Here are the keywords and skills that appear most frequently on recent Finance Manager job postings. In other words, these are the most sought after skills by recruiters and hiring managers. So try to include them on your resume where possible.
Remember that every job is different. Instead of including all these keywords on your resume, identify the keywords most relevant to the job you're applying to and include those. Use the free Targeted Resume tool to help with this.
Where on my resume do I add these buzzwords?
Add keywords directly into your resume's work experiences, education or projects. Alternatively, you can also include a Skills section where you can list your technical skills in order of your proficiency.
Only include these technical skills or keywords into your resume if you actually have experience with them.
Paste your resume below and our AI will identify which keywords are missing from your resume from the list above (and what you need to include). Including the right keywords will help you get past Applicant Tracking Systems (i.e. resume screeners) which may scan your resume for keywords to see if you're a match for the job.
Go through the Finance Manager posting you're applying to, and identify hard skills the company is looking for. For example, skills like Accounts Payable, Financial Accounting and Accounting are possible skills. These are skills you should try to include on your resume.
The following word cloud highlights the most popular keywords that appear on Finance Manager job descriptions. The bigger the word, the more frequently it shows up on employer's job postings. If you have experience with these keywords, include them on your resume.
Here are common soft skills that appear on Finance Manager job postings. Unlike hard skills, which refer to tools, software or techniques, soft skills focus on character traits and interpersonal skills. Instead of listing these phrases on your resume, try to show them through your bullet points like in the examples below.
Tip: Do not list these words or phrases on your resume, and instead focus on the hard skills we described above.
Here are examples of proven resumes in related jobs and industries, approved by experienced hiring managers. Use them as inspiration when you're writing your own resume. You can even download and edit the resume template in Google Docs.
In this position, you will be in charge of ensuring that the financial health of the company is healthy and that the balance sheets balance out. Additional responsibilities may include ensuring that the revenue and expenses are correct and accounted for, creating financial systems to maximize efficiency and productivity, and training junior finance employees. Your resume will need to show a strong finance educational background as well as years of experience as a finance executive. Take a look at this successful resume sample.
Action verbs can be used to effectively shape your experiences and achievements. Because this is a senior position, show recruiters that you have been a leader in your previous positions by using the right action verbs. This applicant effectively uses action verbs like ‘spearheaded’, ‘coordinated’, and ‘orchestrated’ to paint themselves as a leader.
A finance executive who is doing their job well will improve the department’s efficiency, reduce costs, and maximize revenue. Use metrics to show how you have achieved any of the three. E.g. this applicant's initiative increased efficiency by 79% and increased revenue by $190k.
In this position, you will perform all the basic finance executive tasks but will be guided by a manager or a senior finance executive. Tasks you can expect include preparing financial statements, consolidating receivables, and reconciling revenues and expenses. You need to have strong interpersonal and communication skills as well as a strong educational background and finance experience. Take a look at this strong resume sample.
You may not have years of experience as a finance executive, but you most probably have closely related experience in a similar position. Include any closely related experience in fields like accounting, business, etc. The skills you would use in these fields are easily transferable and are therefore worthy of including.
Wow recruiters with impressive certifications like a CFA certification. It shows recruiters that you are highly trained and skilled and that you have the drive to pursue and attain difficult goals.
This resume template is suitable for experienced hires or mid-level hires. The education contains two examples of an education experiences, but only include one (your most recent one) if you're a senior level employee.
It strikes the right balance between white space and content, and doesn't waste space on unnecessary images and icons. Remember, recruiters aren't looking at how creative you are when it comes to your template. Your content is core and should be the focus.
This job seeker uses resume bullet points that uses strong action verbs, and most importantly, contain numbers that demonstrate the significance of their accomplishments.
This template is clean, readable by resume screeners, and is effective at calling out key accomplishments and projects from specific work experiences. This would be useful if you have been at a company for a while, or been in a consulting-type of role, and want to point hiring managers to your most impressive accomplishments.
Action verbs are important on your resume are vital. They evoke strong imagery to your reader, and this resume does an excellent job by using words such as “spearheaded,” “managed,” and “drove.” These words will help you to put your achievements in perspective, in conjunction with measurable results. Use action verbs relating to the skills you want to highlight.
Many of your accomplishments will involve your responsibilities in your employer's high-level projects. Recruiters want to see what you’ve completed in previous roles -- such as the Operations Improvement Project and new iPhone app launch highlighted in this resume. The numbers make your experience real, rather than a vague “oversaw several teams for a project.” What did you do specifically? Be specific.
This two column resume template has been designed and created in Google Docs, and puts an emphasis on a skills section. You can download it in Word, or edit it directly in Google Docs.
The two-column in this Google Docs resume template prioritizes the work experience sections, while maximizing the content into the resume. Not all two column templates are ATS-compatible, but this one is when it is saved as PDF and passed through a resume screener.
Skills sections are a great way to include specific keywords and skills that you have, that haven't been included in other parts of your resume. This helps you get past resume screeners that scan your resume for specific keywords.
If you're a job seeker with a few years of experience under your belt, use a template like this one. It's simple, effective at highlighting our work experience, and minimizes the emphasis on the education section (the dates are omitted which is good to prevent ageism, especially if you graduated more than 10 years ago).
Minimal templates like this one are exactly what mid-to-senior level recruiters want to see - it shows professionalism, focuses on accomplishments, and makes full use of each page.
The first rule about including a resume summary is that it does not repeat accomplishments mentioned elsewhere on the resume. This resume stresses new software engineering and leadership skills right at the top of the resume, and includes an award too. If you include a summary, try to include a mix of both technical accomplishments (e.g. projects you developed or led), as well as career-related accomplishments (e.g. being promoted).
Some popular Finance Manager hard skills are Accounting, Financial Reporting, Financial Analysis, Budgeting, Microsoft Access, Financial Accounting, Accounts Payable and Payroll.
Depending on the job you apply to, skills like Managerial Finance, Management, Customer Service, Business Strategy and Visma can also be good to include on your resume.
Popular skills we often see on resumes for Commercial Finance Manager positions include:
In comparison, skills we see on Business Finance Manager resumes include:
Depending on the specific role you apply to, you may need to emphasize different skill sets. Here are a few examples:
While the keywords above are a good indication of what skills you need on your resume, you should try to find additional keywords that are specific to the job. To do this, use the free Targeted Resume tool. It analyzes the job you are applying to and finds the most important keywords you need on your resume.
It is personalized to your resume, and is the best way to ensure your resume will pass the automated resume filters.
