How to Get a Job in Finance: Getting a career in finance can be tricky if you have never worked in this industry and your previous career is in some other sector. At the same time, finance is a broad industry which requires many skills like analyzing data, communicating, solving problems and doing business. And you can acquire many of them outside finance industry.
If you wonder how to get a job in finance, then first thing is not to apply for all open positions. You have to understand all possible career opportunities, identify your transferable skills and gain necessary knowledge. With this strategy you will be able to use previous career as an advantage rather than a disadvantage.
How to Get a Job in Finance by Understanding Career Paths
There are many career paths in finance industry, so you should determine what exactly fits you.
Popular Finance Career Paths
Financial analyst: He analyzes financial data, financial performance of the company, budgets and financial forecasts.
Corporate finance: It helps companies to manage their budget, cash flows and financial decisions.
Accounting: This career is focused on financial records, transactions and financial reporting.
Investment banking: It involves activities related to raising capital, evaluating companies, mergers and acquisitions.
Commercial banking: This career path includes lending, credit analysis, relationship management and other banking activities.
Investment management: This career is associated with research and portfolio management.
Financial planning: The aim of the financial planner is to help individuals to manage their finances and investments.
Risk management: In this career you have to identify and evaluate financial and business risks.
Fintech: Fintech career can be connected with financial, operational, data and product management.
With researching these career paths you will be able to save your time on developing unnecessary skills.
How to Get a Job in Finance by Identifying Transferable Skills
Changing careers many people underestimate previous experience. You may not work in finance, but still have many skills which finance companies will be interested in.
For instance, good salesperson usually has good negotiation and client management skills. Project manager may already have budget management experience. And people who worked in data or technology have good analytical and problem-solving skills.
Key Skills for Finance
Data analysis
Problem-solving
Communication
Microsoft Excel
Budget management
Business reporting
Research
Attention to details
Client management
Presentation skills
Think of all your previous experience and look for instances when you had to work with money, financial data, budgets, reports, clients or business decisions. This will make your transition to finance industry much stronger.
Learn the Basics of Finance
You need to have a good understanding of basic concepts in finance before applying for any finance job.
Start from learning about financial statements, accounting principles, budgeting, cash flows, financial ratios and business finance.
Understanding Major Financial Statements
You need to understand all three major financial statements:
Income statement: Contains data on company’s revenues, expenses and profits.
Balance sheet: Includes assets, liabilities and shareholders equity of the company.
Cash flow statement: Reflects movement of cash in the business.
You also have to know how these statements interact with each other. This knowledge is particularly important for financial analysts, corporate financiers, accountants and people who work in investment industry.
Build Practical Finance Skills
It is important to learn something theoretically, but in case of finance industry practical skills are much more important when applying for a job.
One of the most important skills is Microsoft Excel. You need to learn many formulas, lookup functions, PivotTables, charts and other tools which will be used for organizing and analyzing financial data.
If you would like to work in financial analysis, corporate finance or investment banking, then you can try to learn financial modeling. You can practice it using data of some company and creating a forecast of company’s future revenues, expenses and profits.
Data analysis skills will be useful too. Now finance professionals work with big amounts of data, reporting tools and business intelligence systems.
It depends on the finance career what kind of skills you have to have.
Do You Need a Finance Degree?
In most cases you do not need a degree in finance, how to Get a Job in Finance a job in finance industry. The requirements differ greatly depending on the employer and position.
Some competitive or specialized positions may prefer candidates with degrees in finance, accounting, economics, mathematics or related subjects. But there are also positions where professional experience is more important than education.
Before starting a new degree you have to review job descriptions for your desired positions and identify most common qualifications. This will help you to understand whether you need additional education or just to develop particular finance skills.
Professional certifications may be helpful for some careers, but they should be selected carefully. Certification which can be helpful for investment management can be useless for accountants or bankers.
How to Get a Job in Finance by Gaining Experience First
One of the common problems for career changers is getting experience without working in finance industry. You can solve it creating your own finance projects.
For instance, you can take some public company and analyze its financial statements. You can calculate various financial ratios, assess financial performance of this company or create a forecast of its future revenues. You can also develop a sample financial model or a budgeting project.
Alternatively you can try to find finance tasks in your current job and if possible help with budgeting, cost analysis, revenue reporting and financial planning. These experiences will allow you to give practical examples during interview.
How to Get a Job in Finance with a Resume That Stands Out
Your resume should clearly reflect connection of your previous career with the finance position you are targeting.
Do not fill it with irrelevant responsibilities, but emphasize your analytical work, finance responsibilities and accomplishments.
Example:
Instead of saying: “Managed several business projects.”
You can say: “Managed project budgets and monitored monthly spending in order to keep projects within approved financial limits.”
In this way you will emphasize your finance responsibilities. Also you can mention finance courses, certifications, technical skills and practical projects if necessary.
How to Get a Job in Finance by Networking With Professionals
Networking is particularly helpful when changing career because your resume will not immediately show why you are a good candidate for the position in finance industry.
You can connect with people who work in your target industry using professional networking sites, industry events and your personal connections.
Do not contact everyone and ask for a job. It is better to ask for advice about their experience and required skills in this field. It will help you to learn what employers require from candidates while building professional connections.
Apply for the Right Jobs: How to Get a Job in Finance
It is better to conduct a targeted job search, than just to apply for anything.
Find finance jobs where your industry knowledge or professional experience will give you an advantage. For example:
A person with technology experience can try to work for a fintech company.
People with healthcare experience can look for financial positions in healthcare organizations.
Sales experience can be useful for finance and banking positions involving clients.
Some of the possible positions to start are financial analyst, credit analyst, finance associate, junior accountant, banking associate, risk analyst, finance operations specialist, financial planning associate.
Your first finance job does not need to be your ultimate goal. It has to give you experience for future career advancement.
How to Get a Job in Finance: Preparing for the Interview
During interview you have to be prepared for both technical and behavioral questions.
Employer will want to know why you are leaving your current career and why you are interested in finance industry. Answer this question positively. Emphasize skills and experiences which attracted you to finance, rather than criticize your previous career.
You also need to prepare for technical questions related to this position. You have to review financial statements, Microsoft Excel, accounting concepts, financial ratios and other topics related to this position.
But above all you have to explain how your previous experience can be valuable for your new career.
Final Thoughts
Learning how to get a job in finance as a career changer means determining correct path and being properly prepared for it. You do not need to ignore your previous professional experience and start everything anew.
You need to research finance careers, identify your transferable skills and gain necessary technical knowledge. Also you can create practical experience through projects, customize your resume, network professionally and prepare well for interviews.
Your first finance position is not needed to be your dream job. It is supposed to give you experience for future successful career in finance.
