Why Graduates Should Stay Positive About a Career in Financial Advice

Aspiring financial advisers who graduate this summer know the jobs market is competitive. This year’s Annual Skills Report from the Financial Services Skills Commission shows that early careers recruitment in financial services grew by 2.5% in 2025. Within that, graduate recruitment fell by 2% while apprenticeship recruitment went up by 5%. But the challenges for graduates are not insurmountable – some already have a job lined up.

Tim Jarvis, for example, has just completed his Finance (Investments) degree at Henley Business School, part of the University of Reading. He will join IFA Chase de Vere in September, as a graduate financial adviser. So, how did he get to this point?

Finding Your Way

While growing up, Jarvis developed an interest in investing and in helping others to understand financial matters. This led him to study finance at university, but it wasn’t until year two of his course that he discovered financial advice as a potential career. “In my second year, I chose the personal finance module, which closely reflects financial advice,” says Jarvis. “We had to construct a comprehensive financial plan for a fictional client. It was essentially about analysing their position, creating a budget and then allocating appropriate strategies across Isas, pension planning, inheritance planning. That’s where I knew that this career was for me.”

However, it was not plain sailing from that point because Jarvis found there was no career path clearly mapped out for him. “When I was ready to apply for roles, I came across only a handful of financial adviser graduate opportunities,” he says. “I was also told by one of the academies that I was too young to apply, which set me back, but it has all worked out.”

Jarvis thinks other sectors, such as investment banking, dominate the conversations young people have about financial services careers. One problem is that schools and universities do not generally promote financial advice as a career. Another is that advice firms are often conspicuous by their absence at graduate careers fairs. “I’ve attended several university careers events where external companies come in to present themselves but there’s either one financial advice firm or none,” says Jarvis.

This all meant he had to do a lot of legwork in researching the avenues he could explore and in making connections in the advice profession. “I’ve put in a lot of effort researching different firms, cold emailing, attending Personal Finance Society webinars and various events,” says Jarvis. “You have to put in the hours to be able to get the opportunities, which I’m not sure you have to do in other professions.”

Leads from Learning

Learning about the profession before going into it has been hugely beneficial for Jarvis. Connecting with financial advisers and investment managers through platforms like LinkedIn helped him to get some useful work experience and find his first job. “I had dozens of calls with advisers and investment managers throughout the process, which proved invaluable,” says Jarvis. “I went into many of them with the intention of not asking for a job but just understanding each adviser’s career trajectory, what had driven their firm’s success and the lessons they’ve learnt along the way.”

This resulted in a job offer and a week’s work experience with another firm, Dorset-based Blue Sky Financial Planning. “It was one of the best learning opportunities I’ve had so far and it’s given me real insight into the industry and the day-to-day operations,” says Jarvis. He learned how cashflow modelling works, looked at case studies with different client portfolios and became familiar with the documentation advisers use.

Transferable Skills

Outside university and financial services, the transferable skills Jarvis has learned over the past year as a self-employed padel coach have also helped him make a good impression on employers. “Sport has opened a lot of doors for me. Playing a lot of padel and golf has put me in rooms of people I probably wouldn’t have otherwise met,” he says. “And there are so many transferable skills that come from being a coach and working with people.”

Specifically, communication and breaking down complex techniques and topics into clear, actionable steps for his clients have been a great fit for the financial advice world. “Every person has different goals and, as a padel coach, I have to tailor the lessons accordingly,” says Jarvis. “Some clients want to compete on the national circuit, but others just want to enjoy it and just get a sweat on for an hour.”

Being a self-employed coach has also given Jarvis a sense of what it is like for advisers when trying to get new business and retain loyal clients. “It’s so important to give your clients the best experience you can,” he says. “I’ve learned that, in turn, that will help me build more clients through referrals.”