Let’s Talk Finance
Let’s talk finance.
The Job Forum, sponsored by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and supporters such as Google, AbbVie, and donors who are job hunters or supportive individuals like you, featured a panel of experts discussing how to enter and progress in careers in finance, banking, and accounting.
Lisa Crossett, President of Crossett Search and Advisory Services, Executive Recruiting, was the host and introduced the Job Forum organization and the expert panelists, and Michelle Liu, an independent consultant for strategic initiatives and transformational projects, was the moderator for the event.
The expert panelists shared insights on in-demand financial skills.
Top skills mentioned to convey with concrete examples by job hunters -in addition to basic financial acumen include :
Decision-making,
Effective communications,
Risk analysis,
Collaboration across teams,
Importance of adapting to and being skilled using AI,
Obtaining and maintaining certifications.
They also discussed entry-level opportunities, the impact of market conditions, and strategies for job seekers to stand out in a competitive job market.
Some discussion highlights:
Value of understanding the role of cash flow and how money comes to the company: Not all revenues are the same. Some revenues such as recurring revenues are more valuable and more important. Being a person who understands the company’s money-making process is going to distinguish you.
Getting your foot in the door: There are plenty of internal employee opportunities and movement at banks and finance companies. An example shared of 400 job requisitions filled last year, with half of these filled internally by internal folks who got promoted or who transferred and thus opened up their roles. So, if you are transitioning, or if you want to get your foot in the door at a certain company, you may want to consider applying for positions where, most importantly you get to join the company, with your eye on an internal transfer, after a while, when the next opportunity opens up and you are, by then, an internal candidate.
Don’t overlook temp agencies: Many people get full time positions from temp or contract positions. Companies hire temp employees, because they’re now here, we know them. They’ve proven themselves. They can apply for internal roles, and they’re the ones who usually get to know about open positions first. So don’t knock temp agencies. They are probably one of the better ways to get into an organization
Convey a growth motivation: Even if you are now working as staff accountant or looking for a job at that level, be sure to give thought and communicate that you are eager to learn and, in the future, grow from an individual contributor to a manager who can become a contributor, key advisor to the owner or the executive leadership. That’s a progression from where you’re strictly tracking and doing the accounting, to where you’re now helping management, ownership, executive leadership with insight , thinking strategically and changing the outcome in positive ways for your company.
Use AI to expand your understanding: AI can give you a broad set of ideas of what you can add to your daily job at your company or to understand more of what you might do in a job. An example was shared about supply chain issues and how a finance manager used AI to find a list of potential finance ideas to be especially helpful, more effective and collaborative and provide metrics to help the decisions by colleagues who are the supply chain decision-makers.
Make a commitment to getting those finance certifications: Certifications vary depending on what you want for a role; example for wealth advising: the first license you want to get is your SIE, Securities Industry Essential. You don’t have to be sponsored by a firm, and it indicates your seriousness, so go ahead and take it. You can take it on your own time. Just pay the fee and register, show up at your Pro metrics Testing Center. It tests your basic industry knowledge, your knowledge on economics, securities and the rules and regulations of the industry. After you obtain that license, you technically are allowed to move ahead, as long as you’re sponsored by a firm. You can apply to brokerage, banks, financial advisor trainee programs; companies such as Schwab, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Edward Jones, Fidelity and independent broker-dealers who may hire trainees and sponsor a Series 7 exam. Generally, if you’re working in a general financial advisor capacity, you’re going to obtain a Series 7, to allow you to trade stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs,
Large companies have training programs for committed and flexible finance people: An Amazon example was shared of their financial development rotation program for entry level financial analysts who come in and commit to two years in different rotations with the goal of becoming a strong analyst at the end of the second year. There are multiple tracks- an accounting track or a treasury track and two other finance tracks- business unit track with around two six-month rotations, and a corporate track, focused more on corporate finance roles.
Finance institutions and social impact: There is another way to get to know people inside finance companies; volunteer and you open more doors via community service and social impact, working with a cause supported by your target financial institution. You will do some good and meet more people.
The experts in Finance Careers who advised job hunters on this informative and lively panel discussion included Gia Punjabi, Finance Manager at Pendulum Therapeutics, Joe Markunas, Partner from CFOs 2GO, Ethan Etheridge, Registered Client Associate from RBC Wealth Management, Eric Maldonado, the Business Development Manager from Redwood Credit Union, Kate Markunas, Finance Manager, FP&A, from Amazon, and Catherine Tapia, Talent Acquisition Manager at Redwood Credit Union. The range of industry sectors and job titles within banking, finance, and accounting, contributed to the range of good practical ideas for job hunters to apply to their own situations.
