Customer Service Advisor



As a customer service advisor or cashier, you are the first point of contact for a bank's customers. That's either in branches serving customers, or in 'contact centres', answering telephone calls and emails.

You would process payments and withdrawals, deal with general enquiries, sell financial products and services, update computerised account details, issue foreign currency, help customers with applications and carry out more general administrative duties.

Employers will generally ask for four or five GCSEs, including English and Maths for these kinds of positions, although many have their own entry exams upon application. Experience of customer service and handling cash is an advantage, as are basic computers skills and office experience.

Mortgage Adviser

Mortgage Advisers help customers find, understand and apply for suitable mortgages. If you worked for a bank or building society you would only be selling your own mortgage products. As an estate agent or mortgage broker you would offer mortgage products from a range of providers.

You would advise customers about the home-buying process, assessing their finances, explaining the different kinds of mortgage products, helping with the application, explaining elements of them and selling other related financial services. Your role may come with sales targets and requires a constantly updated knowledge of the products and the law.

There are strict sets of guidelines laid out by the Financial Services Authority regarding selling the financial products, acting fairly and giving the correct advice.

Communication skills and experience in customer service, sales, or financial services are considered more important than educational qualifications for this role. During your training and career development you would obtain FSA-approved qualifications.

Financial Adviser

As a financial adviser, you would help clients to choose between financial products and services, such as investment opportunities, savings, pensions, mortgages and insurance. There are three ways of working; tied, multi-tied, and independent.

Tied means working for a bank of building society and only offering their products and services, Multi-tied means selling services from a selection of companies, and independent means you offer advice on the whole of the market.

Your duties would involve setting up meetings with clients, finding out about their financial situation and future plans, researching financial products, explaining these products to the clients to help inform their decisions, meeting sales targets, keeping records, producing financial reports, updating clients, keeping up to date with the market and the law.

There are strict rules set out by the Financial Services Authority to ensure you act fairly and are properly qualified to give financial advice.

Again, communication skills, 'people skills' and a background in customer service, sales or financial services can be more important than educational qualifications. The normal promotion route would lead from a customer service role to a tied adviser after achieving a FSA-approved qualification.