I worked for 10 weeks in Financial Institutions, Commercial Banking on the 2015 Lloyds Banking Group Returners Programme and secured a permanent role as a Relationship Manager in the Pensions, Wealth and Stockbrokers team in Financial Institutions Division in Edinburgh.
My previous Commercial Banking experience included a Relationship Director role at Barclays Corporate (6 years), Nationwide Building Society Property Finance Lending Manager (3 years) and 3 years retail experience at Nationwide Building Society including their Graduate Management Development Programme.
Prior to the programme, I took a two-year career break. I left Barclays in London to move with my wife and two young children back home to Edinburgh in time for the start of their schooling and to restart a banking career in Edinburgh. My time out of work extended to two years in order to complete the property development of our new family home and to spend as much time as possible with my kids as they settled into nursery and school.
I heard about the Lloyds Banking Group Returners Programme via the Lloyds Banking Group careers website. I was attracted to their leading market position in Commercial Banking in Scotland via Bank of Scotland and by their proud history and legacy.
I found the programme extremely positive in terms of the welcome and support provided by HR, colleagues (team, buddy and line manager) and notably Senior Executives who we met on a series of introductory meetings across the 10 week programme. The challenges I faced when returning to work were not as great as I feared in terms of market knowledge and role. However, as with most large financial organisations, the sheer size of the business made it a challenge to learn about all the different parts of the bank and to navigate my way around it
Returning to work has rekindled my enjoyment of banking. I think there is a real benefit to the Group recruiting returners who can bring a fresh perspective on the business, not only from their previous roles, but also through their increased enthusiasm following the time away from work.