Hi! I’m Tim Mickleburgh. I’m from Greater Manchester, England. I graduated from The University of Manchester with a first-class BSc Accounting degree in 2023. Here’s how I secured my Finance Graduate job at Co-operative Bank.

Stage 1 – Initial Application

I was among 3500 applicants who applied to Co-operative Bank. I started by submitting the application form and a copy of my CV. Make sure that your CV is structured clearly, written concisely, and no more than two pages long. Start with an eye-catching professional summary, followed by sections that showcase your work experience, education, positions of responsibility and extracurricular activities, and awards and certificates.

Stage 2 – Video Interview

Two weeks after submitting my application, I found out that I had progressed onto the video interview. I was given seven days to complete the video interview, which consisted of four questions, with two minutes of speaking time for each question. My advice for performing well in the video interview is to smile and be enthusiastic, keep an eye on your timings, and remain composed throughout. Also record your video interview in a well-lit area with an appropriate backdrop.

Stage 3 – Digital Assessment

One week later, I was informed that I was one of 250 candidates to successfully progress onto the digital assessment. I was given five days to complete the digital assessment, with questions that tested my numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, and situational judgement. My advice for performing well in the digital assessment is to spend lots of time practicing tests on Graduates First, which you can access for free via the university’s Careers Service.

Stage 4 – Assessment Centre

The next day, I was informed that I was one of 175 candidates to successfully progress onto the assessment centre. The assessment centre took place two and a half weeks later, and it was held in-person at Co-operative Bank’s headquarters in Manchester city centre.

The assessment centre started with a group activity. I was given time to look at the task by myself, before discussing the task in a group of six and then presenting our ideas as a group to the assessors. It’s important to stand out from the others, so make sure that you are vocal (but not domineering) and demonstrate leadership by building on the ideas of others and pulling others into the discussion.

The next stage of the assessment centre was a competency-based interview, with questions that explored my previous experiences using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format. My advice for the competency-based interview is to have lots of different STAR responses to cover all possible questions, and make sure that you know all your STAR responses off by heart.

The final stage of the assessment centre required me to deliver two five-minute presentations which I’d prepared in advance of the assessment centre – the first presentation was to demonstrate my commercial understanding of the bank, and the second presentation was to tell the assessors more about myself. You can showcase your professionalism by speaking without a script or cue cards in front of you.

Stage 5 – Final Interview

Ten days later, I was informed that I was one of three candidates to successfully progress onto the final interview. This was a 30-minute interview with senior members of the finance team that took place five days later. I was so happy when I received an offer of employment from Co-operative Bank two days after the final interview, and it was great to hear that the other two candidates – Matt and Ash – had also been successful.

Securing a graduate job can be a long and challenging process, but eventually all the hard work will pay off. I had been rejected by every employer I’d applied to, and I was starting to doubt whether I’d be able to secure a graduate job. I’m really thankful that my course mates Dom and Sunny encouraged me to remain hopeful and submit one more application – after all, it was this application that led to me being recruited by Co-operative Bank as one of only three Finance Graduates from 3500 applicants.

Good luck with your graduate job applications!

Written by Tim, 2023 BSc Accounting graduate from AMBS

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