Imagine having a job that is exciting and mysterious; a robbery could happen anytime and stashes of a billion dollars piled through a thick steel door. Secret codes are made, protecting the money, hidden in minds.Burglars could break in, clothed in plain black with a masked face, a sack in hand...
So what's it REALLY like to work in a bank? I recently interviewed my Mum's friend, Kate* to find out...
Me: How did you get work at a bank?
Kate: My first job after university was at a finance company which was owned by a bank. My job became redundant so I applied for one at the bank.
Me: What job did you have at the bank?
Kate: I worked in Corporate Banking and Commercial Banking. The Corporate Banking was all the really big clients, like councils and things like that, and the Commercial Banking were smaller sized ones like building companies.
Me: Did you enjoy working at a bank?
Kate: Yes, and no! Yeah, there were things that were really interesting when you are dealing with all the different clients and learning about all the different businesses - that was really interesting. And then there's the other side, like the Work Compliance side making sure all the things are done the right way. Every job has it's good and bad sides.
Me: What part did you least enjoy?
Kate: I worked during the Global Financial Crisis, or the G.F.C, so there were a lot of businesses that were struggling and so we were having to have lots of hard conversations with them about why things weren't going so well. And one company I had to tell them that the two directors had to sell their houses. So stuff like that wasn't so fun...
Me: Was that a big part of your job?
Kate: No. during that time - the G.F.C - there was lots of having to monitor clients, and making sure that everything was okay and that they were making enough money to justify the money that we were lending them. There were only a couple of clients I had that were really, really struggling, so... thankfully it wasn't all of them!
Me: Did you have to study very hard to get your job?
Kate: Well I did a Bachelor of Management studies at university, which was a 4-year degree, and that enabled me to get a job at the finance company.Everything else I learnt on the job. I didn't get to do any other studies.
Me: Ok, now the most important question - did you ever see where all the money was kept?
Kate: In the branch where I worked, we were upstairs - so when most people go to the bank, they think of people that work in the bank as being a teller, but we were just in a normal, upstairs office. So, no, I didn't go down into the vault to see the money, but I did go in the Strong Room out the back where there was a lady who would put together lots of money for all the retail shops.
Me: Would you recommend this job to anyone, or not?
Kate: Yep. I think some people would enjoy it - someone who is into counting and numbers, that kind of thing.
*Not her real name
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