Baillie Gifford & Co 2022/23 graduate opportunities

• Name: Laura Johnstone

After the programme

After the graduate programme, I moved into a marketing and communications role where I was producing marketing materials, presentations and pitches. I worked with Baillie Gifford’s Fixed Income teams, which was a fantastic opportunity to learn about their investment strategies. After just over a year, an opportunity came up for a secondment to the newly set up Dublin office for Baillie Gifford Europe. I applied and got the job.

Invaluable experience

In Dublin, I joined a small team of seven responsible for setting up Baillie Gifford Europe (BGE). Moving to Dublin was quite a daunting prospect, but the team made me feel at home straight away. Because BGE had only been up and running for about a year, I had the opportunity to get involved in several different business areas. I also had invaluable exposure to the day-to-day running of a company and discussions at the highest levels.

International exposure

Since my secondment, I’ve taken on a newly created role as a Global Service Associate in Edinburgh. My role is to support the client service, business development and marketing activities for the Middle East and South African business as well as the various regional offices in Europe. It’s an opportunity to put all the knowledge and experience I’ve gained during and since the programme to good use. Most of the teams in our regional offices haven’t worked in Edinburgh, so I liaise with the right people here to make sure they get what they need from the business. It’s exciting to see how the firm is growing and the new opportunities it brings.

The little things

One of the best things about Baillie Gifford is the supportive culture. Last year, due to the circumstances, the whole firm took an extra day off for wellbeing. Your health and happiness are a big priority for the company, and they really make a point of looking after everyone. This, as well as everyone is approachable and willing to help really sets a great environment for learning and development where you are encouraged to take opportunities and push yourself. For me, it’s these small things that make you feel valued and contribute to the inclusive culture at the firm.

• Name: Lucy Nguyen
• Role: Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Assistant Manager
• Joined: 2016
• University: Bayes Business School (formerly Cass)
• Degree: Accounting & Finance

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS

In my final year at university, part of my coursework was about investing money in different portfolios. I was looking for the top-20 best performing funds for long-term investments. Six of the top-20 funds I identified were managed by Baillie Gifford, so when I discovered they offered graduate trainee accountancy contracts, I was immediately interested. After some more research, the firm’s focus on people development really appealed to me, so I decided to go for it.

PERSONAL APPROACH

I applied to a number of other large accountancy firms, but the application process felt more personal at Baillie Gifford. It was far more welcoming, and I was interviewed by a person that I would go on to work with. At many of the larger firms, trainees move on quite quickly. But Baillie Gifford really look after their employees – they cover all your training costs and give you paid leave before the Chartered Accountancy exams. So, it’s no surprise that staff turnover at Baillie Gifford is very low.

WIDE RESPONSIBILITIES

My work on the programme has been very varied. One of my training projects involved looking at different aspects of setting up a new entity in Shanghai: putting together a business licence, preparing cashflow, estimating a five-year budget and creating a business plan for the regulator. This helped me really understand what’s involved in setting up a business. I was also responsible for the regulatory and financial reporting of our European businesses in Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. Since qualifying, I’ve been able to take the lead on projects, chair meetings and take questions, which I think shows a clear progression in my skills.

DRAMATIC GROWTH

There have been a lot of new opportunities in our team recently as we adapt to the dramatic growth of the business. I’m now a Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) Assistant Manager in the FP&A team, which is a new sub-team of the Financial Reporting team. Our new FP&A team will focus on business partnering, long-term financial planning and provide insightful information to the firm’s management across boards, regional teams and departments. The team will support decision making and help shaping the direction of travel in an area that is of strategic importance to the firm.

FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES

There are so many options to consider when it comes to my future here at Baillie Gifford. I could stay in the Finance team, move to Client Accounting or one of the Fund Accounting teams for North America or Europe. Baillie Gifford is really growing in Asia and the company provided a personal tutor for me to learn Mandarin. It’s been fantastic to be supported in this way and, after two years of lessons, I can speak the language fluently!

• Name: Annie Singh
• Role: Technology Solutions Graduate Programme
• Joined: 2021
• University: The University of Manchester & Northumbria University,
• Degree: Mathematics & PGDE

SOFT SKILLS MATTER MORE

Before I joined Ballie Gifford, I worked as a Maths teacher. I had no prior technical experience so the opportunity to train in a technical role without requiring experience really appealed to me. It was clear that the firm looks at your potential and is keen to develop you as a person. The grads alongside me on the programme also come from a range of different disciplines with degrees in everything from Computer Science and Physics to Philosophy and Japanese.

BEING HEARD

The assessment centre was very well organised and the timetable was sent out in advance so we knew what to expect. On the day I was surprised to discover that it was only me and two others being assessed; any other assessment centre I had attended had at least ten other people. Being in a smaller group meant it felt like we were being heard and had the chance to really showcase ourselves. All of the interviewers were friendly and supportive, which gave a great impression of the culture.

DISCOVERING SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE

Before joining I had huge doubts about my coding ability, as I had no previous technical experience. However, the graduate team project showed that my fears were unfounded: not only did I learn to code but I really enjoyed it! Working as a team of graduate trainees, we built an order simulation app to help the testing team move from manual testing over to automated processes. That involved using .NET Core, C#, Angular, Typescript, PL/SQL, Docker and Kubernetes, together with Git, Azure DevOps, Postman and Swagger – all of which were new to me. I learned so much, more than any course had ever taught me, and my confidence increased hugely as a result.

A HEALTHY BALANCE

The firm is very generous in the way they look after their people. You can progress and do well while maintaining a healthy work-life balance – something that was challenging in my last career. The culture is genuinely open, friendly and sociable, too. Social events are a frequent occurrence here: I’ve butchered songs at karaoke, taken part in human-hungry hippos and sampled international cuisine at a Multicultural Network drinks event.

• Name: Alison Shearer
• Role: Technology Solutions Graduate Programme
• Joined: 2021
• University: University of Edinburgh & University of Dundee
• Degree: MA (Hons) in Japanese & Linguistics & MSc in Applied Computing

ABILITY OVER BACKGROUND

My background wasn’t in finance or investment, so I was worried that I didn’t know enough to succeed in the assessment process. But at the interview they made it clear this wasn’t an issue and when I joined, the incredible training got me up to speed very quickly. Now, I’m into my first rotation, working on internal systems that support our investment department, including a research library that enables our investors to share and access research reports.

DAY OF DIVERSITY

Together with four other graduate trainees, I volunteered to organise the firm’s Employee Networks Day, an event to promote and increase understanding of Diversity & Inclusion within the business. We had complete freedom to design the event, from arranging panel Q&As to inviting external speakers and sourcing branded merchandise. It was truly rewarding to see it all come together and a brilliant experience outside of my day-to-day responsibilities.

AUTHENTICALLY ENCOURAGING

At Baillie Gifford I feel that managers genuinely care about me and my wellbeing. They put lots of time and resources into your personal development and continued growth, and there’s a wide range of both technical and personal training available, including online courses where I can study relevant topics at a time that suits me. It’s exciting to know this is an environment where I will keep learning and be challenged throughout my career, not just during the graduate programme.

STRONG NETWORKS

I recently attended an event hosted by the LGBT+ Employee Network to kick-off Pride Month, where I met people from across the business and heard some really moving speeches from my colleagues. I’ve also joined BShe, a new employee-led network supporting all who identify as women in their career progression at Baillie Gifford. It’s exciting to help build something from the ground up and help the firm to become an even better place to work.