What makes a good Finance CV?

Gordon Gecko’s “Greed is Good” tirade in the film Wall Street was the mantra that defined the money-hungry finance sector of the 1980s.

But as the real-life tale of rogue-trader Nick Leason in the 1990s soon reminded us, greed is not necessarily such a good thing – especially when it costs your employer some £827m and causes the collapse of one of the world’s oldest banks.

However, there are better – and more secure - ways to get yourself noticed in this increasingly competitive finance sector without trying to prove that you are a risk taker (and an irresponsible one at that).

The secret to writing an interview-winning CV is to give an employer a glimpse of what they will get in return for their investment in you. With recruiters taking as little as 30 seconds to determine whether you will be short-listed or not, you need to catch their attention fast and breathe life into your CV.

In other words, you need to match your skills with those required by the job and show how- and to what effect- you have used them in a practical setting.

Instead of stating that you have ‘Strong numeric skills’, you need to quantify this so that the person reading your CV doesn’t sit there thinking So what? Add strength to these skills by saying:

“As President of my university rugby club, I was responsible for managing the finances of the club including budget allocation, sponsorship funds and expenses.”

or;

“During my internship working within the tax division of one of the leading accountancy firms, I was involved in a number of tasks, including verifying financial statements, analysing data, checking assets, and assessing the control’s within clients’ business systems.”

Work experience is important to employers but equally important is your ability to convince them that you have the potential to be a success in the job you are applying for. So whether you have experience in the finance sector or not, you need to include around six or seven examples of instances (like those above) in your former career or during university days when you have used the skills required for this job.

Consider who will be reading your application. Avoid using abbreviations, technical jargon or job titles that may be confusing to someone reading your CV who has little or no knowledge of the sector you are coming from. Remember that CVs are often read at great speed so make sure it is clear and concise for the reader.

Wondering what to do now? Check out our expert career advice, find out more about the Finance industry or search for the latest Finance jobs.