Starting a new job can be nerve-wracking at the best of times, but what if it’s in an industry that you genuinely know nothing about?

Financial services can be opaque and mysterious, and it does have a few quirks that can be taken for granted if you have worked in the middle of it for a number of years.

An administration job in financial services requires the same foundation skills as a similar role in any other industry: attention to detail, a good telephone manner, great organisation, and a lot of patience – amongst others. The issue can be the layers of knowledge needed on top of those practical skills across all aspects of finance. Really, if this is one of your first office roles, it’s like learning two jobs at once.

What is it like for new starters? What are the top aspects of the role that new trainee paraplanners or new financial admin find most difficult?

Incomprehensible terminology / abbreviations

Unsurprisingly, jargon is the top difficulty and probably the most expected. It’s like having to learn a different language that everyone around you speaks fluently. Even googling doesn’t always help as abbreviations and some terminology can be repeated in other industries, and if you don’t quite understand what it is you are actually looking for, you can end up down a rabbit hole that has nothing to do with finance!

Read more in our Professional Paraplanner article here.