Finance Resume Example

The finance job market is getting more competitive, so having a strong resume is an important part of finding a job in the industry.

Whether you’re applying to be an accountant or a financial analyst, here are four tips to give you the best chance of landing an interview:

Highlight your finance resume skills

Your resume skills section is important for finance jobs because hiring managers are looking for candidates who have the knowledge and technical skills required for the job. Employers first assess your skills section when looking at your resume, and if the desired skills aren’t there, your chances of an interview decrease.

The skills section of your finance resume should show you’re adept at quantitative analysis and report writing, and proficient in industry software. To prove you have the hard skills for a finance job, list some of these common finance skills (if you have them):

• GAAP
• Accounting software (QuickBooks, Sage 100, Oracle NetSuite)
• Oracle E-Business Suite
• SAP ERP
• Qlikview
• Microsoft Excel
• MATLAB
• SQL
• Report writing
• Investment strategy
• Data analysis
• Mathematics
• Critical thinking
• Regulatory compliance

If you have any training certifications to list on your resume for platforms like MATLAB, then include those. You can also add any desirable soft skills mentioned in the job posting along with the more technical ones.

Add hard numbers to your achievements

Your achievements in the finance industry are measured using hard numbers. Employers want to see what you can bring to their projects, and by adding hard numbers you provide evidence of your positive impact.

As you reflect on your work experience, think about how it can be expressed in terms of percent change, money saved, and numbers of clients served.

Here’s an example of how a finance professional can add hard numbers to their resume:

Implemented a new budget system that reduced overall costs by 13%

Incorporating such data strengthens your resume because it shows employers a concrete record of success.

Include strong finance action verbs

Add strong action verbs to your finance resume to make sure your bullet points engage the reader. Thinking of new ways to describe your daily responsibilities is challenging, but incorporating strong resume action verbs into your experience section ensures you grab the hiring manager’s attention.

Using active verbs shows the hiring manager that you take on active roles at work. Unsure how to describe your past achievements? Here are a few action verbs for finance resumes:

• Analyze
• Calculate
• Recommend
• Evaluate
• Optimize
• Maintain
• Implement
• Forecast
• Report
• Examine
• Reason
• Present
• Advise
• Prepare

Strong finance action verbs are effective for communicating your achievements in finance to potential employers.

Customize your finance resume for the job post

Take the time to customize your financial resume for the job posting. In a competitive industry like finance, showing you’ve done thorough research impresses hiring managers. Although you may be applying to many jobs, your resume should give hiring managers the impression that their job opening is the only one you want.

Move any skills referenced in the listing to the top of your skills list and add other desired skills if you have them. If the posting describes a particular project you’d work on, refer to similar projects you’ve taken on in previous roles as you list your work experience on you resume, and show how you ensured they succeeded.

If you don’t have the specific skills asked for, describe soft skills and any other related technical skills that could help in the position.

On the other hand, make sure irrelevant jobs and skills are removed from the resume. For example, few of the skills you picked up bartending in college will be transferable to a finance role, so you can safely remove that work experience from your resume.