Pepper Money Wins War for Talent

At FinTech Wales, we understand the increasingly competitive recruitment challenges that our members are facing. To ensure our members come out on top in the current war for talent, we want to create as many opportunities as possible to ensure they get the first sight of quality emerging talent in our region.

Earlier this month, FinTech Wales members were given the opportunity to Interview Cardiff University Students at a Careers’ Event hosted by the University. 

The students interviewed were completing the following courses: BSc Computer Science, MSc Computing, MSc Computing & IT Management and MSc Data Science & Analytic. A small number of BSc Applied Software Engineering, MSc Cybersecurity and MSc AI students were also in attendance.

Super-targeted in its organisation and approach, the event was mindful of the value of business’ time, and made sure that their time away from the office was used efficiently. The event was formatted so that CVs were shared with the attending companies beforehand, enabling them to choose what students they’d like to speak to and interview. Students were likewise given the chance to impress and choose who they wanted to be interviewed by.

We caught up with Recruitment Manager Emma Driscoll from Pepper Money, who attended the Careers Event, to find out a bit more about their experience. 

Q: Please tell us a bit about Pepper Money and some of the roles you were looking to interview for during the Careers Event?  

A: Part of the global Pepper Group, Pepper Money is an award-winning UK-based specialist lender who takes a human approach to underwriting. Our customers range from; first-time buyers, buy-to-let investors, those looking to remortgage, or those looking to borrow additional funds secured against their existing property.

We wanted to find 3 IT interns who could gain experience within a busy IT department, who could learn from us but also who we could learn from by building an Academy approach to bring fresh talent, skills and innovation into the business.

Q: How useful are these types of events for Pepper Money when it comes to finding future graduates and young talent? 

A: This is our first event as a Recruitment Team but will be the first of many! These events are fantastic introducing us to tomorrow’s talent and allowing us to support engaged and skilled individuals. For us this is definitely a two-way process – what we gain from having interns in our business is as valuable as us being able to support them in their entry to the world of work.

Q: Following the event, how many of the students that you had the opportunity to meet have reached the next stage of interviews or have successfully been offered a place to work at your company?

A: We had 3 roles to fill and we interviewed 3 amazing candidates who we really really wanted – we got all three! It was hard as so many of the students we met blew us away with their experience, positivity and interest in Pepper as a place to work.

Q: Having attended this event, what would your advice be for other businesses currently fighting this war for talent?

A: These events are great if you want to harness future talent by bringing interns or Graduates onboard. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to promote your business to tomorrow’s talent, today!

If your FinTech company is looking to recreate the recruitment success of Pepper Money, or is interested in hearing more about graduate recruitment solutions, training, qualifications, research and business mentoring opportunities, then join us for an upcoming networking and skills information session, organised in collaboration with FinTech Wales, Technology Connected and Venture Graduates (Cardiff Capital Region).

📅  Wednesday 25th May, 18:00 – 20:00 BST

📍  Executive Business Suite – 3rd Floor – Cardiff Business School, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Register to attend here – https://lnkd.in/eYfkzyJY 

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