3 Ways to Get Your Dream Finance Job

By Scott Roberts

With a finance degree, there are tons of different opportunities that await graduates. Whether you want to be an analyst, investment banker, financial advisor, or any other finance position, this article will outline specific and important ways you can set yourself apart from the average candidate. Academic success is only one piece of your resume, and it is important you strengthen the other areas of your resume that often get overlooked. This article will highlight 3 specific ways in which you can easily strengthen other invisible areas of your application.

First and foremost, it is a necessity to demonstrate your ability to communicate. There are thousands of finance majors that are well educated on financial concepts. However, time after time, managers and hiring personnel have explained their frustration struggling to find applicants who possess adequate communication skills. Your financial expertise is essentially worthless if you cannot communicate it. Furthermore, “the era of working in cubicles is coming to an end.”[1] You need to be able to form strong relationships with colleagues and customers alike. If you feel you might struggle in this area, or simply want to further your communication skills, I would highly recommend reading How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. This book highlights simple ways to make the most of every interaction, and if you can master that, then you will be a unique and invaluable candidate.

Besides outstanding communication skills, it is important to build up some experience. For instance, internships are a great stepping stone into a financial career. The benefits of working as an intern are extensive. Finance internships of all types provide great experience that employers are looking for, such as in-depth experience with Microsoft Excel, SAP, Bloomberg, and other relevant financial software. Furthermore, it serves as an opportunity to gain experience working in teams, conducting research, and leading meetings. These internships also establish constructive habits such as keeping up with the market and different trends. Moreover, internships allow you to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as an employee. In many ways, internships offer a lot that the classic education cannot, so they are an invaluable learning opportunity, and a huge resume builder.

Perhaps the most important part of nailing your dream job is networking. In business especially, it is all about who you know and the relationships you make. Many think of networking as purely a transactional type of relationship, but networking is more than that. Business is more so about forming relationships in which you are truly invested in the growth and success of the other person. If you network with these intentions in mind, you are bound to make really valuable and authentic relationships. A concrete way to work toward this is following up on connections you make. This is why I strongly encourage others to think of networking as forming relationships rather than mere connections. With the current technology and social media outlets we have access to, “there is no excuse not to network online.”[2] Whether LinkedIn, Facebook, or other media outlets, it is important to create a professional looking profile and contact as many people as possible.

While it is very important to study hard and be adept in the finance realm, it is equally important to put time and effort into these other complimentary areas in order to truly wow employers. When it comes time to sit in the interview chair, you want to impress employers with more than just your financial knowledge, and these efforts will ensure you achieve this.

[1] Robert Half, “10 Finance Skills”, Robert Half Finance Solutions, August 9, 2021, https://www.roberthalf.com.au/blog/jobseekers/your-career-finance-10-skills-really-count [2]Anna Klawitter, “The Importance of Networking”, Meratas, February 1, 2021, https://www.meratas.com/blog/importance-networking-career-success