Background

Chris Longsdale, 25, graduated in 2005 with a degree in Physical Geography & Environmental Management from Keele University.

Phone Interview to Contract Signing

After finishing university, Chris, like many new graduates didn’t know what, how or where he would find ‘the career’ he had been studying towards. He had found a job, but nothing that offered him a long-term future. In 2007 Chris’ brother sent him a web link to Pareto, one of the UK’s largest graduate assessment, placement and training companies, which advertised a role with Alliance & Leicester. Chris sent in his CV and was quickly contacted by a Pareto Graduate Manager for a short initial telephone interview. The interview went well, and he was invited to the next stage of the application process, an assessment day, later that month.

During the phone interview I was able to ask questions and gain understanding of the type of jobs available. It was the Alliance & Leicester role that really interested me so to be invited to their assessment day was my chance to find out more and see if I would fit with their company culture,” said Chris

Getting to Grips with the Assessment Day

The Alliance & Leicester Assessment Day was dedicated to finding people just for them. A team from the Alliance & Leicester sat in on the activities, which were held at the Pareto Assessment Centre in Cheshire. Designed to be a fun and challenging experience, the assessment day combines team-building activities, psychometric testing, interviews and presentations

While sales form a key part of his role, he also works with a number of strategic business partners who offer merchant services and business ban king as an additional element of their operations, with Chris providing advice, support and updates to help them develop their business.

The opportunity to work with the Alliance & Leicester was very exciting, particularly in my role, which offers great diversity and the chance to work with some very talented people. One day I can be working from home, the next I’m meeting with directors of a partner company – it’s a fast paced environment and offers great potential for me,”said Chris

Training for Success

All of the Alliance & Leicester graduates combine on-the-job training with the company’s official training programme, workshops and FSA training, providing them with a range of skills to quickly fit into their roles. Graduates also benefit from confidential one-to-one briefings and specialist training workshops with independent business advisors from outside the company. These advisors are all leaders in their field, and focus on the graduates to help them maximise their potential.

Chris is now studying for the 12-month Diploma in Relationship Management, financed by Alliance & Leicester, and over the coming months he will take Commercial Awareness, Trusted Advisor, Credit & Risk and Negotiation courses. All of the training is designed to support his growth and development within the financial environment.

Looking to the Future

The opportunities within Alliance & Leicester are vast. The size of the company means there are plenty of opportunities for Chris to develop and potentially take his career in a different direction. SME banking is a big growth area and offers Chris the chance to quickly move into a senior management role. Alternatively, the corporate side offers a range of opportunities to broaden his experience and grow his skill base. Chris is also lucky enough to have a mentor in Simon Lloyd, Alliance & Leicester’s HR Director, who is focused on continually developing and improving the graduate scheme.

Alliance & Leicester and Pareto

Alliance & Leicester is best known as a high street bank in the UK, with over 5.5 million customers and 252 branches across the UK. Its Commercial Banking arm provides finance and investment solutions to companies ranging from major blue chips to specialist organisations.

Pareto places some 1600 graduates a year with companies across the UK, including leading blue-chips and specialist organisations. The attraction of Pareto’s approach is its ability to assess graduates on more than their degree, looking at everything from personality to motivators, which allows them to place graduates in roles suited to their individual goals and ambitions. Pareto also provides a range of training programmes covering presentation skills to negotiation.

Pareto is now Alliance & Leicester’s only provider of new graduate talent, with the two companies working in partnership to select and develop the best people to build on Alliance & Leicester’s success.