The Big Four answer grad recruitment questions
If you're a final-year student wanting to secure a traineeship in the Big Four Australian banks' 2010 graduate intakes, you had better act fast. Application deadlines are already looming.
What are the opening and closing dates for your 2010 graduate program?
ANZ: opening mid-February 2009 / closing tbc
CBA: opening 16 February 2009 / closing 5 April
NAB: opening February 2009 (exact date tbc) / closing tbc
Westpac: opening 20 February 2009 / closing 29 March
When will successful applicants begin work?
Those who apply and are accepted in 2009 will start work at the banks in February 2010.
How long do the traineeships last?
Generally traineeships last one year, so if you successfully apply this year, you will be a fully paid trainee next year and a "real banker" in February 2011. However, some specialist programmes (such as IT and finance at Westpac) last for two years.
How many graduates will start work with you in 2010?
ANZ: is currently finalising its graduate intake.
CBA: "We will recruit approximately 90 graduates for 2010. IT is our biggest area, and we will take about 40 graduates. For institutional banking and markets, as well as corporate financial services, we are planning on 10 graduates in each. And for the remaining graduate programmes, we expect to recruit between two to five in each."
NAB: "In 2009 we have accepted 134 graduates and we expect to offer around the same number for 2010."
Westpac: "We will be taking around 130 graduates for 2010: about 40 in retail and business banking; 20 in products and operations; 20 in Westpac Institutional Bank; 30 in technology; 15 in finance, and about five in risk."
Do you offer more than one type of graduate programme?
ANZ: "The structure of the programme is currently being finalised – details of the businesses we're focusing on will be announced in coming weeks."
CBA: also offers agri-grad and financial planning program.
NAB: "We have 12 programmes. Applicants must select just one. The programmes are: retail banking; agribusiness; business banking (South Australia and WA); corporate and private banking; corporate centre; finance; risk; MLC; NAB Capital; human resources, and specialised businesses technology."
Westpac: As mentioned in the section above.
What are the interview stages?
As a representative of the Big Four, NAB says it receives about 10,000 applications for places. These have to be culled hard, first by via the application itself, then by a phone interview, and finally by a face-to-face interview with members of the bank.
Are there rotations between different departments within your bank?
All the banks' programmes offer job rotations, usually in three stints of four months each.
Are there any universities or degress that you prefer?
None of the banks has a preferred university, but business/finance/accountancy degrees as well as maths-based studies (science, engineering) are obvious favourites. However, there is enough flexibility in each bank that mixed degrees, such as commerce or arts/law, are seriously considered.
What's the pay like when you finish your traineeship?
NAB's website says "Our graduate starting salaries are market matched with our competitors. Salaries vary depending on the area of business "All employees are paid a base salary and a short-term incentive, a percentage of their gross salary, based on their performance over 12 months. Salaries are in the range of $50k to $65k, with incentives varying from 2.5% to 5%."
Recruiters say these figures apply to all the banks, although Westpac says graduates entering its institutional banking programme are paid in line with investment banking salaries.