Financial analysts are experts at analyzing, evaluating, and ultimately improving a company’s financial prospects. These in-demand professionals help businesses grow and prosper, which benefits business owners as well as their stakeholders.
On a typical work day, financial analysts may tackle a variety of duties such as gathering and analyzing data, generating reports, and giving presentations. They are also tasked with making recommendations for improvements to maximize their company’s profitability.
Job prospects for financial analysts are steadily growing, with a projected 5% increase in opportunities between 2019 and 2029. The average salary is high (around $80,000 per year), and competition for these jobs can be intense.
How can you increase your odds of landing one of these sought-after positions? Having a standout resume never hurts -- it’s your first chance to make an impression on a hiring manager, so you’ve got to make it count. Let’s talk about how to create a financial analyst resume that will set you apart from the crowd.
A financial analyst is someone who crunches financial data from a business to make recommendations based on the company’s goals. Financial analysts may look at market trends, current revenue, sales forecasting, and more to understand a company’s strengths and weaknesses. Then, they make suggestions based on their data to improve the company’s cash flow. As a financial analyst, you will be primarily responsible for creating a variety of data models that can predict certain outcomes and aggregate data from the past.
To get a role as a financial analyst, you need a mix of hard and soft skills. Firstly, you will need a bachelor’s degree in finance, business, or data analytics. Then, you will need to get some hands-on experience in the finance world, such as holding roles like private equity intern or investment assistant. You should have hands-on experience with analyzing data and understanding the drivers behind certain outcomes.
There are many finance associations, networking events, and clubs one can join. Joining these groups will allow you to learn more about the field and make meaningful connections that can lead to job opportunities. Plus, you can add the associations or groups you participate in on your resume to show you are well-educated in the finance realm.
You can earn several finance-related certifications that will strengthen your resume and show you knowledge in a concrete way. You can become a CFP (certified financial planner) or CFA (certified financial analyst) and highlight these credentials on your resume to stand out.
To succeed as a financial analyst, you’ll need an affinity for numbers as well as a solid command of finance-related skills like accounting, budgeting, and modeling. You should also be a natural problem solver and an excellent communicator. Showcase these abilities on your resume using specific examples from your work history. List all relevant hard skills in a prominent skills section.
Financial analytics is a data-driven field, and successful analysts achieve concrete, measurable results for businesses. Specific achievements such as “streamlined processes and reduced costs by 8%” or “increased efficiency by 25%” show potential employers what you’re capable of accomplishing.
As a financial analyst, you might need to use different types of software to analyze data, build models, and generate reports. If you have experience with programs like SQL or Python, or if you have general experience with financial reporting and analysis, it’s wise to list these hard skills in your resume’s skills section.
The finance department is the backbone of any business. Senior financial analysts are key players in ensuring a company's finances are organized and accurate. As a senior financial analyst, you may have many duties including creating budgets, making forecast reports, building financial models, and financial planning. Since this is a senior-level role, you may oversee junior analysts and accountants on the finance team.
To become a senior financial analyst, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in finance or accounting. You will also have several years of work in the financial sector under your belt. Previous roles as an investment consultant, financial analyst, or business analyst can help you land this role. Hiring managers will look for someone who’s proficient in performing key financial activities like budgeting and reporting. An ideal candidate for this role is organized and analytical with strong management skills.
For this role, companies will be looking for someone with an array of finance related skills. Skills like budgeting, forecast reporting, financial modeling, and auditing are important to highlight on your resume. To make your resume even stronger, work these skills into previous job bullet points, showcasing how you’ve used the skills in prior jobs.
Experienced financial analysts may have opportunities to advance into more senior positions. Senior analysts develop high-level financial strategies for companies and help lead project teams. When you’re applying for this position, your resume should reflect an extensive work history in finance as well as leadership experience. Emphasize any prior leadership roles as well as promotions you’ve earned in the past.
To become a senior financial analyst, you’ll typically need several years of experience in finance-related positions. Focus your resume on jobs you’ve held that are directly relevant, and make sure to also highlight your achievements in these roles so hiring managers can see proof of your skills.
Senior financial analysts need to be leaders who can confidently make decisions, guide teams towards success, and positively influence companies. Having promotions on your resume tells recruiters that you’ve excelled in previous jobs and that you’ve been willing to take on increasing levels of responsibility and challenge.
Junior financial analysts typically collect and analyze data, create reports, and make policy recommendations based on their findings. While you can get this entry-level job with little to no prior work experience, you’ll be a more competitive candidate if you’ve studied business, finance, economics, or a related field in school. Use your resume to emphasize your educational background, and don’t forget to also list any relevant internships you’ve done.
If your work history is fairly short, it’s best to lead your resume with your educational history, especially if you majored in a relevant subject area. If you have a bachelor’s degree in business with a minor in analytics and management, mention that up-front to show hiring managers that you’re starting with at least some background in the field.
You may not have held many jobs at this stage in your career, but if you’ve interned in financial analytics, make sure to highlight your internships on your resume. Treat them as you would treat any work experience, adding bullet points to explain what you achieved (such as “generated 10+ new clients through cold calling”).
Investment analysts advise companies in regards to buying and selling stocks, bonds, and other securities. They analyze the existing market conditions and help companies reap the maximum return from their investments. For this role, you need an understanding of economics, strong analytical skills, and the ability to assess and manage risk. Illustrate these skills with specific results you’ve accomplished in past jobs.
In financial roles, your success is often contingent on the results you achieve. Numbers help quantify the impact you’ve had at past jobs. Accomplishments like “brought in over 50 million in AUM” or “increased investors’ revenues by 15%” are clear, specific, and impressive to read.
As an investment analyst, you’ll play an influential role at your company -- others will be relying on your professional judgment and expertise to make decisions. Demonstrate your capabilities by leading your accomplishments with strong action verbs like “developed”, “managed”, and “collaborated”.
A portfolio manager is a finance and investment professional who is responsible for managing and trading an investment fund's assets. They oversee the investment strategy and manage day-to-day fund trading. They may manage portfolios for large corporations to individual investor groups. Portfolio managers can take different approaches to managing investments. However, they are always responsible for overseeing, securing, and ideally, creating profitable investment portfolios for others.
To become a portfolio manager, you’ll need a strong background in finance and trading. You will need a minimum of bachelor's degree in finance or business, though a master’s degree can help you land this job more easily. Additionally, hiring managers will look for candidates with previous experience in finance and risk management, in roles such as a financial analyst or investment consultant. It’s important that aspiring portfolio managers showcase certain skills, such as knowledge of the stock market and trading principles, investment forecasting, portfolio analysis, and more.
Whether the client is a company or individual investor, one of the most important things for portfolio managers to know is how to effectively communicate and perform for their clients. You should highlight any experience you have communicating and effectively meeting client desires.
Portfolio managers need several hard skills to be successful, such as investment analysts, risk management techniques, and financial modeling. On your resume, it’s important to list these skills, and also how you have used them successfully in previous roles or scenarios.
Portfolio managers oversee investment portfolios for individuals and companies. They’re tasked with choosing the right types of assets for their clients’ needs and making prudent investment decisions based on available data. To become a portfolio manager, use your resume to emphasize a strong background in investment as well as financial analysis.
Being a portfolio manager usually requires some hard skills such as financial modeling, asset management, and investment. Use your skills section to highlight these abilities as well as any technical skills that might be relevant (e.g. Python, MATLAB, or other technical skills).
Portfolio manager roles are senior positions that often go to more experienced candidates. If you want the job, your resume should show a track record of successful portfolios that you’ve managed. Using strong action verbs such as “introduced”, “conducted”, or “trained” shows that you played an active role in your past achievements.
Real estate financial analysts gather market data, make projections, and offer recommendations to companies about opportunities to invest in property. For this position, your resume needs to show that you are adept at researching, analyzing data, making forecasts, and mitigating risk. Having an understanding of real estate is also a plus, although you don’t need to be an agent.
Being promoted by a former employer - especially if you began as an intern - tells recruiters that you’ve shown outstanding progress and potential. Highlight the additional responsibilities you took on (and what you accomplished) as you rose through the ranks at your previous company.
Real estate finance analytics requires specialized knowledge and skills. To show that you’re the right person for the job, tailor your resume to the position by highlighting your past experiences in real estate, analytics, and other financial roles. Make sure to include hard skills (such as financial modeling, investments, and asset management) in your skills section.
As the name suggests, financial analysts analyze the financial health and position of a company and suggest policies to maximize profit. As an intern, you will most likely be exposed to many aspects of financial analysis. Your tasks may include researching the competition, analyzing financial trends, data analysis, preparing presentations, etc. Work to excel in all tasks given to convince recruiters to give you a full-time position. Here is a resume sample for this position.
Stand out from the crowd and win your internship by showing finance-related certifications. It shows dedication to the field and also shows your capabilities within the field. A certification like a CFA or CPA is very impressive for an intern to have.
Help your resume get past ATS filters by including keywords related to your position and the tasks you would be asked to do. Including words like ‘modeling’, ‘ forecasting’, and ‘market analysis’ are effective keywords to use.
You’ll need a unique blend of technical, analytical, financial, and communication skills to excel as a financial analyst. In many cases, your job will primarily consist of gathering and interpreting data, creating reports and models, communicating your findings to others, and making suggestions to improve your company’s financial performance.
On your resume, point out specific examples from prior jobs where you’ve increased revenue, cut costs, streamlined processes, or solved financial problems. And use a separate skill section to list your hard skills, which can include forecasting, modeling, or data analysis software you’ve used previously.
This word cloud highlights the important keywords that appear on Financial Analyst job descriptions and resumes. The bigger the word, the more frequently it appears on job postings, and the more 'important' it is.
Ready to become a financial analyst? Here are a few tips for building a resume that will help you get the job.
A strong financial analyst resume should show plenty of past successes in finance-related jobs, internships, or education. You can heighten the impact of your accomplishments by using precise, clear action verbs to discuss them.
Finance has its own language and skill set, and it demands a level of expertise. You may want to showcase your industry prowess with finance-specific verbs like “budgeted”, “analyzed”, “planned”, or “audited”. Using targeted, specific language gives hiring managers more information about what you’ve accomplished -- and what you might be able to do for them.
For a full list of effective resume action verbs, visit Resume Action Verbs.
If you're a senior-level employee, or you're changing careers to become a Financial Analyst, it's useful to add a paragraph at the top of your resume highlighting your most impressive accomplishments. This is called a resume summary.
Here's an example of a summary that can be used on a Financial Analyst resume.
A resume summary is a totally optional section, and in most cases, it's better to leave it out of your resume than include it. For example, if you're a student or mid-level hire, you should not include a summary, and instead use the space to add to your work experience.
To learn how to write an effective resume summary for your Financial Analyst resume, or figure out if you need one, please read Resume Summary Examples for Job Seekers: When To Include One.
You should use bullet points to describe your achievements in your Financial Analyst resume. Here are sample bullet points to help you get started:
Analyzed 50+ companies to identify potential investments, built valuation models, and visited 90+ members of senior management in Germany, Nigeria, Indonesia and Singapore to evaluate companies' growth outlook
Evaluated acquisition opportunities for a German reinsurer. Performed accretion and dilution analyses, conducted market research to gauge the viability and long term prospects of target's businesses
Earned expedited promotion to Senior Analyst after one year as Analyst (earned by less than 1% of cohort)
Created Monte Carlo simulation using Pandas (Python) to generate 30,000 sample portfolios with 8+ constraints
Analyzed industry trends in the automobile sector and presented long and short equity investment ideas for 12 large-cap stocks that outperformed the Bloomberg sector benchmark by 7% in 2014.
For more sample bullet points and details on how to write effective bullet points, see our articles on resume bullet points, how to quantify your resume and resume accomplishments.
