With June exams looming, most students of professional accounting qualifications have their heads down over their textbooks - so now is the time for those with little or no financial services experience to take advantage and bag interviews at leading banks.

Maxine Rose, consultant at City recruitment consultancy Joslin Rowe says line managers anxious to deliver a seamless accounting service can't afford to hang around until exams are over before filling headcount gaps: 'HR managers are under tremendous pressure to deliver candidates for interview,' she says. 'At this time of year, with fewer people around at part-qualified level, they're likely to be less judgemental about sector-specific backgrounds when sifting through applications.'

ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA and CIPFA studiers, as well as accounting technicians, will all be trooping into the exam hall next month, leaving CIMA studiers in prime position to plunder the jobs market.

And already shortlists are taking on a new look: 'One American bank that's notoriously fastidious has relaxed an unwritten rule that candidates should have completed at least six months in a financial services environment before even being considered,' says Rose. 'People from retail, manufacturing and even entertainment have now got past the first interview stage and are looking good for offers.'

But she warns against complacency on the part of City hopefuls: 'There's no slacking in standards. Candidates without sector-specific experience will still have to work hard to convince interviewers at the banks of their interest in, and commitment to, financial services.'