What is Banking ? What are the Job Prospects in India ?

Answer:

Banking plays a very important role in any Economy. The Banking Sector in India has witnessed many changes from the nationalization of the banks in late sixties to their striving to be in business, in the post liberalized era, in face of the competition from foreign banks.

The fiscal reforms and the IT wave have vastly improved the existing services and introduced many new facilities in the country like tele-banking, credit cards, electronic clearance etc for the first time. In most metropolitan banks, computers are replacing unwieldy ledgers, and more and more banks are offering facilities like Internet banking.

For instance, broadly, the bachelor’s degree program in Banking and Insurance offers specialization in the following areas:

•    Environment and Management of Financial Services
•    Micro Economics
•    Effective Banking Communication
•    Quantitative Techniques in Banking
•    Organizational Behavior in Banking organizations
•    Taxation of Financial Services
•    Laws relating to Banking & Insurance
•    Cost Accounting of B&I Services
•    Equity Debt
•    Corporate Laws governing Capital Markets
•    International Business Management in Banking Organizations
•    HRM in Banking Organizations
•    Strategic Planning in Banking organizations

Job Prospects

Job opportunities for graduates and post-graduates in banking are excellent in India. Once you complete a selective professional course in banking, you will immediately be offered a position as a banking sales officer with the private banks. Of course, your technical skills and basic communication skills do matter in the process.

Besides, positions in insurance, personal loans, mortgages, collections and back office operations are always vacant and offer all bright to average students to avail the opportunities presented.

Banks such as ICICI, HSBC, Kotak Mahindra, HDFC, Standard Chartered, Barclay’s, and American Express are some of the companies that hire banking students at all levels depending on the colleges they are recruiting from.

Pay Packet

The pay scales for banking student who is a fresher could vary anywhere from Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000 to begin with. Students who have post graduated from top b-schools and banking institutions can expect up to Rs 8 lakhs per annum for the role of relationship managers depending on their overall scores and the college they are from.

Several banking companies recruit Indian students from the IIMs, XLRI, FMS and other popular colleges every year for pay packages not less than Rs. 10 lakhs per annum.

However, please be wary that the financial markets are ever fluctuating and may all of a sudden cause crashes in career. There is a constant need to keep yourself updated with latest trends in banking so you remain relevant in your job profile.

Tips for Getting Hired

1.    Be thorough with accounting and financial skills acquired in school and college.
2.    Display a mathematical aptitude to impress the interviewers.
3.    Speak to the point and measure everything quantitatively as you display your subject skills.
4.    Carry your awards and certificates from school and college when you appear for the interview.
5.    Be dressed formally and speak boldly as this is a prerequisite for all candidates appearing for interviews with banking organizations.
6.    Assure the interviewers that you are a target-oriented person who loves daily challenges and narrow deadlines.
7.    Assure the interviewers that you have no hassles working extra hours every day