Working in Finance then having to change careers

FixitM · 31 August 2016 at 11:30AM

Hello. Has anyone here been employed in a financial role, then had to change careers due to bankruptcy? How easy/ hard did you find it? And how is the best way to go about it? My husband is in this situation, and is finding that agencies are pigeonholing him due to his finance background. Obviously not wanting to go into the whys and wherefores with each agency, he is struggling to considered for anything other than financial roles. He's at the point of applying for anything, as we need him to be bringing in an income, but the feedback he's had is that he's overqualified.

Thanks in advance.

Muttipops · 31 August 2016 at 11:41AM

Fixit, I think you need to look into exactly what the restrictions are for bankrupts to make sure he is not giving up a finance career unnecessarily on here https://www.gov.uk/bankruptcy/restrictions and following any links they suggest to clarify the situation.

Also, the restrictions generally finish with your discharge, i.e. after 12 months, so maybe any job will do type of job might be OK for 12 months and then back to finance, even if he has to give that up for now, which I am not sure he does.

wildheart83 · 31 August 2016 at 2:56PM

I was made redundant shortly before going BR so was applying for jobs left, right and centre. In my experience, the only jobs that were a no no were the ones requiring a credit check before progressing. Any agency asking this kind of information I would generally avoid as it's none of their business. The only thing I'd say is while there's no harm in applying for finance'y type jobs, if it gets to a point down the line and they want a credit check it can be very disheartening for you, especially to keep picking yourself up and carrying on with more applications.
FWIW you can be BR and successfully pass background checks/SC/Disclosure etc so long as you're honest about your situation.

Hope this helps x

tacpot12 · 31 August 2016 at 3:24PM

Your husband won't get much help from recruitment agencies, but if he keeps refusing finance jobs and keeps applying for other jobs, they will eventually get the message, and one or two might even become helpful.

mwarby · 31 August 2016 at 5:49PM

FixitM wrote: »

Hello. Has anyone here been employed in a financial role, then had to change careers due to bankruptcy? How easy/ hard did you find it? And how is the best way to go about it? My husband is in this situation, and is finding that agencies are pigeonholing him due to his finance background. Obviously not wanting to go into the whys and wherefores with each agency, he is struggling to considered for anything other than financial roles. He's at the point of applying for anything, as we need him to be bringing in an income, but the feedback he's had is that he's overqualified.

Thanks in advance.

If he's a perfect candidate in all other ways appart from a bankruptcy you might find the bankruptcy (not clear if past, present or future) is not such a big issue. I wouldn't mention it unless asked until any interview, but worst they can say is no.

An unwanted and unnecessary career change might have long term income effects, so unless he wants to not work in finance or it becomes clear he can't I wouldn't give up

FixitM · 31 August 2016 at 11:07PM

Thank you so much for your very encouraging replies. He has been asked if he has been made bankrupt in a couple of previous positions, and told in his last finance role that he could not do that if he was bankrupt, so assumed that all finance positions were the same. I've told him to ring the regulator tomorrow, to see if it's a problem. Hopefully, he won't have to cut out financial roles as a possibility. Thank you for your replies.

NotEvanAPot · 1 September 2016 at 6:43AM

The regulator (presumably in reference to the FCA?) has no direct input on the eligibility of discharged or undischarged bankrupts holding a regulated position. They give firms guidelines, but many add on a belt-and-braces "bankrupt = no role within business". This extends to lower level roles, not directly regulated.

My advice would be that your husband looks at sales roles in other industries (after all, a good salesperson can sell anything to anyone), as regulated financial sales tends to be very competitive to enter, and bankruptcy is going to be his marker that puts him behind in the race against another candidate without any blemishes. Unfair? Maybe. Does it happen? You bet it does!

Ultimately, and it sounds harsh, but I would not want a financial product sold to me by someone who mismanaged their own finances. This is in the same way I wouldn't take accounting advice from a bankrupt accountant or legal advice from a bankrupt solicitor/barrister. Just because the professional bodies effectively rule out a bankrupt practising in these areas, does not mean it is unfair. You have to consider all aspects of how a person functions, and weaknesses in some areas sadly can influence others.

FixitM · 15 September 2016 at 11:16AM

Thank you for your reply. He has been applying for all types of sales job, but it seems when you're dealing with agencies they just want to pigeonhole you into what you've done before, despite telling them you want sales.

I get your point, however our bankruptcy came about as a result of debt trying to keep a mortgage business (along with our home & life) afloat at the onset of the credit crunch, and us thinking it was a dip in the market as opposed to a very significant end to the business. 3 redundancies between us in just over a year, and trying to pay off what we could, then we set up an IVA which we were 4 years into when his employment ended once again. So it's not been a result of carelessness, or weakness in our case, but an incredibly crappy series of circumstances. I take you point though.

dundermifflin · 16 September 2016 at 1:04PM

How well established is he in his current job in finance? From what I gather, if you are already qualified and experienced in a particular job in finance, and then go bankrupt, it is easier to continue in the industry once you are discharged - as opposed to someone who would be looking to get into the industry having already been bankrupt.

Certain jobs in finance are very anti-bankruptcy in terms of employment, even if you are discharged...for example the mortgage industry.

Others, I have heard, are more open to it. Some companies won't credit check you or ask if you have had financial difficulties, others will. If they won't credit check him and don't ask him questions about his finances when he applies for the role, then he has nothing to worry about and no need to bring it up.

Bottom line - yes it will be more difficult to find a job, but if he has experience and is already established, persistence will pay off and he should be able to get a job in the industry. It just might take longer than he anticipates.

FixitM · 17 October 2016 at 10:03PM

Thanks for your reply. He's been in insurance sales for over 7 years, but because he was in a financial advisory capacity before that, I assume they try to put him in those roles because of his qualifications in them. Luckily he has found a sales role now, so fingers crossed that's it for a good while now.

Thanks for your help.

tigerfeet2006 · 19 October 2016 at 1:56PM

Glad he has managed to find something. That must be a great weight off your mind

Working in Finance then having to change careers

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