Your finance CV is one of the most important resources you have when it comes to getting the role you want. Even as recruitment teams and companies turn to tools like social media (LinkedIn) to find and assess candidates, your CV still determines whether you’ll get an interview and potentially a job offer. In today’s competitive landscape, crafting the right CV is crucial.
While demand for skilled finance talent is high in a skills-short landscape, the number of qualified candidates entering the field is increasing. In fact, some studies show Gen Z is the number one industry Gen Z wants to work in, heading into 2024.
Fortunately, you can give yourself a crucial competitive edge simply by ensuring your CV clearly demonstrates your value and by working with a recruitment team to grab the attention of the right employers. Here’s what you need to know to master CV writing in 2024.
The Importance of an Excellent CV in 2024
Currently, the finance sector is brimming with opportunities for qualified candidates. 90% of companies are still struggling to overcome skills shortages, so plenty of great roles exist. However, the changing landscape, defined by the rise of AI and technology, combined with a difficult economic environment, is making getting the right role more complex.
The right CV is essential to convincing an employer to offer you an interview and genuinely consider you for a role. Not only does it ensure you make the right first impression on your potential employer, but your CV also allows you to highlight your transferrable skills, showcase your experience, and improve your chances of being offered a competitive salary.
Crafted correctly, your CV could even help you cultivate multiple job offers from different companies, giving you more options.
The Key Components of a High-Impact Finance CV
While every finance CV and cover letter should be tailored to the specific role you’re applying for, it should include a few critical components. A great CV will feature:
- A personal statement: Insights into who you are as a person (and an employee). Discuss your unique characteristics, passion for the finance industry, and values.
- Work experience: An overview of your experience. Early in your career, you might highlight your academic achievements and internships. Later, you’ll draw attention to the things you’ve accomplished in the financial field.
- Education and Skills: Clear information about your relevant academic accomplishments. Here, it’s best to focus on specific financial certifications and skills, such as your CFA credentials, financial modelling expertise, and similar credentials you’ve earned.
- Achievements: Data-driven overviews of the things you’ve accomplished in your role so far. Use percentages and monetary figures to demonstrate the impact you’ve had on financial companies in the past.
How to Upgrade Your Finance CV for 2024
Improving your chances of getting the role you want in 2024 starts with enhancing your CV. There are a few crucial ways you can boost your chances of success in today’s job market:
1. Adapt your CV for 2024 Hiring Trends
First, ensuring your CV adheres to the hiring trends relevant today is important. For instance, many financial companies use AI and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to sort through applicants. Making sure your CV is optimised for this technology, with the right format (no images and graphics), and using certain keywords can help you stand out.
Think about what employers are looking for in the current recruitment market. For instance, many companies are searching for financial professionals with a good level of digital literacy. Showing an understanding of AI and financial technology could help you to secure a role.
There’s also a growing focus on hiring candidates with specific soft skills, such as adaptability, resilience, and emotional intelligence. At the same time, financial employers are also searching for candidates who clearly know the importance of current sustainability and ESG standards to ensure they adhere to new regulations.
Consider how you can make your CV stand out with specific creative elements that demonstrate your personal brand (your values and vision in the financial industry), and quantifiable achievements.
2. Work with a Financial Recruitment Team
A specialist finance recruitment team can improve your chances of success in various ways. When crafting your CV, the right agency can review your content and offer advice on parts of your CV you should optimise or refine.
Recruitment agencies can help you understand what employers are looking for from job applicants and offer advice to help guide you through your career. They can also assist with preparing you for job interviews and ensuring your CV gets in front of the right employers.
To ensure you get the most value out of your recruitment team, look for a specialist agency with deep financial market knowledge. Make sure you share plenty of information about your career goals and specialities so your recruitment team knows how to support you best.
3. Tailor your CV to the Specific Finance Role
As mentioned above, the most important thing you can do when creating a CV for a finance role is to ensure it’s tailored to the specific job you want. A generic one-size-fits-all CV won’t cut it in today’s competitive landscape. Make your application stand out by:
- Researching the company: Learn as much as possible about the company, its values, and goals to show you’ll be the perfect fit for the team. Mention the organization’s latest achievements and how you can improve their chances of success.
- Read the job description carefully: Pay attention to the keywords and terms used in the job description, and add them to your CV. Highlight the specific qualities the company is looking for, such as attention to detail or digital literacy.
- Include a cover letter: Use a cover letter to explain why you believe you’re the right fit for this specific role. Talk about your personal goals and how they align with the company’s targets. Demonstrate how you’d fit into the company’s culture.
4. Demonstrate a Commitment to Development
In today’s difficult economic world, companies seek financial professionals who demonstrate resiliency, adaptability, and a commitment to constant development. The more you can highlight your focus on developing new technical and soft skills, the more likely you will get a job offer. Briefly include insights into everything you’ve done to grow as a professional.
Discuss the networking events and financial industry forums or groups you participate in. Talk about how you’ve developed your soft skills by working with a mentor, and include insights into any relevant training you’ve undergone in the financial and technical sector.
If you’ve recently started a course, you can also discuss your progress with your new training initiative. You may also share in your cover letter that you’re open to exploring additional training programs your new employer might provide.
5. Keep it Concise and Well-Formatted
Finally, ensure your CV is concise and easy to scan. Recruiters and hiring teams have limited time to review CVs, so avoiding including “non-essential” information in your application is important. Proofread your CV before you send it, and ask yourself whether every piece of information included is essential to improving your chance of getting the role.
Try to make the content “skimmable” with plenty of well-organized sections and bullet points. Additionally, consider asking your recruitment team or a friend to review your CV for you and highlight any possible mistakes or problems.
Remember, attention to detail is crucial for most financial roles, so it’s important to avoid errors whenever possible, to make the right first impression, and to take your career to the next level.
Optimise your CV for 2024
Ultimately, a well-crafted CV is still crucial to ensuring you can secure your ideal finance role. Even in a skills-short environment, plenty of competition exists for the best roles. Your CV will give you the edge to boost your chances of getting a job offer.
Take the time to ensure your CV stands out for all the right reasons, and consider engaging with a financial recruitment company for extra guidance and support.
If you master the art of crafting the perfect CV, you’ll be on your way to an incredible career in the financial industry in no time.
Thanks
Rachel
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, ranging from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs, and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly.
To learn more, contact one of our team members today or call us at 01282 930930.
