Are you preparing to enter the financial services industry or to drive your career in that industry to a new level?
Employment in the financial sector usually requires a college degree. Eventually, you may be expected to pass the FINRA Series 7 and 63 exams that demonstrate your understanding of investment terms and accounting practices. (FINRA is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.) Your resume for the financial industry should emphasize your ability to handle numbers and databases, your attention to detail, and your interactions with customers and coworkers.
As new employee in the financial sector, you can demonstrate your financial skills on your resume through your college courses; through your previous work experience even if it is outside the financial field; and through volunteer activities, such as acting as treasurer for a nonprofit. In a financial resume, it is especially helpful to quantify your accomplishments—finance is about numbers after all. At the entry level, begin now to consider how your college, volunteer, and other work experience could be valuable to the companies where you are applying.
To move up in the financial industry, you might consider earning a master’s degree although there are other paths to advancement. As your experience in the financial industry grows, your resume should focus on describing financial-specific accomplishments and skills. For example, you would stress the size of your monthly commissions, the relationships you have developed with traders at other financial institutions, your additional certifications and licenses, and your commitment to regulatory compliance.
At a more advanced level, you should be specific about budgets, numbers of staff supervised, size of a team you joined, results of actions (“added 35 new customers”), and gains in productivity. Start gathering those numbers now because they are important in demonstrating your potential value to a new employer.
For help in developing your resume for the financial industry, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.