Finance Careers Offer Stability and Interesting Work

In June, The Job Forum hosted experts from finance including wealth management, accounting and banking in an event with discussion and advice for job hunters.

The speaker panel discussed a list of the most “in demand skills” in Finance and Fintech roles

Summary is here:

– Financial core expertise– the quantitative fundamentals like finance acumen, bookkeeping, accounting (if you have that, we will all want you)

– Software Development – because everywhere in finance, folks are developing online services familiarity with tech languages, is key such as C++, Java, Python, SQL are a plus)

– General operational knowledge and risk management– Understanding risk is so important and is needed in most lines of Businesses within banking and finance and needed to comply with regulations

– Basic software knowledge such as excel, word, outlook or Google equivalents are great skills to have -shows you can work independently to perform an analysis or set up data right from the start

– Breadth of understanding of financial or banking services and processes

– Sales experience– You need to be able to speak with clients and ask profiling questions to uncover their financial needs and be able to recommend products and services to them. They may not even know or understand what products or services are available to them that will help them in meeting and exceeding their financial goals.

– Customer Service – The ability to make them feel welcome. Be able to speak with people and understand what you can do to assist, even if they are upset about a situation.

– Relationship building expertise- this is very important because the client needs to feel secure and comfortable about your advice on their finances and this helps to retain them as clients

– Negotiation skills are going to be very useful to help your clients

– Client advocacy skills are a key skill to assist clients

– AI and how to use it as a tool because skill with AI technology is an essential “must have” for all job-hunting candidates.

– Data analytics experience…because we have so much data to guide decisions, but we have got to analyze it

– Audit skills… because it is so cross functional and yet specialized always required /needed and is all about quality of financial services and complying with regulations

– Tax skills since tax is another area that has frequent opportunities in finance overall.

– Cybersecurity awareness, protecting financial services and clients’ money

– Blockchain Expertise… Even if you don’t work in cryptocurrencies, financial companies and banks may use blockchain to move money or for other transactions

– Teamwork building skills– being able to effectively collaborate with your colleagues on ideas makes the workplace more inviting and fun! Leveraging different perspectives is a brilliant way to get ahead for career advancement and provides different solutions on any problems that need to be addressed.

– Project management experience, or anything related to leadership tasks, shows you can manage a group of people, or take ownership on complex situations

–Ability to set business objectives and know the types of business, finance or banking services that businesses may want to use.

Generally speaking, most banking or finance candidates have two to three common personality traits that make them stand out in the crowd:

  Stand Out Personal characteristics

Tenacity. Banks are looking for candidates who are driven and highly motivated individuals. The ideal candidate wants to learn and be engaged with the line of business where they are interviewing. Perhaps they have already initiated and completed learning items to put on their resume before their interview, such as obtaining a notary certification, or taken extra classes that will enhance their role (Microsoft, PowerPoint, excel, etc.) Perhaps extra certificates that are related to managerial or supportive working titles or AI for productivity.

Relationship management skills- being able to build trust and connecting with a client or colleague goes a long way of providing the best service possible and effectively cultivates newer opportunities because it shows you are dedicated to your work, team, and client.

Involvement with your community- being involved with your community or showing initiative that you want to be involved with others and support your community is one way to stand out in the crowd. Candidates that volunteer in their communities demonstrate interpersonal skills that can be viewed as leadership qualities. In Banking and Financial Services, you are a liaison between people and services. The Finance industry wants people who serve unconditionally because it helps neighbors, clients, and community.

 THANK you to Job Forum volunteers Rada Brooks, Dan Joraanstad, Emily Borowski, Susan Dittmann Mark Allen and Kathy Knudson.