Employment in banking is a winning proposition if you come to the banking employment table with the right credentials. While entry-level banking jobs are prolific, the better paying jobs in banking require financial knowledge that only comes from training and experience. To pursue a career in the banking industry you should accumulate as many certificates and degrees as you can. Banking industry jobs will continue to flourish for those who bring a multitude of skills to the job.

Look for banking job listings through online banking job boards and through contacts and connections you can make in the industry. Banking recruiters can be helpful for those who already enjoy plentiful job opportunities in banking. Use all the tools available to you to find the best careers in banking. There are a number of avenues you should pursue as you continually upgrade your training for banking jobs.

1. Peruse online banking job boards

2. Find job openings in banking through trade groups

3. Enlist the help of banking recruiters

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Watch for bank job listings online

Take the time to regularly watch the banking employment sites as you look for opportunities online to advance your career in the banking industry. You'll find a number of online financial training programs that will be most helpful in your search for employment in banking. Check out the requirements and look for training to make you more suitable for the position you seek.

I recommend: Banker’s Academy has been serving the industry for more than 20 years with relevant course material that will assist you in your search for jobs in banking. The Training and Certification Center offers a number of banking educational courses online.

Look for banking jobs through associations

While you are pursuing a career in the banking industry you should also be accruing a list of connections that will help you throughout your career. Trade associations are great places to get involved with more senior level bankers and make those important contacts. At the same time, most associations offer a wide variety of professional development courses that will look good on your resume.

I recommend: The American Bankers Association is one of the largest groups that supports the industry and offers multiple opportunities to advance through their professional development arm. The Consumer Bankers Association offers a number of training courses aimed at small business banking management issues.

Use business compensation trade groups for banking employment training

You can get a banking certificate or a professional degree through a number of online universities and other training programs. While most companies will want to see at least a Bachelor's degree, any other certificates you can acquire will aid in your job search. Additional training after you've earned a degree will help as you advance in your career in career in the banking industry.

I recommend: Quest offers a number of online certificates and training programs to help you succeed in the banking industry. Check out some of the self-paced Internet bank training programs offered by BVS.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Make sure that your resume is top notch and error-free when you're looking for banking careers. Get someone with experience in banking industry jobs to go over your CV to see if you've got the right targets highlighted.

If you’re skilled at working with numbers and would feel at ease talking to customers about their finances, you have the foundation to be a top performer in several banking jobs. Two out of three jobs in banking are office and administrative support positions. These includes tellers (who make up the biggest segment of banking industry workers), as well as new accounts clerks and customer service representatives. Management, business and financial positions, such financial managers and loan officers, account for about one-quarter of banking jobs.

A few facts about banking employment prospects:

1. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, opportunities for banking jobs are expected to drop by about 2 percent by 2014 due to mergers, technology and other factors. The bureau projects a 14 percent job growth across all other industries.

2. Tellers and other administrative support workers should continue to be in demand because those positions account for a major portion of banking jobs and tend to have a high turnover.

3. Technology has rendered some back office banking jobs obsolete, but has increased demand for careers in banking information technology.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Check online job boards that specialize in banking jobs

Look for job boards that let you post your résumé as well as scroll through the available jobs in banking. Jobs for bankers include branch managers, tellers, loan officers, banking IT professionals, human resources managers, financial analysts and more.

I recommend: Bankjobs.com and TheBoardNetwork.com’s bankingboard.com focus solely on banking positions. The American Bankers Association’s job board lists accounting positions as well as banking and finance jobs. In addition to open banking jobs, eFinancialCareers provides financial industry news and job hunting tips.

Banking recruiters match you with senior-level jobs for bankers

Banking recruiters can help you locate the most sought-after jobs for bankers, including open positions that banks don't advertise. Banking recruiters usually work only with job hunters who have established careers in banking and are looking for senior management positions.

I recommend: If you pass Filcro Financial Staffing's evaluation process, the firm will make your résumé and other background information available to banks that are in the market for professionals with established careers in banking. NBFSN, a division of National Banking Network, is a nationwide recruiting network that specializes in jobs in banking and related fields.

How much does banking employment pay?

Find out what you can expect to earn in your banking jobs of choice.

I recommend: Payscale gives you the current median salary for seven common banking jobs. Vault.com provides banking salary surveys from major banking employers, including Bank of America, Wachovia and Citigroup.

Polish your résumé and interview skills to land jobs in banking

It's not surprising that those who present themselves in the best light tend to enjoy the most rewarding careers in banking.

I recommend: The financial résumé mavens at FinancialResumePros.com will interview you for a banking job via phone and deliver a résumé draft within five days. Learn what to expect when you’re interviewed for jobs in banking. Banking job applicants share their interview experiences at various banks in Vault.com’s Commercial Banking Interview Surveys. To access the surveys you can sign up for a low-cost Vault.com membership.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Tellers often learn a variety of skills on the job that can lead to other jobs in banking. For example, some tellers are trained to spot financial product and service sales opportunities. Others are cross-trained to serve as customer service representatives.
• •  With more commercial banks offering branded consumer products such as credit cards, there are careers in banking for consumer marketing professionals.
• •  In addition to looking for banking employment on job boards, check bank websites for job postings.

Employment in banking is a changing landscape which you need to stay on top of to remain competitive as you pursue a career in the banking industry. While you can watch the banking job boards for recent openings and stay abreast of the banking careers of the industry leaders, you’ve got to read and keep up with the banking jobs news and trends even when you are not looking for job openings in banking.

Banking jobs become available at certain times and you have to be ready to take advantage of job opportunities in banking when they appear. By reading industry newsletters and online publications as well as blogs and other industry communications, stay on the alert for the banking industry jobs that are changing and evolving so that you can be ready to for employment in banking. Protect your career in a number of ways by keeping up with banking jobs news and trends.

1. Participate in banking job boards

2. Read about jobs in the banking industry

3. Follow banking job listings

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Take part in banking employment blogs

Whenever you have the opportunity to chat online with other banking professionals, make sure to indicate that you are interested in furthering your career in the banking industry. Often you can sort through the gossip and find gems that will assist you in your banking employment search. Look for banking job boards and blogs that offer response opportunities.

I recommend: Vault is an employment portal where you can find others talking about banking careers through the site’s blogs as well as important information about the industry. As a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, you’ll be privy to a select group of job openings in banking as well as opportunities to meet and network with others who are interested in developing careers in banking.

Subscribe to employment in banking publications

Whether you participate in a trade group or are relying on banking recruiters to help you find a career in the banking industry, you should take responsibility for educating yourself and creating your own avenues for creating a career network. By reading the banking job listings and watching the banking job boards, you can stay on top of the emerging trends affecting the banking industry.

I recommend: Stay on top of banking jobs news and trends by following the posting and the reports from Cornerstone. Read about banking trends as you search for jobs in banking at Recruit Bankers.

Keep the lines of information open with banking employment websites

If you are looking to advance your career in the banking industry or need to fill banking industry jobs, you should stay tuned in to the latest news and trends that you'll find on the websites of banking recruiters and through the advice columns that are often part of the banking job listings.

I recommend: Employers and job hunters can get email alerts and keep up with the latest in job opportunities in banking at the Mortgage Board. Sign up for a newsletter and learn about all the news affecting employment and the banking industry at American Banker.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You can always start a new stream of communication on public and social networks such as Monster and Facebook where you look for others who want to blog about jobs in the banking industry to get other perspectives.

Whether or not you have an advanced degree, you can probably find a banking job that suits you. From working with customers to focusing on behind-the-scenes financial work, the banking industry has a lot of job opportunities. At least a bachelor's degree is required for most banking jobs, but there are also jobs for high school graduates or those with an associate's degree. To get started, familiarize yourself with key terms that are common to jobs in the banking industry.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Branch manager

Branch managers are the head of a branch of a bank or credit union. They oversee all the employees and activities at that particular location and usually report to someone at a more central office or corporate headquarters. Duties include hiring and firing, helping out with loans, customer service and sales.

I recommend: For more details on branch management positions at banks, check out the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Financial advisor

A financial advisor (also spelled 'adviser'), discusses investment options with customers to determine what types are best for them. This may include products relating to retirement, stock trading or insurance. Some banks employ financial advisors in-house while others bring them in from third-party brokerages.

I recommend: Find out more about financial advising at Get Degrees.

Compliance officer

Compliance officers review financial transactions to ensure that everything is legal and up to the bank's standards. This position requires a lot of responsibility and knowledge of the industry.

I recommend: ComplianceCrossing has a thorough description of the compliance officer's position.

Loan processor, credit analyst or underwriter

An employee in this position analyzes residential or commercial credit applicants to determine eligibility for loans. Loan processors and credit analysts have a lot of responsibility and must work with clients, gather information and enter data into computer software. An underwriter typically works with mortgages as opposed to loans of lesser value, like vehicles and credit cards.

I recommend: Investopedia provides an in-depth look at the job of the credit analyst.

Teller

Tellers are on the front lines of the bank or credit union: They interact with customers the most and handle the majority of the money. Tellers must be good with computers and have excellent customer service skills.

I recommend: Learn more about what tellers do at University of Missouri - St. Louis.

Chief financial officer (CFO)

This position most often requires some kind of degree in business as well as extensive experience in the industry. The chief financial officer, or CFO, is in control over the entire company's finances and must know how the company interacts with the outside world. The CFO works directly with other chief officers of the company as well as manages subordinates.

I recommend: The Journal of Accountancy has a nice overview of the position of chief financial officer.