Entry Level Financial Analyst Resume

Skills And Qualifications Required For Entry

• Bachelors degree required ideally within a Financial discipline.
• A firm administrator with excellent administrative skills
• Well developed IT skills including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Strong analytical skills, work ethic, independence, problem-solving ability, effective communication skills, and overall positive attitude.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong computer knowledge and skills, including in-depth expert knowledge of spreadsheet, database, and word processing.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to multi-task while under pressure.
• Customer service-oriented.

Education + Optional Resume Sections

You probably already know that the financial analyst world can be a tough place in which to get your career started. Though there are no formal educational requirements, most employers will seek applicants with at least a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.

Include the highest education level on your resume, but avoid including too much detail unless you’re a recent graduate with limited work experience. If you have minimal experience, you can utilize your education to demonstrate your working potential. Still, if you’re a more experienced applicant, you only need to provide your school name, graduation year, and degree.

There aren’t any formal requirements for certifications for financial analysts, but you should mention any specialized training you’ve received, such as a Financial Analyst Certification, Data Analysis Certification, or Certified Software Quality Analyst.

Finally, you may be wondering whether you should include any interests and hobbies to your resume. Generally, we don’t recommend including them, but there are a few instances where they’re appropriate additions to your resume:

What Recruiters Will Look For

When reviewing resumes, there are a few specific things recruiters will look for. Firstly, they want to see that you have the experience needed to succeed.

For almost every position, a bachelors degree is requiredpreferably with a focus in finance or accounting. In addition to education, theyll look at your past experience. This section is even more important than your education. To show you have what it takes to succeed, youll want to highlight your achievements rather than just list your responsibilities.

Secondly, theyll look to see if youve tailored your resume for the specific job posting. And trust us when we say its obvious if you havent. You can keep a master resume that you use as a starting point for each application, but you should always adjust your summary, experience, and skills section for each job you apply to.

Thirdly, theyll try to gauge whether or not youll be a good fit culturally. This might seem like a difficult thing to convey over a resume, but with a little extra effort, you can. The best place to do this is in your objective or summary section. Focus on how you work with others, the relationships youve built with clients, and your professional character.

In order to even get in front of a recruiters eyes though, your resume needs to pass through an applicant tracking system .

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Why Is A Tailored Resume Crucial For A Financial Analyst

A Sample Financial Analyst Resume is an account of the academic and professional achievements of a candidate, lucidly explaining what makes him or her different from the rest of the candidates. In a nutshell, you need to include all your qualities and abilities in the resume. Financial analysts have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities related to the economy of a company, and there are neck-to-neck competitions among deserving candidates.

These positions are lucrative enough, and the leading companies offer excellent salary packages. So, you may have realized why you need a tailored resume. It is a way of selling your talent in the competitive job market.

Quantify Your Financial Analyst Experience

As a financial analyst, its important to add depth to your professional achievements by incorporating numbers, metrics, and monetary figures into your bullet points. This is why its important to try and accumulate as much data as possible during your internships and current position. Quantifying your accomplishments will establish a sense of scope for the reader and deliver a broader understanding of your professional experience and expertise. Below, youll find examples to help you integrate metrics and numbers into your work history.

Example #1

Good

• Supported the finance and accounting teams in performing comprehensive analysis and audits of operating expenses, which uncovered an error in billing procedures costing the organization over $20K per year

• Analyzed operating expenses with the team, reviewed billing processes, and identified an error costing the company large sums each year

Example #2

Good

• Coordinated with the senior financial analyst to review labor costs and conduct headcount planning based on forecasting, which reduced overhead by 10%

• Worked well with an analyst to evaluate labor expenses and create improved allocation plans to reduce costs for the company

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What Information Should You Include In Your Resume And How

When you apply for the post of a financial analyst Resume Examples in a particular company, you need to showcase your skills. So, be precise with the experience you have gathered over the years. When you mention the companies you have worked with, mention the profile as well as the time you were associated with them.

Along with this, you can include other soft skills that are relevant to the job. It is wise, to sum up your abilities and uniqueness in bullet points so that the employer finds it easy to comprehend your potentials. Include the contact information in a conspicuous manner, so that you are easily reachable.

Format Your Financial Analyst Resume Right

While there are 3 types of resumes formats you can use, the best option is the reverse-chronological format, which looks as follows:

The format starts off with the most recent work experiences and then goes backward in time.

Once youve decided on the format, you need to work on the style and layout of your resume. Heres what that involves:

• Dont go over the 1-page limit. Unless youre a professional with 15+ years of experience, chances are, you dont need more than a single page.
• Pick a professional font. Some of our favorites are Ubuntu, Times New Roman, and Roboto.
• Use 11-12 pt font size for the body text in your resume.

Free Financial Analyst Resume Template

Want to create a compelling resume without all the hassle of working on the formatting, style, layout, and the like?

Well, its possible!

All you have to do is pick one of our 8 free resume templates.

The formatting work is done for you, all you have to do is fill in your contents, and youre ready to land your dream job!

And the best part? Our resume templates look absolutely slick compared to the typical black-and-white templates:

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Include Both Hard And Soft Skills To Show You Are A Balanced Well

Your job as a junior financial analyst will require a vast range of skills.

These include technical skills, such as financial modeling or data analysis.

They also include soft skills, such as making presentations and communicating with clients.

Most candidates make the mistake of only focusing on their technical skills.

If you strike the right balance between hard and soft skills on your resume, you will more likely come across as the right candidate for the job.

Financial Analyst Skills To Include In Your Resume

The skills section is an important place to demonstrate your value to potential employers, not to mention it’s one of the best places to include keywords for ATS. Unfortunately, many hopeful applicants don’t emphasize the right skills. The right skills for your financial analyst resume will depend on the specific job to which you’re applying.

Generally, we recommend including a mix of soft and hard skills, with the majority being hard skills because they’re easier to measure and more job-specific. Aim to include six to ten highly relevant skills on your resume.

Use the following financial analyst skills as examples to get you started:

Why are these resume skills appropriate? We’ve included a mix of hard and soft skills specific, measurable, and highly desired by most employers. When looking for your next financial analyst job, be sure to read the job description carefully. Often, you’ll be able to pick up on which skills are the most important to your hopeful employers.

But, a word of caution: avoid overselling your skills. If you don’t know how to do something or are inexperienced, leave it off your resume. Hiring managers want honesty above all.

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Entry Level Financial Analyst Resume Summary: How To Write

Now that you have the basics covered, lets make your resume stand out with the perfect summary. This is the first section that the hiring manager will read, so making a great first impression is essential.

Your summary should:

• Prove your passion for the financial industry
• Show your interest in the job youre applying for

Avoid writing a generic summary that doesnt paint the picture of who you are and how you will help the company youre applying to achieve their goals.

Heres an example of a weak resume summary:

WRONG

This summary is not personalized to the position the candidate is applying to, and it doesnt set them apart from other applicants.

Now heres an example of a resume summary done right:

RIGHT

This is a strong summary for an entry-level Financial Analyst position. It has three key factors:

• Includes the company name to show a keen interest in the position
• Highlights communication and presentation skills
• Uses real numbers to prove eligibility for the position

For more tips on crafting an attention-grabbing resume summary, check out our guide Resume Summary: How-To Guide .If youre looking to craft a compelling resume objective instead, read our writing tips at 10 Resume Objective Examples You Need to Steal .

How To Format It

First things first, you need a properly-formatted resume. Recruiters decide in seconds whether or not theyre going to interview an applicant. If your formatting is off, thats a telltale sign you arent up for the job.

Here are simple, straight-forward rules to follow when formatting your resume.

• Keep your resume to one page in length
• Use one-inch margins on every side
• Divide your resume into the following sections: header, summary, experience, skills, certifications, and education
• Hyperlink contact information so that its easily clickable
• List your experience reverse-chronologically
• Use bullet points to emphasis achievements in your experience section
• Use a font that is clean and easy to read
• Use section headers and subheaders to break up text
• Always export as a PDF

These are the very basic resume formatting guidelines every financial analyst should follow. Remember that when it comes to resumes, simplicity is key. You want a resume that is easily readable, with plenty of white space. Trying to cram in as much information as possible almost always does more harm than good.

Instead, keep only the most relevant and important information. A recruiter doesnt need to read about things that dont relate to the job youre applying to. Conciseness is key. Brevity is your best friend.

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How To List Your Education

The education section of your resume should be simple and straightforward. Include your college name, location, and the degree you obtained. Theres no need to mention your graduation year. Employers care that you have the degree, not when you earned it.

If you have the space for it, you can also include any notable achievements, including GPA, honors, student organization positions, and relevant coursework. Keep in mind, though, that these are more relevant for recent grads or financial analysts with only a few years of experience.

If youve been in the workforce for more than 5 years, theres no reason to go into that much detail about your education. That space can be better used in your experience or skills section.

Work Experience In Your Entry Level Financial Analyst Resume

The section work experience is an essential part of your entry level financial analyst resume. Its the one thing the recruiter really cares about and pays the most attention to.This section, however, is not just a list of your previous entry level financial analyst responsibilities. It’s meant to present you as a wholesome candidate by showcasing your relevant accomplishments and should be tailored specifically to the particular entry level financial analyst position you’re applying to.The work experience section should be the detailed summary of your latest 3 or 4 positions.

Representative Entry Level Financial Analyst resume experience can include:

• Having analytical skills
• Being able to prioritize tasks
• Analyzing existing processes and providing suggestions to improve overall efficiency
• Recommending and implementing changes to improve the accuracy and impact of financial information
• Updating and processing financial reports and statements

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Skills For Entry Level Financial Analyst Resume

• Analyze and communicate financial results for key products, markets and initiatives
• Formulate financial projections to predict and track performance, diagnose potential issues and prompt corrective actions
• Ensure Regional Finances credibility and reputation of high quality financial measurement, reporting, planning and consulting
• Working collaboratively within the team and across the broker dealer and HO Accounting
• Managing daily workflow and completing responsibilities independently
• Monthly close and related processing and development and preparation of analysis
• Understands multiple processes to be able to respond to agent inquiries and resolve payment issues

Make Sure Your Financial Analyst Cover Letter Is As Compelling As Your Resume

At this point, your resume probably already looks very compelling

But were not done just yet!

You need to create a financial analyst cover letter thats just as good as your resume.

Here are some tips on how you can do this:

• Start the cover letter by addressing the hiring manager with their full name or title. E.g. Dear Margaret. Sure, you could do the traditional Dear Sir or Madam, but including a name or position shows the recruiter that you did your research.
• In the introduction of your cover letter, include your job title, years of experience, top 1-2 achievements, industry experiences, and any of your other top selling points.
• In the body section of your cover letter, you can include things like more detailed skills, responsibilities, work history, and optionally, information on why youd like to work at the company youre applying for.
• Finish up the cover letter with a call to action. E.g. Would be more than happy to discuss my work history more in-depth over an interview.

Struggling with your cover letter? Check out some of our best resources on the topic:

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Proofread Proofread And Proofread

When youve completed your entry-level finance resume, double-check it and review it several times. This will aid you in examining, recognizing, and correcting errors such as grammar and punctuation. Furthermore, keeping your resume error-free may increase your chances of getting a job interview.

Expert Tip:

After proofreading your document, you can use a free online resume review to check if your resume has what it takes to impress hiring managers.

How To List Certifications On Your Resume

In some industries, certifications are optional. For financial analysts, theyre not. You absolutely should include a certification section on your resume.

The main certification for financial analysts is the Chartered Financial Analyst certification. To obtain it, it takes four years of work experience and a three-part, extensive exam.

That said, if you hold this certification, it needs to be prominently featured on your resume. If you dont, thats okay. Here are other certifications worth including on your financial analyst resume:

• Chartered Financial Analyst
• Chartered Investment Counselor
• Personal Financial Specialist

Its also helpful to add any major certifications you hold in the header of your resume. For example, Samuel Jones, CFA sounds much more credible than just Samuel Jones. Itll also ensure a recruiter knows right away that youre certified.

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How Resume Builds Resume Builder Tool Can Be Utilized For An Easy Resume Setup

If youre interested in using an online resume builder tool, check out Resume Build. In just three simple steps, you can create a resume thats sure to stand out.

Its really that easy! Were here to do the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on finding the right positions to apply to. Job searching shouldnt have to be stressfulor overly time-consuming. With our guides, we help you work smarter, not harder.

Common Key Skills And Action Verbs For Entry

Showcasing the appropriate skills and action verbs that companies are looking for is essential for achieving compliance with Applicant Tracking Systems . Employers utilize software algorithms to parse resumes for specific keywords from the job description. If your document lacks a sufficient number of key terms, your application will likely be rejected before it reaches the hiring manager. Tactically integrating a mix of skills and action verbs that align with the job posting will send a strong message to potential employers that you have the qualifications to succeed with their organization. Below, youll find a list of keywords that you may encounter during your job hunt.

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Choose The Best Resume Format

While creating your resume, select the ideal resume format for your experience, qualifications, skills, and expertise. If you already have a lot of experience in the sector, go with the chronological format. Other formats, on the other hand, may be employed to further illustrate your value to their organization.