Tips for Writing a Perfect Financial Analyst Resume
A financial analyst is the core of any business or government institution. They analyze financial reports, research investment proposals, estimate profit potential, and so much more. A company’s long term success is often determined by how good of a job their financial analyst does in their analysis of current and future business ventures. Your financial analyst resume has to tell recruiters that you can be trusted and handle the weight of their company’s success resting on your strong shoulders.
Most experienced financial analysts come from a diverse background including positions in: financial planning, legal, accounting, stock trading, fraud prevention, and much more. University graduates that have a business, or finance degree will get the most consideration for a junior analyst position if they have no real world experience to offer. Regardless of the background you offer: Your financial analyst resume has to show you can efficiently and accurately work with data, while also spotting trends that can save money and increase profits.
Experience is usually preferred in most high-level analyst positions, but if you’re a new graduate, make sure your resume highlights your education and skill set to capture the attention of the hiring manager who will be reading it. Senior analysts will want their financial analyst resume to focus on their professional successes and the level of responsibility they’ve held in previous positions.
Career Objective
This is the section where you sell yourself to an employer by telling them what position you wish to obtain in their company and why you’re a good fit. So many people take this statement lightly and write a generic-looking statement that they find somewhere on the Internet – set yourself apart from your competitors by making a personalized statement that’s written with the company you’re applying to in mind.
For instance, let’s say you are applying for a job with “XYZ Company” in their Business Planning Department…
… Don’t write something generic that most recruiters have seen a million times such as “Finding work as a financial analyst at a company who will value my skills and background.” – this doesn’t say very much, or make you look like a person who will add value the available position.
… Instead, write a statement that tells your recruiter you want to work for their corporation: “I want to work in the Business Planning Department of XYZ Company: Using my background and skills to find profitable ways to maximize projected profits.” – this statement is very clear, tells the specific position you’re applying for and what you plan to do, if they hire you.
Academics
We already touched on the importance of education for both junior and senior positions. State the school you attended, degree attained, and other industry recognized courses you’ve completed. A new graduate entering the job market should put this heading directly under the career objective of their resume, whereas an experienced professional would place their academics under their professional background.
Professional Background
The career objective statement tells the company that you want to work for them and what you hope to achieve. This section is where you show you have the background necessary to achieve your objective (getting the job) with the least amount of training necessary. Write down all of the jobs you’ve had, along with at least 3 key responsibilities you were entrusted with at each company.
Once you have the key points listed on paper, you can type them on your computer and continue to refine them. Make sure you include any job experience you have that matches what the position calls for such as: skills, responsibilities, and achievements.
Job Related Skills
Depending on your level of experience, this section isn’t necessarily required. For instance, if you have years of detailed job experience then you might feel your financial analyst resume is perfect and tells the recruiter everything they need to hear. If you have less than 5 years of experience, or just graduated, it might be good to add a bulleted list of the pertinent skills you have.
Don’t describe your skills, just list them (I.e., computer skills, accounting software, investments, etc.) You can use side-by-side columns to create extra bullet points, but only use a total of 3 columns – anything more than that can make your resume look too bulky and make it hard to read.
Finishing Touches
Once you think you’ve put together an award-winning financial analyst resume, save everything and don’t even look at it for at least two hours (or more, if you can.) Take a break, then come back and look at it with fresh eyes. You might be surprised how many errors you can find that you didn’t find earlier. Have one or two more people take a look at it too – we all have a propensity to notice certain mistakes (E.g., spelling, grammar, structure, etc.) more than others.
