Finding work outside of the 'city'

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Hi,

Bit of a back story... I graduated in 2009 with a degree + masters in maths from one of the top unis. Been working in a FTSE 250 size insurance firm for 2.5 years in a pricing / commercial finance team based in London. The company have paid for my certificate level CIMA qualification and are happy to fund further study.

I realise I am in a very lucky position but for various reasons am considering looking for other work. I'd be happy to take roles which are more analytics based / outside of finance too.

I've had a few chats with recruiters and get contacted quite often but all the jobs are similar city roles. What I would ideally like is a more 'relaxed' less intense atmosphere and I'm happy to take a paycut to achieve that.

My issue is that I don't know where these firms advertise? All the jobs I get contacted about are major insurance roles and the roles on Reed (where I've looked) seem to be mostly city based too.

I'm quite naive with job hunting as this is only the 2nd job I've had since graduating (as opposed to casual jobs).

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Ta!

InsideInsurance

Are you wanting to stay in Insurance but just outside of the City/ London Markets?

Speaking to recruitment agencies are probably going to be your best bet but you really need to get them on your side as they are generally only interested in easy placements which is putting you in the same job in another company and are a lot less likely to help you make a career change etc as your less likely to be taken on -v- someone else they have on their books that have done that job for a decade.

Some agencies split GI into London Markets and non-London Markets so just ensure you speak to the non guys.

Having worked for both City and non-City insurers however I would not say that there is a significant difference in the level of pressure between the two. Now there can be differences between companies but if you are finding the graduate entry level job tough going I personally would suggest evaluating your direction as going up the chain will certainly be increasing the pressure

[Deleted User]

I was in a similar position wanting to "downsize" life and move to the coast and have an easier life (i was working 60 hour weeks at a large investment bank and had become really miserable) and used Reed and other sites but tailored the search to certain areas. Also talked to friends and friend of friends to hand in my cv speculatively. I have to say I was really shocked at the salaries but was happy as knew my bills and rent would be less than London. However, when I mentioned my previous salary for a junior role in an interview, the guys jaw nearly hit the floor and I saw in that instant that my prior job would count against me. In the end I realised I didn't want to do a similar job for a quarter of the money. I also crave the buzz of london. I've since found a job same industry in London and am much happier in my new company (and take frequent weekends to the coast). Think carefully if its really what you want. Maybe just changing employer will help.