The barriers to entry is the hardest part about landing a career in the advice profession, according to Octopus Money chartered financial adviser, Kristian Manton.
Manton, who became a fellow of the Personal Finance Society at the age of just 21, said that, while the industry was very supportive once he was “on the inside”, taking the first step on his career journey was difficult as someone without a university degree.
Manton left school at 18 and got a job as a checkout attendant.
He had always had an interest in money, constantly asking his mum what the interest rate on his bank account was at age 12, and so, despite having never gone to university, he decided to work towards securing a career in finance.
To this end, Manton printed off copies of his CV and knocked on the doors of local finance companies.
“The first company I went to gave me a phone call and said ‘We’ve not had anyone knock on the door for years, do you want to come in for an interview?’ and it all started from there,” he said.
In his initial role, Manton was responsible for “very basic” jobs such as making the teas and doing scanning but said that over time as he took more exams and became more qualified he “slowly worked up through the ranks”.
Manton said actually getting his foot in the door was the “the hardest part” of getting a career in advice and financial services.
“If you try and apply online, there’s all these criteria that you have to meet and it’s very much regimented, asking if you have a degree in particular subjects and, if you don’t, they don’t consider you,” he said.
While Manton was able to circumvent this barrier, he identified several things the industry could do to minimise the impact on future jobseekers, such as raising awareness of the advice profession.
Addressing the barrier
He said currently in schools, there is a prominent idea that university is necessary for future careers but, as Manton showed, this is not necessarily true to become a financial adviser.
“The industry can point out there is another route and there are lots of companies who are hungry for young talent. You don’t necessarily have to go down the traditional path, you can come straight into the industry,” he said.
He added this route into the industry could be more effective for young talent as it allows them to go through every bit of the process, eventually allowing better service.
“For example, when the client wants to know how long something is going to take, you’re able to provide them with an instant and accurate estimate,” he pointed out.
Additionally, Manton suggested that companies could make it easy to apply for jobs on their website by opening the recruitment process up to a wider pool of candidates.
