Nationwide employee blog: Where do you want to be in 5 years?

I knew I loved the feeling of solving an algebraic formula (however alien that may be to some) and I often took a natural leadership role in groups. But how would this relate to my future and in reality, would it suit me? Because let's be honest, you can be great at cooking but make a terrible chef, the environment is tough and it might not be for you.

But, as most do, I felt compelled to answer the question, and so I chose an obvious path: a maths teacher. Surely this is a field in which I can use my classroom skills and natural leadership literally? However, time passed and A-Level maths wasn't the same as the maths I fell in love with. Suddenly, my Accounting A-Level captured me in a new way and I felt like potentially I could finally answer the big question.

I then left for university to study Accounting with Financial Management and Informatics and at this point I realised the true scope of a career in finance. I found myself once again stumbling to answer "Where do you want to be in 5 years?" This is when I started to think about the possibility of taking an Industrial Placement, it would allow me to develop greater understanding of my own practical skills base, use my degree in practice and make me more employable when I graduated.

I am not going to lie and say that finding a placement was easy. It wasn't; it was emotionally and physically draining. But the result was certainly worth it, I received a lot of incredibly valuable feedback and I left the experience with 5 offers to choose from plus experience of assessment centres other graduates would not have. So why did I choose Nationwide?

I'd like to say it was a gut feeling, when I interviewed at Nationwide I instantly felt a connection. My interviewers wanted me to succeed; they weren't challenging my knowledge but testing it and seeing where it could best be applied and where it could be developed. I felt like PRIDE principles genuinely aligned with my own personal views.

Nationwide offers a lot of things that other companies don't; a real job, in a real team, in the largest building society in the world and the opportunities this allows are incredible.

The Industrial Placements start at the same time as Graduates to create one network of people who support each other and live/socialise together. Perks range from a great induction programme to doughnut day every other Wednesday!

But the question remains, where do I want to be in 5 years? The 3 short months I have been here so far have provided me with more ability to answer this question than I've ever had before. There have been opportunities to shadow and gain overviews of various areas, as well as discussing the work of my fellow Industrial Placements and Graduates. I'm not going to pretend I have the answer to this question ready and summarised in one short sentence, but I do have a greater understanding of myself and the direction I want to head in.

Are you interested in a career with Nationwide? Please click here!