5 expert tips for improving your financial resume. Source: pexels.com
Your CV is a passport to new and fascinating fields of interest, whether you are an experienced professional with many years in the business or just out of college, and it should be respected for the power it holds. The goal of your finance resume is to demonstrate that you have the abilities and experience necessary to help a firm achieve its financial objectives. The good news is that unemployment in the financial sector is quite low, and job openings are continuously increasing.
The bad news is that there is a lot of competition, and recruiters do not have a lot of time to get to know you. To stand out from the crowd, you will need a strong financial analyst resume. It doesn’t matter how brilliant you are at evaluating financial data if you cannot demonstrate it to the hiring manager at your ideal company.
Fortunately, that is precisely what this article is about, and what better way to get started on your resume than by looking at a great executive CFO resume example? Nothing, because formatting your resume correctly determines what the reader gets out of it.
Before we get into how you can improve your resume, you must have a specific financial or accounting career target in mind before you start writing your resume. Review job advertisements to see what types of opportunities are available and which firms are hiring, to get a sense of the needed credentials. This research will assist you in determining which talents and experiences to highlight on your CV.
Summarize your qualifications and skills
Nobody wants to read paragraphs and paragraphs of information when they could just read a summary and a list. Summarize your major qualifications and strengths in the first half of the first page of your finance or accounting resume. A prospective employer or recruiter should be able to quickly understand the breadth of your professional experience after reading just one paragraph.
After your profile, provide an Areas of Expertise section, which includes a list of terms related to your financial or accounting job choice. Your specialized financial knowledge and skills should be highlighted in your Areas of Expertise section. Your financial and accounting industry certificates and licenses, such as CPA, CFA, and Series 7, 63, and/or 64, should also be included.
Highlight your achievements
The remainder of your resume should focus on your professional financial or accounting experience. Present a brief paragraph summarizing your basic job responsibilities under each employer, followed by a bulleted list of achievements. Demonstrate quantifiable outcomes from your labor. Consider the following two examples:
Through organic growth and acquisitions, I was responsible for a 76 percent increase in sales and income over a 15-month period.
By streamlining the credit-analysis department, cutting outstanding receivables from 48 to 15 days, and limiting risk from marginal clients, the company was able to increase cash flow by $15 million.
Include something unusual about yourself
Instead of stuffing your resume with mundane responsibilities like “client interface” or “presenting marketing materials,” leave a place on your CV for at least one uncommon fact about yourself that nobody is aware of. Keep in mind that many employers are not dull. Do not be afraid to include some color on your resume, even if you think it has nothing to do with the job you are applying for.
For example, if you graduated with honors from college and produced a thesis. Write, “Honors: A senior thesis on Robert Louis Stevenson’s mysteries.” This will very certainly lead to a discussion with the hiring manager.
The power of adjectives
As unusual as it may seem, especially because you are not applying for a literary profession, adjectives can help paint a dramatic picture and send “unspoken” messages that can pique the reader’s interest. “Played football in college” on a CV might sound rather mundane.
Consider adding an adjective and instead say, “played attack in football,” as the word “attack” conveys your attitude and determination even better. This simple term connotes assertiveness, a winning mentality, and a will to succeed. It also demonstrates that you work well with others in a team.
Include your hobbies
While your resume should always be as short and to the point as possible, you should not shorten it at the expense of leaving your hobbies out. The majority of recruiters and supervisors will never ignore an unusual pastime — and everybody has at least one. However, most people disregard it on their resumes since they believe it is irrelevant. Or they are so engrossed in their activities that it does not seem “out of the ordinary” to them.
These days, your surprising passions, both present, and past, will gain you more opportunities than academic achievement. Never make these up or lie about them, but trumpet them where you can. They make you look a lot more intriguing than everybody else, in addition to gaining your work.
In conclusion
Career prospects for finance and accounting experts can be found in every industry. The requirements for a CV are the same whether you want to be a CFO or controller, financial analyst or financial planner, portfolio manager, or investment advisor. It is not necessarily easy to create an appealing resume, but it does make a big difference to recruiters and hiring managers, so take the time to do it well.
While this advice is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how to make your CV stand out, sticking to it will have a long-term and beneficial impact on what is undoubtedly the most significant element of your professional portfolio.
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