Thinking of joining a Fintech?

Market Overview:

One of the many benefits of working with an alternative lender or a company who are in a growth phase is that you often get to experience more than just the job specification.  The 2017 market highlighted that employers were looking to bring talented analysts, underwriters, credit managers and risk managers onto their teams; yes, having a strong academic background and prior experience in credit/risk/SME lending is a distinct advantage but having a genuine enthusiasm for wanting to be in a hands on role and taking on projects outside of the job specification cements where you can add value to a new employer.

During 2017, there was a consistent demand for talented credit underwriters and credit analysts who have strong assessment, analysis skills and who could identify key risks in a lending situation and outline provisions as required. In the latter part of the year (Q3 & Q4) there was a shortage of candidates with 2 - 3 years experience. Having experience within SME, business finance, payments, mortgages  and CRE was highly desirable, given these were the areas that were expanding at a steady pace.

Experienced credit managers were also sought after; moving from a competitor was considered attractive given the pace at how the market is evolving and how important it is to stay a step ahead of the curve in terms of product knowledge and regulation. Consistent and strong people management skills were an important part of many profiles given the deal flow that was expected and SLA’s being carefully monitored.

Surprisingly in Q4 we also saw a peak in mandates for graduates with 1 - 2 years experience; ideally having a business qualification along with programming or advanced excel skills to assist with modelling projects within credit and risk was preferred.

Given the impact alternative lenders and Fintech organisations have made on the market, we predict that their presence and capabilities will continue to expand and excel throughout 2018.

In brief:

 If you are considering making a switch to a start up or Fintech environment we would recommend giving some thought to the following:

• Be confident in why you want to be a part of this sector
• Know what your strengths are and be confident in your abilities and of where you can add value to a new company. 
• Often with smaller organisations, they want to bring in pro-active team members, not reactive - so it’s important that you pre-empt potential risks or changes in the market before they happen - monitor trends
• Embrace being in an unstructured environment and at times having to "figure out the how/why" when working on a new project/product
• Promote thinking outside the box; don’t just adhere to the parameters of current policies and frameworks;  your voice needs to be heard - if you have a suggestion about new product, a new market, a new client, a way to improve SLA’s or processes, share these thoughts, you will be encouraged to discuss these opinions - the beauty of being in a smaller organisation is that your voice will be heard.