A Peek Inside the Life of a Bank Teller Job Employee
Working for a bank, in any position, is an enormous responsibility that you must not take for granted. You, as a beginner, probably would be in charge of 10K to 15K in your station. This is a ton of money, much of it other peoples, and you’ll get more as they see they can trust you to handle so much. A typical bank teller job is often fairly easygoing and there is a lot of teamwork that goes on which bonds the whole staff together. With the help of some friendly coworkers, it shouldn’t take long to catch on to the whole bank teller job experience and shortly after your training you’ll be rocking on the computer keyboard. Remember to be careful though, for when you balance your drawer (your personal money) at the end of the day, all outages are recorded and sent to the corporate bank location to file, including overages. One would think that to have extra money in one’s station is actually a positive mistake, but the bank does not see it that way. In fact, rightfully so, because more often than not, this discrepancy is the result of careless typing or some other human error, the human being you specifically. All corporate sees is a mistake and they have people working specifically to find a paper trail to that mistake. So over or short, it doesn’t matter, they are still mistakes. And it is not uncommon to be way out of balance during your first couple of months at a bank teller job. Often it is simply miscounting and once you’ve attempted to balance unsuccessfully and an associate comes to try to balance it, they will likely find that you just missed a twenty or so. But after awhile of working at the bank teller job, balancing will be quick and easy and you’ll be the pro. And to count and assort money in the manner in which the bank teller is required trains the brain to think in a neat, mathematical manner, which can be really good for people who often have trouble with that.
You also will develop sharp skills that you may take with you if you should ever seek a job outside of the bank. With so much responsibility in your hands, you are forced to adapt to the fast paced environment and organization is key if you want to succeed. In fact, organizational skills are imperative to succeeding in the first place and without them, you might result in several causes for getting written up, such as balance outages in your drawer, failure to send out transaction papers at the proper time or neglect in checking and recording proper identification. To get written up simply means that a written document is provided to the bank branch’s Manager and he or she will formally address the issue with you. Write-ups don’t happen unless there are repeated problems and everyone, including those directly above the tellers, tries to avoid them at all costs.
Another great addition to your life once you start your work as a teller is the ability and almost requirement to network with people of all shapes and colors. Everyone needs to cash their checks right? You will get all kinds in the bank, from elite stockbrokers to scratch off ticket lottery winners to labor types of employed individuals. The fact that customer service is naturally a major priority for any type of company in this country right now, is a great excuse for you to pitch yourself. Hand out business cards, your employer will be grateful. If you view each person that comes to your window as a potential key to something else that will benefit your life, you will take advantage of this lucky position as a bank teller and instead of just plugging away the transactions on the keyboard as fast as you can, you will develop relationships with customers. It is exciting and rewarding when you’ve bonded so much with the customers that you have people that actually come in and let the line pass as they wait for your window to be free.
Another great motivator in succeeding and taking your job seriously as a teller is regional meetings and employee incentives. The meetings are usually sales rally type events where all the fellow tellers in the district gather together to celebrate a landmark achievement or something of that sort. Many times awards are given and the whole experiences encourages interaction. This is a great place to network, for don’t forget, your fellow employees have their own relationships with customers and once you develop a bond with them, they just may share a reference with you if it so applies to your situation. There is a great sense of camaraderie in the banking profession. It’s a really good environment to situate oneself in.
Overall, many people shun the teller job and underestimate its quality and level of importance in the work environment, but to take on the position, especially if its on a temporary basis, is a worthy venture. Everything about the job, from the training manuals to the level of responsibility and trust you are given to the way you are treated by fellow employees is all about professionalism. This is one job that if attempted to succeed at, could really straighten someone’s life around. And for someone that’s already on a successful path, it is a great gateway to higher, more individually desirable areas of employment.
