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Finance and consultancy

Office workers pointing pens at a graph on a table

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This sector not for you?  Don't worry, there are plenty of others to explore.

Accountancy and business services cover many areas, including auditing, insurance, taxation and financial management. Roles can be within the private, public or voluntary sectors.

Consultancy offers independent advice and expertise to clients on a variety of issues (like improving company performance and business planning).

Finance and consultancy make up one of the largest sectors to recruit graduates. Employers range from international companies to small businesses. Some firms have in-house finance departments, while others hire external consultants and accountancy providers.

New! Thinking about management consultancy? Listen to our podcast interview with Jo Auger who has worked as a consultant with Capgemini, EY and Gate One.

Find out about finance and consulting

Key resources

Research the sector and keep up with current issues by reading:

What skills do I need?

Jobs in finance and consultancy are often high pressure and involve working long hours. Depending on the kind of role, you will need to demonstrate these skills:

  • business/commercial awareness
  • analytical skills
  • problem-solving
  • communication
  • accuracy
  • negotiation
  • initiative
  • time management
  • organisation
  • interpersonal/people skills
  • numeracy.

While graduates of any discipline can go into these careers, for a career in finance you may have to take on-the-job finance qualifications to progress. Some graduate schemes include further qualifications as part of their schemes. For more information, read about finance qualifications from Prospects.

Work experience

Work experience is essential for this competitive sector. You should think about:

  • Insight days and shadowing opportunities - many large graduate recruiters run insight days to give you a taste of the sector. You can also send speculative applications to smaller finance companies to try and arrange short work shadowing opportunities to help you decide if a certain job is suited to you.
  • Internships during your first year - some firms offer short internships open to first year undergraduates. These are typically shorter than the summer long internships offered to second year students. You can see a list of opportunities on Student Ladder.
  • Summer internships with finance and consulting firms are very competitive but give valuable experience. Some students are offered graduate jobs with the firm they intern with. Internships are advertised on Handshake and on websites like TARGET Jobs and Prospects. Student Ladder also has a link of firms that usually offer summer internships.
  • You can gain experience in other ways. Look into opportunities available with York Community Consulting (applications to get involved are usually open in January). or volunteer for a finance/treasurer role in any student society.

There are opportunities exclusively for students from black, asian or other ethnic minority backgrounds (BAME) to gain work experience in finance and consultancy. Some popular schemes include SEO London and the Windsor Fellowship. Visit the drop-in in Careers and Placements for help finding more schemes.

Finding jobs

Large graduate schemes are advertised through general graduate vacancy sites like TARGETjobs and Prospects. You will also find these on Handshake.

Many consultancy firms are based in London; Prep Lounge has a comprehensive list of London-based firms with the industry each works in, Glassdoor ratings and starting salaries.

If you’re interested in a particular area of finance and consultancy, look on these specialist vacancy sites:

Accountancy

Banking (investment and retail)

Insurance, pensions and actuarial

Recruitment process

Most large employers in this sector have multi-stage recruitment processes, which may include any of the following:

  • online application form
  • online interview
  • psychometric test
  • assessment centre, including presentations
  • interview.

Applications close very early for some schemes - some in December - so give yourself enough time to apply.

Smaller companies may have simpler recruitment processes. This may include applying with your CV and an interview for shortlisted candidates.

Use our pages on applying for jobs and the recruitment process to help with your preparation.

What can I do at York?

There are lots of things you can do right now at university to help you get the skills and experience for a career in finance or consulting:

More resources: blogs, networks and people to follow

Networks and accounts to follow

Connect with York graduates on York Profiles and Mentors

Find the full list of graduate profiles on York Profiles and Mentors

Social media accounts

Blogs and podcasts

Blogs and news

Podcasts

Practice interviews

You can use Shortlist.Me to prepare for job interviews. Try these interviews with employers working in finance and consulting:

Find out more about interview prep on the Apply for jobs pages.