Career Progression Opportunities in Retail Banking

So, Retail Banking is for you, is it? Great! Well let’s give you a little sneak peak at the careers ladder:

When entering the profession, most people take a job either in a customer facing role or within the wider support network of the bank. But if you’re looking for a managerial role later on, the bank counter is a good place to start. From there, you learn about how the bank operates, and all the different services that the bank offers its customers, which puts you in a good position to climb the career ladder.

From there, a classic leap is becoming a team leader, which adds some responsibility and the ability to manage personnel – this is a position often given to high-performing members of the bank’s counter team. Another jump from the front desks is to becoming a bank advisor, which is a more sales driven role selling the financial services that the bank offers and hitting targets to show progress. This is a knowledge-gaining position, which further increases your understanding the banking system.

From either of these roles, there’s the scope to become an assistant branch manager, which is an ‘exactly what is says on the tin’ kind of job, assisting the branch manager with their day-to-day tasks in running the branch and making sure everybody is keeping on top of their jobs, as well as filling in wherever necessary to prove your dedication and your all-rounder nature.

The jumps to branch manager, regional manager and executive all follow, although as you can imagine, each jump up the ladder is more and more competitive. But with the right work ethic, ambition and professionalism, there’s no reason you can’t make them – someone has to get the positions, at the end of the day! There’s also an important point to remember, that moving into the regional and office spheres opens up a whole host of opportunities in the lateral sense, whether that be moving into marketing, HR or project management. Keep your options open and anything can happen!

If you’re on a graduate scheme into management, the same applies, although at the end of your scheme you’ll probably be fast tracked into a management role, but the same principles apply in terms of upward mobility! Work hard and the retail banking world is your oyster!