Photo / Tim Greenway
Andrew Silsby, president and CEO of Kennebec Savings, says while math is a good skill for banking, people skills are just as important.
Updated: May 25, 2020
Work for ME 2020 — Business Services
Banking on a solid career: ‘Awesome’ opportunities, and not just for math whizzes
Photo / Courtesy of Kennebec Savings Bank
Anna Peterson, a UMaine student, spent her internship at Kennebec Savings helping the bank’s graphic designer scout out locations for an ad — then ended up being in the ad herself.
Before landing an internship at Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta in May 2019, Anna Peterson had never thought about a career in banking.
That all changed with her experience in the bank’s marketing department, where her responsibilities ranged from indexing a database to a social media stint on the bank’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.
“It was really cool to be running a company’s social media,” says Peterson, a 21-year-old rising senior at the University of Maine in Orono. “I would come up with some ideas, and then look them over with the social media coordinator.”
My favorite part is the connection with the community.
— Anna Peterson
Another highlight was working with the bank’s graphic designer. While helping him scout out locations to photograph for an ad, Peterson served as a temporary stand-in — and ended up being in the ad herself.
“I definitely did not expect that, but it was really fun,” says Peterson, who is looking forward to returning to Kennebec Savings this summer as she eyes banking as a “definite possibility” after she graduates.
“My favorite part,” she says, “is the connection with the community.” She observed that firsthand when working with the bank’s community giving director and seeing the causes it donates to, and how much work that entails. “It was really awesome.”
For young people like Peterson, internships offer a glimpse into all the different career possibilities within banking. Many start as tellers — including Andrew Silsby, president and CEO of Augusta-based Kennebec Savings Bank.
Today, he laughs about having held “just about every job in banking.” In his 26 years at Kennebec Savings, Silsby worked his way up from loan officer to president and CEO.
Banking, he says, “is the sort of business that tends to promote from within.”
He estimates that around 10% of the bank’s current employees went through its summer internship program, landing in departments from customer service to marketing and IT.
“There is a wide variety,” he says, “and what’s nice about our particular internship program, is that it gives people an opportunity to try various areas of the bank over their college summers.”
You don’t need to be a math whiz to be a banker.
— Andrew Silsby
Silsby also says that while the bank needs people who are good at math, being kind and helpful are just as important, and underscores that “for the lion’s share of jobs, you don’t need to be a math whiz to be a banker.” He also touts banking as “clean work,” with solid pay and benefits.
Further insights and advice
Like Silsby, Patricia Weigel started as a teller. She got into banking after earning a psychology degree from Denison University in Ohio, and in 2015 became the first female president and CEO of Norway Savings Bank.
“Banking is a great place for young people perhaps not quite sure where they best fit early in their career,” she says today.
She says her own institution offers a variety of professions and programs for young people to explore once they are hired, from front-line client-facing positions to roles in marketing, information technology, finance, human resources, data analytics and more.
But she also stresses the importance of finding the right bank whose cultural values align with yours, one where you can keep learning and growing, adding: “Our industry needs young people who have sharp minds, are naturally curious and have a genuine interest in helping others.”
Kim Twitchell, NBT Bank’s Maine regional president in Portland, has a similar observation.
“The banking industry has changed dramatically over the years, creating exciting new opportunities in technology, programming, marketing and creative design, as well as the traditional roles in accounting, investments and business,” she says.
Twitchell’s advice to young people with an interest in the profession: “Learn as much about the industry as you can, and use your networks to research job shadowing and/or summer internship opportunities. Education is also very important, and courses focused in business will provide a strong foundation.”
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