Finding a Job in Finance

Finding a job in finance after you've earned your finance degree is no different from finding a job in other industries except for the focus of your quest. All the other elements of a good job search still apply: networking, cold-calling, internships, strong references, an individualized resume, effective interview skills, and persistence.

If you haven't yet focused on a specific area of the financial sector in which you'd like to begin working, your last year of undergraduate studies is the time to do it. You can start by asking the teacher of your favorite course what jobs best match that subject. The guidance, counseling, or career services office of your school can also help with suggesting jobs that correspond to your skills.

After you've settled on a niche in the finance field, start investigating companies that may offer these jobs. Again, your professors or the guidance office of your school should be able to recommend corporations. You can also discover these companies by taking advantage of any career-related services your college offers, such as job fairs or Career Day information sessions. Make a list of ten companies that you'd like to work for. Many job search websites allow you to set up online search agents that will notify you whenever these companies are seeking to fill a position. You can also try cold-calling these prospects by asking for the human resources or recruiting department, briefly introducing yourself, and asking the best way of getting hired in your preferred job.

Finance Job Search

Internships are a valuable chance to gain on-the-job experience as well as contacts in the field of your choice. They are also one of the best ways for employers to screen applicants for permanent positions. Companies often contact local colleges when they are looking for interns, so visit the career services department of your school to tell them that you are interested in an internship.

Networking is a time-consuming, but also time-tested, way of finding potential jobs. It involves taking advantage of every opportunity to connect with companies, such as attending job fairs; joining a professional club or organization to meet potential sources or discover additional target companies; or contacting alumni who work in your preferred industry or companies and requesting informational interviews with them.

A well-crafted resume is essential to finding a job. It should be customized to each specific job for which you are applying by emphasizing how your particular skills fit the job. Accentuate your accomplishments and detail how you worked with numbers or financial information in your past jobs. If you don't have any previous job experience, use your education and extracurricular activities as an opportunity to highlight your skills. Mention the ways you used your financial proficiency in your classes or special projects.

Hone your interview skills by practicing answers to likely questions, researching facts about your targeted companies, preparing intelligent questions to ask at interviews, and reading up on current financial events and news.

Above all, be persistent. Consider your hunt for a job a part-time job in itself and devote some time each day to various tasks related to your search for employment.

References

Reference checks are a standard part of the hiring process of most companies. By contacting and talking with people who are familiar with your work habits and character, employers can verify the skills and accomplishments that caught their attention in your resume, as well as gain insight into your personality and integrity. Since references are so important to your job search, it is essential to choose them carefully.

References can be professional (coming from people who can confirm your job skills) or personal (coming from people who can testify to your good character and personality traits). Some employers request three professional and three personal references, usually from people who have worked with you or known you for at least two years and preferably from five to seven years.

The time to start gathering references for your job hunt is before you actually need them. Before you graduate from school with your degree or leave a current job, approach potential references and ask for their permission to be included with your resume or if they can provide you with a written letter of recommendation.

For professional references, it is best to use people who have had direct experience with your work abilities, such as current or previous co-workers and supervisors, rather than people who did not actually work with you and who can give only general information about you. Make sure, however, that these references are people who have had positive experiences with your work abilities. If you are conducting your job search without the knowledge or permission of your current employer, consider approaching a co-worker you can trust or former colleagues or supervisors who are no longer with the company. If you are using a reference not related directly to the finance industry, ask them to highlight the ways in which you used your financial skills as part of your job. If you have no prior job experience, you can use college professors, classmates, or fellow members of an organization to which you belonged.

Personal references can be family, friends, teachers, classmates, or anyone else familiar with your personality and character, such as a fellow member of your church or a volunteer activity.

Using the standard phrase “References supplied upon request” in your resume is no longer recommended, since it is stating the obvious. Be proactive by supplying your references along with your resume. Use a separate sheet rather than including references in the resume itself. You'll want to save as much space as possible in your resume for detailing your education, job skills, and accomplishments. List each reference's name, job title or relationship to you, address, phone number, and e-mail address. Include copies of any written letters of recommendation you may have.

Finally, don't just forget about your references after you've completed your resume. Periodically send them a letter, e-mail, or greeting card thanking them for their endorsements, updating them about your job hunt or career, and asking for permission to continue using them as a reference. If a reference was particularly influential in helping you successfully land a job, extend a more personal gesture of thanks such as treating them to a meal or sending them a small, appropriate gift. Maintaining contact with your references in this way acts as a good investment in your future career.

Job Interviews

Your degree and resume have secured you a job interview, which is the next step to actually obtaining a coveted job in the financial industry. This is the chance for you to use your personality to back up all of the qualities that impressed the employer on paper, so it is crucial to prepare well for a job interview.

A positive, confident mental attitude and appropriate business attire are always important during a job interview, but perhaps even more so if the prospective job is in the financial industry. Employers and clients do not want to see indecisiveness and unprofessionalism in people whom they are trusting to make important financial decisions or manage their money. Conservative business clothes, direct eye contact, and a firm handshake will convey the self-assured image you want to project.

It is also important to demonstrate during a job interview that you are proficient in all of the basics of the job you are hoping to be hired to do. You may want to re-read some of your old college textbooks and practice some of the fundamental financial processes you will perform in your job so that they are fresh in your mind for the interview.

Do your homework on the corporation you are interviewing with. Look up information about it on the Internet, read its public financial statements and any articles about it in the business trade news, perhaps even sound out people who actually work at the company. Knowing pertinent facts and inside information about the company you are interviewing with assures employers that you are interested in working specifically for them, not just any company.

You can prepare for the questions you will be asked during the interview by anticipating and practicing answers to standard questions that are usually asked in some form at every job interview (for example, “How would you describe yourself?” “What has been your most successful accomplishment?”). There are job search websites on the Internet that list some of the most commonly asked questions during job interviews and give samples of answers that you can adapt to your situation.

Of course, you should also expect to be asked questions that pertain directly to the financial industry or the job you are applying for. (For example, “What process do you go through to prepare a bill for services?” “What types of financial reports have you prepared?” “Describe a time when you discovered a discrepancy in an account. What did you do about it and what was the result?”) These are questions to which you cannot give generic answers, but must come up with spontaneous replies that relate to your own unique circumstances. These questions give you the chance to sell your abilities and show how well-versed you are in the particulars of your field.

There are some interviewers who like to ask unusual or “off-the-wall” questions that seem to have nothing to do with your ability to perform the job (for example, “What kind of animal would you like to be?” “If you could meet any person from history, who would it be and why?”). Questions like these are usually meant to see how well you can think on your feet, so take a deep breath and a few moments to collect your thoughts, and then give an honest response.

Speaking of honesty, it is the foundation of trust in the financial industry, especially in today's atmosphere of increased public scrutiny. Never say anything in an interview or put anything on your resume that is not true or cannot be backed up by a reliable source.

Resumes

A successful resume is one that obtains you a job interview by making you stand out from all others who may be applying for a particular job. It is of vital importance since it is an employer's first introduction to you and your abilities. The fundamentals of a good resume are the same for any industry, but there are also some key ways to tailor yours specifically for the financial sector to convince an employer that you fit the bill for the job.

If you don't feel you can write your resume from scratch, you can hire the services of a professional resume writing firm or download resume templates from the Internet.

No matter how you go about it, a good finance resume should always follow these precepts:

Be brief – Your resume should be as concise as possible, preferably only one page and no more than two if you have extensive experience. Recruiting agents receive thousands of resumes a week and don't have time to spend more than about 30 seconds on each one. In that 30 seconds, they should be able to pick out key words in your resume that convince them you have the skills for the job.
Identify yourself – Employers have to know who you are and how to contact you in order to invite you to a job interview, so your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address should be in a prominent font at the top of the first page.
Describe your professional experience and major accomplishments – This section will be the first one after your contact information if you have several years of work experience. Here is where you describe, in bulleted summary sentences, any work experience, internships, or activities you have performed that relate to the finance industry and your major accomplishments in each job or activity.
Always include your education – Educational credentials are important to recruiters in the financial industry, so always include the name of your school, its location, your degrees and major, GPA, and test scores. This should be the first section after your contact information if you are still in school or are a recent graduate, and should be listed after your professional experience if you have been in the workforce for a while.
Mention special certifications, skills, and Interests – This is where you mention any extra courses, programs or certifications relevant to finance that you have completed; any foreign languages in which you may be fluent; membership in any professional organizations or clubs; or volunteer activities you have performed.
Focus on finance – Always emphasize the way you worked with numbers and financial information in your various jobs and activities, especially if your prior work experience or activities were not directly related to the finance industry. Use specific numbers and financial results whenever possible. For example, instead of saying, “Developed applications for collecting demographic data and presented findings to CEO,” say something such as, “Conducted preliminary research on project and analyzed ROI (Return On Investment); proposed development budget of $100,000; designed applications for collecting demographic data; and made recommendations to CEO that led to 20% increase in sales.”

Internships

Internships are temporary work-related learning experiences for students hoping to gain useful on-the-job training in the field of their choice, a network of future contacts, or possible school credit. Companies that offer internships reap the benefits of free or inexpensive temporary labor, an opportunity to screen students for potential permanent positions, and valuable promotion within the local community.

Students interested in obtaining an internship in the financial field should first determine whether they want to take any position within the financial industry or if they want to specialize in a particular area such as investment banking, corporate finance, or commercial banking. They should also decide whether it matters if the internship they eventually acquire is paid or unpaid, full- or part-time, eligible for college credit or not, and whether they wish to intern in a foreign country.

Students should then visit the career services office of their school to let them know of their interest, since many companies contact local colleges for their supply of interns. Other ways to find out about available internships involve joining a finance club to network, searching online job databases, checking classified ads, and cold-calling companies where you wish to work. Remember that finance internships are offered not only by financial services institutions but also by governments that regulate the financial industry, securities exchanges, and industry associations.

When you have found a company where you would like to intern, you will probably have to compete for available internship slots with other students or applicants. Increase your chances of obtaining your goal by creating a professional resume listing your education, student activities, and finance accomplishments; securing recommendations from finance faculty members; showing up for the interview in appropriate business attire; and following up with a thank-you note or e-mail.

If possible, before you begin an internship you should ask for a detailed list of expected job duties or an account of what activities previous participants in the internship program actually did. Good student internship programs usually include a coordinator for the program; a written plan, goal, or schedule of activities for each intern; meaningful, educational assignments instead of those that are merely menial or unskilled; and regular monitoring meetings with managers and other interns. Unorganized, unfocused internships that offer only mundane tasks should be avoided, since they will not give you a satisfactory or realistic experience of the financial field.

Internships are mostly part-time during the academic year and full-time in the summer. They are usually about six to 12 weeks in duration, although some can last for up to a year. Although you may be assigned some tasks during your internship that are mainly clerical, such as filing, faxing, mail processing, and data entry, a good finance internship program will also give you a chance to practice the skills you studied at school in tasks such as assisting with financial analysis, budgeting, financial reports, client quotes, developing and implementing marketing strategies, and creating, maintaining and updating financial spreadsheets.

Successful interns who make the most of their assignments and impress their managers are often offered full-time positions after they graduate with their degree, even during recessions, lay-offs, and hiring freezes. According to a recent survey of 479 recruiters at large corporations conducted by the Wall Street Journal, 25% said that more than 50% of the new graduates they hired for full-time positions were former interns of theirs. It is, therefore, worthwhile to pursue internships at the corporations where you are most interested in working permanently.