PERSONAL BANKER - Chris Berry (355 mots)

Hi, my name is Chris Berry and I’m a personal banker.

 After I finished school I started studying for a business diploma, but after six months I decided to look for a job. I saw a job advertised in the paper for bank teller at a local branch. I applied for the position and had the opportunity to get it. 

I thought I would enjoy the job because I found economics interesting at school. I've also always liked dealing with people and there was a lot of customer contact in the position. 
I worked in the bank teller role for about 18 months before transferring to another branch. About two months later I accepted a position as a junior banking consultant. I was involved in personal lending, opening and closing accounts, dealing with enquiries and debt management. 

Almost everyone starts working as a teller, that way you can see the whole range of what goes on in a branch. Otherwise a customer might ask you something quite simple and because you haven't worked in the role before, you might not be able to help. 

I was a junior banking consultant for about 14 months before I moved into my current position as a senior banking consultant. I've been in this role for about two years and I really enjoy it because it's more complex. 

Working in home lending is great because you get people coming in who've never really worried about buying a house before and it's such a big step - for some it's the biggest purchase they'll ever make. To sit with them and explain how the process works, about interest rates and how a loan can be best structured for them is very satisfying. There are so many different products available, it's about problem solving and finding the products that suit the customers' needs - everyone who comes in is different. 

The next step for me would be to move into a team leader type role. I wouldn't mind going into that role but there's no rush - if the opportunity came up I'd definitely consider it.