How to write a resume for a job in finance

We recently analyzed our resume database to pick out the keywords recruiters most often searched for. That got us thinking: do the most viewed resumes on Workopolis have anything else in common? Do certain skills, titles, and educational backgrounds appear more often than others?
To find out, we looked at the most viewed resumes with a career focus in finance, isolating skills, degree types, majors, and job titles listed on each resume.
What we found was that the most viewed finance-related resumes included a mention of these skills:
- Customer relations
- Financial
- Reports
- Microsoft office
- Accountancy
- Microsoft excel
- Sales
- Finance
- Process engineering
- Credit
Finance recruiters seem to like candidates with customer-facing experience, but they also seem interested in reporting skills (including knowledge of associated software).
To explore this further, we looked at the top ten job titles on the most viewed finance-related resumes, and found that business and financial analysts came out on top:
- Business analyst
- Financial analyst
- Senior business analyst
- Accountant
- Project manager
- Senior financial analyst
- Accounts payable clerk
- Software developer
- Senior accountant
- Customer service representative
The takeaway, therefore, is that recruiters clearly see value in strategic analysis and data. If you have this kind of background, it would be wise to emphasize it on your resume.
If you have yet to break into the financial world, and are trying to decide what to study (or going back to school), these were the most common degrees listed on popular finance-related resumes:
- Diploma
- Bachelor of commerce
- Bachelor of science
- Bachelor of arts
- Master of business administration
- Certificate
- Bachelor of business administration
- Master of science
- Bachelor of engineering
- Bachelor degree
Judging from its first-place spot, a diploma may be enough to get you noticed for a job in finance job. College and university degrees, however, make up the bulk of the top ten, which would indicate that they can make a difference. If you’re thinking of going that route, these were the top fields of study on our most viewed finance-related resumes:
- Accounting
- Finance
- Computer science
- Economics
- Business administration
- Accounting and finance
- Bachelor of commerce
- Project management
- MBA
- Business management
Got what it takes for a career in finance? Check out accounting and finance jobs on Workopolis.