Assistant Relationship Manager Review

I am an Assistant Relationship Manager for Lombard which involves a lot of admin work but also provides many opportunities for development. This can be anything from attending the Entrepreneurial Development Academy to going on customer appointments. On a daily basis, much of my customer interaction is over the phone but there are friendly people in the office who are very supportive - I am never thought of as an apprentice! I have a lot of involvement in adhering to regulatory standards, processing quotes on the system, business development and the underwriting of credit application.

I already had experience of customer service from my previous job, however in my current role you must use your knowledge of the financial industry to add credibility to the company in order to fully satisfy our customers' needs. Having attended product knowledge courses, I feel very confident in doing so. Hence I have developed my customer service - which is mainly on the phone now - and newly learnt about financial products/services, the financial sector and lending skills. From attending my BPP lectures, I have passed my Professional Banker Certificate exam also.

I enjoy my day to day job role as I love learning new skills and working with people whom I can learn from their experience. The company culture is everchanging which can be unsettling, however this is part of the industry and is easy to get used to. I was expecting a solely admin role, however I feel I have so opportunities provided by the Group that my job is not just this.

My manager is very supportive and have a good recognition process. Monthly 1-2-1s help with my development and get me involved in different projects which are suited to my personal attributes.

The actual BPP programme I am less enthusiastic about. It is very structured but to the point that it is anal and does not leave any scope for personal flair. If you do not say the exact words they are looking for, they will return your work. The meeting with my assessor are very forced and feels like they are reading from a script! Sometimes it feels like they don't even remember who you are and is very impersonal.

You can ask them a question and they will respond in a very formal way. Again, it can be very impersonal and I don't feel I gain much from the actual programme.

Loads - my line manager was amazingly supportive and gave a lot of advice and was more than happy to help me.

Very well.

Yes, we get 5 working days for community work but we also have social events every month. There is also a football club available. I tend to do my own thing when I'm not working.

Yes

Endless opportunity and knowledge!

There is a long application process - do not give up! I had to do a written application, 3 online tests, a telephone interview and face to face interview.