Are you interested in taking that first step into a compliance career but aren’t sure where to start? With many major financial institutions making significant investments in compliance roles, now is the time to make the move.
Finding Your First Role In Compliance
We have five top tips on how to land a role in this exciting and growing sector. Here’s how.
Identify Transferable Skills
Even if you haven’t worked in this sector before, you’ll undoubtedly have picked up skills and attributes relevant to compliance; it is just a question of identifying them and highlighting their relevance to a potential employer.
The following skills are all valuable in compliance roles: attention to detail, ability to work as a team and independently, good time management, ability to prioritize key tasks, problem-solving, critical thinking, and excellent communication skills.
Research The Sector
Demonstrate your interest in and knowledge of compliance by reading up on the sector and keeping up to date with the latest news, regulations, and industry trends. Fraud and money laundering alongside the new protocols and technology to combat them are regularly big stories in the news.
Moreover, by subscribing to specialist financial publications, you can gain deeper insights into the key issues behind the headlines. Such publications include ICA’s inCOMPLIANCE magazine, which all members of the ICA receive for free. Discover more about ICA’s membership benefits.
Network
Keep an eye out for industry events and workshops shared on platforms like LinkedIn, including those organized by the ICA.
These are excellent opportunities to meet experts already working in the field and even potentially the actual people who will be making the hiring decisions for upcoming roles. You might even discover vacancies that have not yet been advertised.
Don’t be afraid to ask those you meet how they got started in this sector; it’s a fantastic way to get answers, as well as flagging you as someone interested in making the move.
Prepare For Interviews
This advice, of course, applies to any career, but it’s worth emphasizing if you’re interested in compliance, and that advice is: failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
You should thoroughly research the companies you are interviewing for. Plus, if they are a subsidiary or part of a group, study the parent company, the sister companies, and the wider business too.
Ahead of any interviews, you should ensure you know your CV inside and out, as well as consider any sections that might prompt further questions.
Always have an answer ready to the question of why you want to join the specific organization – it’s never enough just to want a job; be prepared to explain why you think the company is specifically a good fit for you and vice versa.
Gain Qualifications
Last but certainly not least, a great way to help you secure your first role in compliance is to get qualified. It not only shows your commitment to personal development in this area but also provides evidence that you have knowledge and understanding to a certain level in a particular discipline. This is highly sought after by employers across the industry.
Obtaining a relevant professional qualification from the ICA will help you to stand out from the crowd, being recognized by many regulators across the world as evidence of competence and ‘fitness and properness’ to undertake compliance roles.
Discover how the ICA can help you to become qualified and begin your career in compliance by exploring the range of courses available.
This article was first published by the International Compliance Association (ICA), the leading professional body for the global regulatory and financial crime compliance community. For more information on the benefits of becoming an ICA member, including access to the ICA’s complete content library of articles, videos, podcasts, blogs, and e-books, visit: Become an ICA Member – Application Form (int-comp.org)
Written by Judith Hawkins