Ruby's story
Ruby Craven, Financial planner
What inspired you to follow a career in financial services, and how did you get started?
After school, I chose not to go to university as I wasn’t sure what I wanted my career to look like. I decided to explore my options rather than pursuing something I wasn’t really invested in. So, I did various jobs, mostly in art and design.
While I was working as an apprentice in fashion design, the company that employed me went into liquidation. This forced me to think about my career direction.
I joined HSBC, which gave me the opportunity to move away from my hometown where I was living with my parents and into the city of Plymouth. I was still uncertain about what I wanted to do, and this position provided a great insight into the possible paths I could take in financial services.
My time at the bank bolstered my financial education and gave me experience supporting customers. While I’d originally taken the job as a stopgap, I found a lot of control and strength in finance, both for my personal development and from helping others.
After several years, I moved out of the banking industry because I wanted to work in a more specialised private sector role, rather than in a large corporation.
That’s when I found Francis Clark Financial Planning, which I joined 10 years ago in a client liaison and administrative role. Within two years, I started studying and taking exams to qualify as a financial planner.
While I don’t feel it affected my progress, the profession was very male-dominated at this time. I was one of only a few women trying to push forwards to achieve qualified status as a financial planner.
Over the next six or seven years, I chipped away at my exams, absorbed all the learning I could from the workplace, and qualified as a financial planner around three years ago. I’ve worked in this role at Francis Clark Financial Planning ever since.
My strongest feeling about my professional journey to where I am now is that I initially didn’t know where I wanted to be. I like to share that, because you don’t always need to know the direction you’re heading in to find a career that suits you and that you can excel at.
Have you had any role models or mentors who have helped your progress?
There hasn’t been one particular person who has acted as a role model for me.
I’ve taken a lot of inspiration and motivation from successful colleagues – both male and female – because I believe, “why can’t I have that?” I’ll never use my gender as a barrier to my progress.
If I see someone working hard and achieving, that’s behaviour I want to model. I don’t think there are job roles that are strictly aligned to a specific gender.
What have been your most rewarding career moments so far?
Definitely, qualifying as a financial planner. This is a huge milestone, especially as career development in financial services is all self-led, so it relies entirely on my motivation.
In comparison, my husband studied for his accountancy exams at the same time I was training to be a financial planner. He was sent away for a week at a time to focus solely on his studies, while I completed mine alongside a full-time role.
I feel this demonstrates how committed I am to my progression in financial services. My success is down to sheer determination and hard work, which makes me incredibly proud of my qualifications.
How has gender diversity changed in financial services during your career?
When I started working at HSBC in Plymouth, my branch manager was female and there were quite a lot of women in the leadership team. However, I’m aware this was probably not the norm in many banks and other workplaces in the financial sector.
Over the past 10 years, I have noticed a change in how women are represented in financial services and the professionals we work closely with, such as solicitors and accountants – there are more women in higher-level roles, such as managers, directors, and partners.
At Francis Clark Financial Planning, I’ve seen a lot of positive developments first-hand. The firm proactively encourages people, particularly women, to come through the business and be successful in their job roles.
I know that only 18% of advisers in the UK are female, so we’re such a minority across the board. As a team, we talk about that a lot, which I think is crucial. We’re not afraid to tackle the issue head-on and the firm is fantastic at championing its female staff and their achievements.
That’s the most fundamental hurdle – recognising the issue and addressing it openly.
What advice would you give to young women who are thinking about entering the profession?
I would 100% say, ‘do it’.
Don’t feel that anything is a barrier. If you do face obstacles along the way, take time to understand them and explore ways you can move forward. Generally, I don’t feel that challenges are as bad as we might think they are initially and it’s usually possible to break barriers down into bite-sized chunks that are easier to overcome.
Go after your goals with the energy you need to succeed but also an understanding that success isn’t easy and you’ll need to work hard for what you want.
As a professional woman in finance, I hope I do some good in showing women they can take control of their finances personally and forge a rewarding career in the sector if they choose to do so.
What are your long-term career goals?
I’m part of the Empowering Girls programme, which is run by a community interest company in the south-west. My role is to mentor Year Nine girls (aged 13 to 14), giving them the awareness and confidence to make better choices about their careers.
It’s a fantastic programme that is really beneficial for the girls who take part. It’s helped me recognise my standing in this profession and allowed me to define clear career goals. I’m looking forward to mentoring more girls in the future.
I’m also working towards Chartered status, and I aim to achieve this in the next 12 to 24 months. From then on, I’d really like to be a force within the Francis Clark Financial Planning management team.
I feel that having more women in this profession carrying this job title and operating at a senior level could be so valuable to how the business runs as a whole.