List the revenue of the companies you’ve worked for.
Listing the revenue of previous employers shows recruiters how much money you have been able to handle and process as a finance director. Include these figures if they are large and impressive.
There are around 160k finance directors in the US today, with one-third of them being women. Two-thirds of finance directors are found in the public sector and companies with more than 10k employees. This position requires years of experience and a strong educational background.
With over 90% of finance directors having a bachelor’s or master’s degree in finance or a related field, recruiters will expect to see at least one degree listed on your resume. They also expect to see years of successful experience in the finance department and a steady career progression. This guide has been created with the help of finance director recruiters to give you a clear picture of what they are looking to see in your resume and what you can add to impress them. There are 3 resume samples, as well as a skills list, an action verbs list, and some tips for each sample.
Finance Director Resume Templates
Template 1 of 3: Finance Director Resume Example
Finance directors are in charge of the financial side of a company. Duties you can expect include overseeing financial activities, developing financial plans, and training finance-related staff. You aim to ensure that financial processes are constantly improving and that all financial policies are followed.
Recruiters will expect to see at least a bachelor’s degree in finance or a related field and a background in accounting and finance. Having strong mathematical, and analytical skills would also be preferred. Here is a strong finance director resume.
Tips to help you write your Finance Director resume in 2023
Use metrics to show your effect on the bottom line.
Using metrics is an easy way to put your successes into perspective for recruiters. Impress recruiters by including figures like how much money your finance team saved, or how much extra money they made for the company under your leadership.
Skills you can include on your Finance Director resume
Template 2 of 3: Director of Finance Resume Example
A director of finance cares about the long-term financial health of a company. You will keep management and your superiors constantly updated on the financial health of the company and will spend time analyzing the markets and writing reports. You will also play a leadership role for the department and will ensure all internal financial policies are followed as well as all financial laws and guidelines.
Recruiters will expect to see a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or a relevant field, and will need you to be an expert in corporate finance. Take a look at this recruiter-approved resume sample.
Tips to help you write your Director of Finance resume in 2023
Use finance keywords.
Your resume should read like someone who has been in finance for a long time. An easy way to do this is by using common finance terms and phrases. Examples include ‘YOY’, ‘ERP system’, and ‘overhead costs’.
Also see: 50+ Finance Resume Examples for 2023
Focus on finance skills in the skills section.
As much as management and leadership are vital functions of your position, use your resume to show off your expertise in finance. So concentrate on including finance-related skills in the skills section like financial modeling and forecasting.
Skills you can include on your Director of Finance resume
Template 3 of 3: Assistant Director of Finance Resume Example
As the name suggests, your job will revolve around assisting the director of finance to maintain the financial health of the company. Your tasks may include preparing financial statements and other financial documents, reconciling ledgers, supervising payroll and other money transactions, etc.
Recruiters will expect you to have a bachelor’s degree, preferably in accounting or finance, and years of experience in a finance-related position. Experience working in the company’s industry would also be strongly preferred. Take a look at this strong resume sample.
Tips to help you write your Assistant Director of Finance resume in 2023
Get financial certifications.
Shine amongst your competition by getting certifications related to your job. Finance and accounting certifications will be especially helpful. This applicant has 3 impressive certifications.
Also see: How to List Certifications on a Resume
Use action verbs that highlight your leadership.
In this position, you will be assisting someone in a leadership position. Show recruiters that you can take on some of your superior's leadership tasks by using action verbs that show self-agency and leadership. These may include, ‘Championed’, ‘Supervised’, and ‘Handled’.
Skills you can include on your Assistant Director of Finance resume
Skills For Finance Director Resumes
The director of finance position is a high-ranking position in the finance department. As such you need to show your leadership and management skills as you will most likely be leading at least one team. But more importantly, to be a leader in the finance department, you need to show expertise in finance. Use the skills section to show your expertise in the field. So include skills that are fundamental to analyzing a company’s finances, and strategizing and executing a plan aimed at its financial health. Accounting skills should be included as well. Work on constantly expanding your skill set as you progress in your career.
Here is a list of relevant hard skills recruiters would expect to find on a finance director’s resume. You can use some of these to build your skill section.
- Corporate Finance
- Financial Modeling
- Finance
- Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Reporting
- Valuation
- Due Diligence
- Forecasting
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act
- Private Equity
- Internal Controls
- Investment Banking
- Financial Accounting
- Capital Markets
- Accounting
- Financial Planning
- Financial Forecasting
- Treasury
- U.S. SEC Filings
Skills Word Cloud For Finance Director Resumes
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Finance Director job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Action Verbs For Finance Director Resumes
Action verbs are useful indicators of your function in the department and your strengths. A finance director needs action verbs that signify their leadership success. Action verbs like ‘championed’ and ‘launched’ are great examples of strong leadership action verbs.
You will also need action verbs that show your experience and success in finance tasks so try to use more finance-related action verbs like ‘analyzed’, ’audited’, and ‘strategized’ as well.
Here are some useful action verbs for you to use.
- Championed
- Supervised
- Analyzed
- Managed
- Conducted
- Launched
- Initiated
- Introduced
- Instructed
- Developed
- Facilitated
- Conceptualized
- Documented
- Decreased
- Audited
- Enforced
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
Other Finance Resumes
Finance Executive
Go to the full Finance Executive Resume Guide to see and download more proven templates.
VP of Finance
Go to the full VP of Finance Resume Guide to see and download more proven templates.
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