officer on the Institutional Cash Solutions desk. Despite starting at the bank during COVID-19 and working remotely, he’s been able to adapt, learn the role and earned clients’ respect and gratitude within a few months.
‘’Clients have acknowledged that despite the pandemic and the fact we haven’t been able to meet, they’re happy with my service. I'm really proud that they're just as satisfied and looking forward to developing those relationships further.’’
Opening doors
Looking back on his time in the graduate program, Jerry is grateful for the opportunities for career advice he received from mentors and senior colleagues. But he’s been surprised by just how open colleagues beyond his own team have been.
“I think the bank puts a priority on grads. Since I started, I know I can send anyone, including VPs and MDs, an email asking to speak and they always respond in decent time. I really appreciate that.”
Going forward, he wants to help others to follow in his footsteps. He’s a treasurer for the bank’s multicultural partnership employee resource group and plays an active part in the Black Leadership Forum which focusses on recruiting, developing, nurturing and retaining black talent at Deutsche Bank.
“I want to show people who may not have thought about banking that they can do it. Look at me: if I can, so can you!”