Want to make your career in bank? Read the character traits required for banking industry

Banking jobs have always been lucrative. Good pay, employee benefits, respected job, job security etc. make it one of the most sought job profiles in India. Lot many people inspire to be a part of robust Indian economy through banking channel. But what  are the traits required for a successful banking career.  Do you have them in you? Find out! 
Please note that here I am illustrating the traits required for the entry level employees only.

1. Personality Traits - These are those traits which are inherent in one's​ character. Given the fact that every day frauds in banks are making headlines, these traits are the MOST IMPORTANT of all. They are:

• Honesty
• Integrity 
• Compliance

Honesty means that you perform your job without any bias and unfairness. In banking job it means that you perform you job with full conviction and without delaying it. It also means that you have thoroughly verified your work (like vouchers or loan papers) before passing it on to your senior (or colleague) for counter checking. If you are handling cash, then one has to be very careful of accepting or disbursing the currency. Same is the case with one who posts the entry. Any discrepancy in cash transactions may put a question mark on your honesty. When you are new into job, money through wrong means attract you. That's because it is an easy money. You will require years of service to generate that money with honesty. But dishonesty has short life. Once caught, your career is finished. An honest person is always valued in an organization. He rises high not only in his career but also in the eyes of others! Dishonesty is like a Ponzi scheme whereas honesty is like FD. Honesty is a virtue which one should have for living a happy & satisfied life. It not only helps you in professional world but in personal life as well. One gets demotivated when a dishonest person gets appreciation over honest person. The reason is that a dishonest person performs the work faster than his other counterpart. If you want to get recognition for your good work, make sure you complete it faster than the others! 

Integrity means that you stand by our values. Every one talks of values but when it comes to actually following them, it is one of a task. A person with strong integrity live those values. For example, you are manager and have the power for loan disbursement. One day one of your senior (people from senior management) ask you to sanction the loan of one of their known client.  You know that this person has earlier defaulted loans in other banks. Now that is where the values comes into picture. How to stand by your values even though there is lot of pressure. How not to do wrong even though the order comes from the top. Always remember,  It is the Bank that have hired you and not your Boss! Therefore, all the employees of the bank irrespective of position, are your colleagues! You are not subordinate to anybody! It is the Bank's money (actually public money)  that you are investing to get appropriate return and not to oblige anybody. Be smart to tackle pressure but stick to your principles. Know what is correct and device ways to do correct things correctly. You can avoid and tackle such pressure only if you are honest, transparent in your work and have a thorough knowledge of your domain! If you lack these, you are vulnerable to be manipulated.

Compliance means that you do your work as instructed and without delaying it. It also means being compliant to the laws, rules, regulations and circulars. One who has got strong compliance is highly appreciated, maintains good relation with the seniors and have got high chances of rising the success ladder as compared to the one who is less compliant. 

2. Technical Skills - Technical Skills can be categorized into two sub parts:

• Commerce (Includes banking and accounting knowledge)
• IT

Since you are about to work in a bank, it is utmost necessary to have banking knowledge. It includes, various types of accounts, loans , instruments and terminologies related to banking environment. It also includes basic finance concepts and economics awareness as the banking sector directly or indirectly is influenced by changes in the government policies. It is also important to have accounting knowledge. It includes basic debit and credit rules, classification of different types of assets, revenue recognition and provisioning norms. 

Banks generally require working IT knowledge. If you are a B.Tech, it is an added advantage. But, if you are from commerce or arts background, you should at least know working knowledge of computer, tally and Finacle (It's a banking software). One should be well versed with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Power Point). It is not required to have O level or A level certifications for banking jobs. Keep updating yourself, learn new skills and improve yourself each day.

3. Soft Skills - This is the most neglected area. People often underestimate the power of soft skills. It is true that technical skills are important but soft skills are the most important as they add value to them. Imagine a company that has an excellent product ( technical stuff) but does not know how to market them (soft skills). Will there product be successful? No. Similarly in banking industry, soft skills play an important role to assist you in your work. Required soft skills are as follows:

• Positive attitude - It means one should be solution oriented. Life always throw new challenges each day. Do not get disheartened by them. Instead take them as an opportunity to explore your hidden potential. Adversity brings out the best in you. Always try to see the positive side of any situation and try to solve the problem.
• Politeness - It attracts positive behavior from Clients & colleagues. If you give respect, you will automatically be respected.
• Smiling Face - It shows your positive attitude. And what's the harm in smiling?
• Entertaining - It means you have ears to people's problems and is ready to solve them.
• Helping - If you help your clients, you are increasing Bank's business
• Facilitative - Work should not be delayed for formalities. If your client is running pillar to post to get his work done, you are loosing goodwill and perhaps future clients and business. 
• Service Oriented - Do not be egoist and proud. To provide service to others is your duty. Perform your duty religiously! 
• Communication Skills - Majority of the problems emanate from wrong or incomplete communications. Be clear in the instructions you get and also what you give to your subordinates. Communication is incomplete  and looses it's value if the work is not done as per your desired  instructions. So make sure you check the process to achieve the desired  end results. It is always advisable to have written communication instead of only verbal talks. 
• Time Management - Bank job is highly stressful. Long working hours, rude clients, work pressure, personal and professional life imbalance etc. are some of it outcomes. By managing your time properly you can reduce your stress to a very large extent. Prioritize your work. Plan your day one day before. Classify your work into Urgent, Important and neither urgent nor important. Perform your work according to now so classified priorities. You will realize that you are more productive by effective time management. When you complete all your schedule tasks, it gives a sense of satisfaction and stress levels automatically falls. So prioritize and enjoy!
  
  
  

I have tried to list some basic but very essential traits to give your banking career a flying start and also to keep you flying throughout. Hope it helps! If you have them, nurture them, if not, develop them.

Note: The inputs for the article has been gathered from retired officers of the bank.

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