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London’s Finance Industry – a PAs point of view

Written by: Tiger Recruitment
Published on: 20 May 2016

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As a host to over 500 banks, London City is where the majority of London's finance/banking industry is located. It is a City that thrives in foreign exchange, insurance, trading and traditional banking with many financial institutions choosing London as the location of their headquarters.

It is one of the most sought after industries for PA's working in the City. In order to get a better idea of why this is, we had a brief chat with one of our candidates who has been working in the industry for 8 years.

What was your first role within Finance and Banking? What do you do now?

I worked in settlements for a small brokerage (settle the daily trades). I am currently working as a PA in Investment Management.

What is a typical day like working on the trade floor?

Early start - coffee is necessary! Go through any emails that have come in the night before. Grab coffee and breakfast for your boss. It is usually very fun and loud on trading floors, especially on the floors I've worked on. Lots of laughing! Depending on your boss it can sometimes be a bit like the devil wears Prada! For a PA the days are very long, you are generally in an hour before your boss and leave an hour later. It's stressful and there is a lot of pressure to get everything correct. It's expected for you to get problems solved before anyone even knows there is a problem.

Why do you think the finance industry is such a popular business to work in? What makes it stand out?

The finance industry has many perks – I would say, the money and how fast paced it is! But it's not for the faint hearted or anyone that gets offended easily and no two days are the same. I loved working on trading floors but I've recently left the trading floor, I still work in finance but off the floor.

What advice would you give to people wanting to start their career in the finance and banking industry?

Start small. I would suggest working for a brokerage. This will enable you to get a feel for the industry and how the people in the industry work. When interviewing for roles, make sure your personality comes across.

If you think that the fast paced buzz of the finance industry is something you would be interested in, here at Tiger we are more than happy to help. Please feel free to contact us to begin your career in banking/finance.

Grace Tedstone - Office Manager
Tiger Recruitment Ltd 

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