Offer withdrawn and looking for feedback

[Pollypanda]

A month long interview process!? That should have been a red flag to anyone. if the client is that anal, its a no from me (and Ive worked in Finance for the last goodness knows how many years).

Is it normal for Tier 1 banks? Not in my experience.

Is there anything you can do? Yes, move on.

Thanks for the feedback, it's not normal in my experience either. It wasn't the only red flag, his first interview was with the Product Manager over the phone on behalf of the IT Project Manager who was away and they offered him the role based on that. My husband asked for a face to face interview first before making a decision, and they badgered him in to doing induction and onboarding before the interview. It was really weird. I would have bailed but he was ok with it.

He's moved on, I will have by tomorrow morning! I just don't want to get caught out again, I've taken nearly a year off contracting for health reasons and this concerned me. I'd never work again based on their criteria

[Pollypanda]

This sounds nuts, it's easier get SC'd.

I wouldn't submit to such garbage, but I can understand if you're somehow locked into the banking industry you don't have a lot of choice. Is this really common?

I know right? I've never been asked for this level of detail before either, and neither has my husband and we've been in the banking industry over here for five years. He didn't want to submit to it either without a good reason which is why he pushed back and asked questions. The recruiter "says" that this is the new standard for Tier 1 banks, but who knows.

If it is hopefully we'll get a few more stories on here.

[LondonManc]

A month long interview process!? That should have been a red flag to anyone. if the client is that anal, its a no from me (and Ive worked in Finance for the last goodness knows how many years).

Is it normal for Tier 1 banks? Not in my experience.

Is there anything you can do? Yes, move on.

It's not a month long interview process. The interview side is fairly straightforward. You have an interview and maybe a second. The long process is the screening process and the paper trail surrounding that and the offer typically. You can be onboarded very quickly if deadlines are tight on a regulatory project.

Just amazes me the obstructions companies put in the way to find a candidate. What would be wrong with contacting a foreign university if it was the right person? My husband was so far along the process this could have been resolved within an hour if communication was better but no, they prefer to go back to the start of the recruiting process? Stupid.

He was too honest, being upfront about when he was looking for work and when he wasn't. Next time he'll probably do the same thing and just say hey, looking for work the whole time

Yes, unfortunately. Looking for short term work but couldn't find anything that was only two months in duration would have been a buyable bit of tulip for them.

This sounds nuts, it's easier get SC'd.

I wouldn't submit to such garbage, but I can understand if you're somehow locked into the banking industry you don't have a lot of choice. Is this really common?

It's not about being locked in, it's a matter of the rates for many IT roles being far better in (investment) banking.

[SueEllen]

I know right? I've never been asked for this level of detail before either, and neither has my husband and we've been in the banking industry over here for five years. He didn't want to submit to it either without a good reason which is why he pushed back and asked questions. The recruiter "says" that this is the new standard for Tier 1 banks, but who knows.

If it is hopefully we'll get a few more stories on here.

If you search this forum using Google you would find this is more and more common.

In regards to the agent asking for bank statements and not saying what they would actually prove e.g. that you weren't embezzling money, is because agents are thick.

Most of them who work on the IT side of things are just sales people who do not understand what they are recruiting for and what the checks they are doing cover.

In future and once you have found out to search the forums via Google then every time an agent says something illogical, do a search before giving them a definitive answer.

[uk contractor]

Its slowly become the 2015 minimum standard in banking I had it on my last contract took over 5 weeks to pass the security vetting so I could not look for work in that time as I did not know how long the vetting would be (I passed easily but had to provide documents covering the last 5 years).

IMO unless you have the following probably forget about even applying for banking contracts anymore:

5 years UK bank statements
3 years UK credit card statements
Full UK passport
Full UK driving licence (this is optional if you have a passport they will not ask for it)
Contracts for last 3 years worth of roles (they usually ask for these now instead of worthless references)
Evidence of any bench time even 1 month they will require written evidence
Police background check
Credit vetting background check

You need a CRB check for most banks in London now with few exceptions if you doubt you have the required documents & or will fail the checks do not bother wasting your time as they will turn you down the day before the contract is due to start regardless of how long it takes to perform these checks it means nothing & some banks will even recheck you even if you have been onsite for a few months they will go through the entire process again if the contract is renewed (although it will be much quicker the 2nd time).

Agents hate it as they lose roles all the time when contractors fail these tests & the client fills it elsewhere but agents also fail to mention in the job ad as they know they will get a smaller response due to many candidates CBAing to go through all of this again & again.

[NewCUKMember]

Its slowly become the 2015 minimum standard in banking I had it on my last contract took over 5 weeks to pass the security vetting so I could not look for work in that time as I did not know how long the vetting would be (I passed easily but had to provide documents covering the last 5 years).

IMO unless you have the following probably forget about even applying for banking contracts anymore:

5 years UK bank statements
3 years UK credit card statements
Full UK passport
Full UK driving licence (this is optional if you have a passport they will not ask for it)
Contracts for last 3 years worth of roles (they usually ask for these now instead of worthless references)
Evidence of any bench time even 1 month they will require written evidence
Police background check
Credit vetting background check

You need a CRB check for most banks in London now with few exceptions if you doubt you have the required documents & or will fail the checks do not bother wasting your time as they will turn you down the day before the contract is due to start regardless of how long it takes to perform these checks it means nothing & some banks will even recheck you even if you have been onsite for a few months they will go through the entire process again if the contract is renewed (although it will be much quicker the 2nd time).

Agents hate it as they lose roles all the time when contractors fail these tests & the client fills it elsewhere but agents also fail to mention in the job ad as they know they will get a smaller response due to many candidates CBAing to go through all of this again & again.

Is this a norm for permanent roles as well ?

[northernladuk]

Is this a norm for permanent roles as well ?

Anyone working on finance systems need checking regardless of role and type of employment. It may be slightly different for perms but credit checks are across the board.

[LondonManc]

Its slowly become the 2015 minimum standard in banking I had it on my last contract took over 5 weeks to pass the security vetting so I could not look for work in that time as I did not know how long the vetting would be (I passed easily but had to provide documents covering the last 5 years).

IMO unless you have the following probably forget about even applying for banking contracts anymore:

5 years UK bank statements
3 years UK credit card statements
Full UK passport
Full UK driving licence (this is optional if you have a passport they will not ask for it)
Contracts for last 3 years worth of roles (they usually ask for these now instead of worthless references)
Evidence of any bench time even 1 month they will require written evidence
Police background check
Credit vetting background check

You need a CRB check for most banks in London now with few exceptions if you doubt you have the required documents & or will fail the checks do not bother wasting your time as they will turn you down the day before the contract is due to start regardless of how long it takes to perform these checks it means nothing & some banks will even recheck you even if you have been onsite for a few months they will go through the entire process again if the contract is renewed (although it will be much quicker the 2nd time).

Agents hate it as they lose roles all the time when contractors fail these tests & the client fills it elsewhere but agents also fail to mention in the job ad as they know they will get a smaller response due to many candidates CBAing to go through all of this again & again.

Either passport or a combination of original birth certificate and driving licence is acceptable.
For written evidence I just had to provide a statement that I was looking for my next contract.

[billybiro]

I work as a contractor and so does my husband. He's just gone through a month long interview and onboarding process with a Tier 1 bank only to have the offer withdrawn at the last minute.

In a nutshell, the client required that he provide a document for every month over the past five years that he wasn't working to prove that he was looking for work and not secretly employed.

He provided emails between him and recruiting agencies for all the months except for three. These were periods where we weren't travelling, working or looking for work. We're expats from Australia, so one month was a break inbetween finishing a contract and returning to Australia for three months to get married, and the other two months were this summer where we were made a few trips around UK and hosted relatives from back home.

All documents we could think of we provided (train tickets, emails of him organising the wedding!) we were told 'were not acceptable', and despite him repeatedly asking the recruiter what type of documents would be acceptable he got nothing. They were just completely useless.

My question is: is this type of onboarding requirement standard now? The one thing the recruiter could say is apparently 'if you want to work at a Tier 1 bank they all require this now'. We've been working here for five years for Tier 1 banks and this is the first time either of us have been asked to provide this level of detail.

I also can't believe that they withdrew the offer, he passed every check but for the sake of three months out of five years?!?! FFS.

Unbelievable!

I wonder if these same "Tier 1 banks" would perform the same level of vetting to get in a plumber to fix their leaky loo.

I know NLUK will jump in and remind us all that engaging a contractor is not the same as engaging a plumber but really, WTF does a contractor's (of any nature - plumber, electrician, IT Developer, PM etc.) "employment" history have to do with anything? Do they make sure their plumbers have been plumbing constantly for the last 3 years without a single months break? Does that even matter?

Either you can do the job they're expecting of you or you can't. And as contractors (again, IT or plumber), the means exists in almost all contracts for the client to get rid of any charlatans very quickly and easily.

I would promptly, and very firmly, tell the client that this is none of their business.

[BlasterBates]

Unbelievable!

I wonder if these same "Tier 1 banks" would perform the same level of vetting to get in a plumber to fix their leaky loo.

I know NLUK will jump in and remind us all that engaging a contractor is not the same as engaging a plumber but really, WTF does a contractor's (of any nature - plumber, electrician, IT Developer, PM etc.) "employment" history have to do with anything? Do they make sure their plumbers have been plumbing constantly for the last 3 years without a single months break? Does that even matter?

Either you can do the job they're expecting of you or you can't. And as contractors (again, IT or plumber), the means exists in almost all contracts for the client to get rid of any charlatans very quickly and easily.

I would promptly, and very firmly, tell the client that this is none of their business.

One of the prime purposes of the IT systems is to show the traders positions, without that the bank is blind to rogue trading. In other words IT plays a pretty vital role in preventing all the abuses.

IT has in the past albeit unwittingly, helped rogue traders hide their positions.

The risk is that a trader gets someone in IT to put some "changes" in for him, eg fake positions and gets a back hander.

Nick Leeson got IT to set up his infamous 8888 account.

Entire banks ended up with losses almost as big their country's GDP in the 2000's so there's now a whole load of regulation.