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Beyond the numbers for Finance Professionals' Resumes
I meet a lot of financial services professionals that do a great job of using numbers on their resumes. These numbers may indicate the size of their budget, the number of people on their staff, the dollar value of the accounts they managed, or the number of branches they oversaw. And while these numbers are important and communicate job scope, they don’t really communicate the impact that professional had on the operation.
I also meet finance professionals that use numbers to communicate time saved or money earned or saved which is critical information for the resume. Yet, few give enough of the back story to explain how their stellar results were achieved. Numbers without a story are just statistics.
It’s difficult to build trust in your candidacy with the hiring authority when there is no proof to back up your claims of saving money or making money. Below are examples of how finance professionals in a variety of fields can create strong accomplishment statements that marry solid metrics-driven accomplishments with the proof of how these results were achieved.
For a financial analyst
- Increased revenue by $20M over six years by creating an analysis platform based on a “pairs trading” strategy that enabled traders to monitor correlated equity pairs and assess appropriate investment entry/exit points.
For a finance operations professional
- Directly contributed to 800% acceleration in profitability and 350% gain in client assets over a five-year period by spearheading inaugural comprehensive strategic plan that incorporated competitive analysis, client segmentation, competitive positioning, client demographics, and market opportunities/threats for all five businesses.
For an entry-level finance professional
- Elevated accuracy and professionalism of firm’s financial statements by reviewing statements for an 18 month period, correcting formatting errors, and creating a universal template for all financial statements.
For a hedge fund COO
- Garnered close to $10M in new accounts and introduced a more competitive value proposition for clients by cutting fund administrator reporting time from 15 days to 10 days to expedite portfolio pricing.
For a product manager
- Achieved $235M in new assets in one year (2009) and improved client relations exponentially by implementing formalized product meetings that matched senior managers, portfolio managers, and product specialists and generalist with appropriate client prospects.
For a director of mortgage transactions
- Shaved hours off processing time to track pricing and analytics for 40 multi-family whole loan group products by leading a cross-functional team that in just three months created a fully automated reporting process.
For a CFO
- Trimmed weeks off auditing process and greatly improved compliance practices and business continuity by digitizing and encrypting thousands of pages of firm records.
For a structured finance professional
- Achieved an estimated IRR of 60% and multimillion dollar interest income for Acme gas stations and convenience stores by structuring a preferred equity deal borrower could successfully repay in 18-month time frame.
Does your resume tell the whole story in a succinct and compelling way? Or does it leave the reader guessing. Not all hiring authorities will take the time to call you to flesh out the details of your background or question the missing information. Give them enough of a hook to make them understand your value, but leave them wanting more. Doing so may just get your phone to ring more frequently.
Bottom Line:
Carefully consider the most effective examples that will make your resume stand out from others and document your value and accomplishments.
© Copyright Barbara Safani, 2010. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
---------------------------------------------About This Author:
Barbara Safani, owner of Career Solvers, has over twelve years of experience in career management, recruiting, executive coaching, and organizational development. Ms. Safani partners with both Fortune 100 companies and individuals to deliver targeted programs focusing on résumé development, job search strategies, networking, interviewing, salary negotiation skills, and online identity. Barbara is also the author of Happy About My Resume: 50 Tips for Building a Better Document to Secure a Brighter Future.