How do you summarize your finance experience on a resume? (2024)

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HR Management
Resume Writing

1

Choose the right format

2

Write a clear and concise summary statement

3

Highlight your relevant skills and certifications

4

Quantify your achievements and impact

5

Tailor your resume to the specific job and industry

6

Here’s what else to consider

If you are looking for a new job in the finance industry, you need to showcase your skills, achievements, and value in a concise and compelling way. Your resume is your marketing tool that can help you stand out from the competition and land an interview. But how do you summarize your finance experience on a resume without overwhelming the hiring manager or leaving out important details? Here are some tips to help you craft a powerful finance resume summary that highlights your strengths and qualifications.

Key takeaways from this article

Quantify achievements:

Illustrate your finance expertise by using numbers to detail your impact. For instance, instead of "managed a budget," specify "Oversaw a $50M budget, ensuring precision and compliance."
Streamline your content:

Remove the less significant details from your resume. Focus on showcasing the results and scope of your work that align with the job's core qualifications.

This summary is powered by AI and these experts

1 Choose the right format

Depending on your level of experience, education, and career goals, you may opt for different resume formats to present your finance background. The most common formats are chronological, functional, and hybrid. A chronological resume lists your work history in reverse order, emphasizing your career progression and achievements. A functional resume focuses on your skills and abilities, rather than your work history, which is ideal for career changers or gaps in employment. A hybrid resume combines both formats, highlighting your relevant skills and achievements, while also providing a brief overview of your work history.

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I think functional resumes have their place, but please be careful about opting for a purely functional resume format for advertised positions. Both hirers and hiring systems look to understand your background. Functional resumes make it hard for hirers to understand your experience in context. A hybrid format for many people may be a better option for emphasising your relevant skills and experience. Gaps are a normal part of today's careers. The key is to frontload your resume with your relevant experience and achievements, then explain the gap as simply and positively as possible at the appropriate point. Make sure to build strong and compelling content across the rest of your document.

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I am big on chronological resumes as it pertains to resumes in general vs. functional because they help the recruiter, hiring manager, or other readers to understand your most recent experience first and see the progression of your career journey from a time-based perspective. Functional resumes are good if you are wanting to place emphasis on your skills or areas of expertise in a non-chronological way, but I am more inclined to review and collaborate on chronological versions, which show the details of your work history and achievements in each role you have been in.

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2 Write a clear and concise summary statement

A summary statement is a brief introduction that summarizes your main qualifications and value proposition for the finance position. It should be no more than four sentences and include your professional title, years of experience, areas of expertise, and key achievements. For example, a summary statement for a finance manager could look like this:

"Finance Manager with over 10 years of experience in budgeting, forecasting, analysis, and reporting. Skilled in using various financial software and tools to optimize performance and efficiency. Led a team of 12 analysts and delivered annual savings of $2 million through cost reduction and process improvement initiatives."

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Clear, concise, and compelling with accomplishments and achievements vs. a list of duties and responsibilities! Content is key when writing effective resumes. Don't just explain your duties, expand on your impact and how you add value.

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See Also
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Keep the summary brief. This article gave a great example of what a summary should look like, yet many will make the mistake of adding "fluff" words and leave out key achievements and metrics. Saying that you are a "hard working and detail oriented professional" will not cut it; give proof of your accomplishments. SHOW, don't tell.

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Chaaminda Herath Finance Manager at ACWA Power | FCA, ACCA, ACMA, MBA (PIM-Merit), B.Sc. Accounting (Sp.)
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A summary statement is essentially your professional elevator pitch, a concise introduction to grab the attention. In just a few sentences, it should encapsulate your unique qualifications and what you bring to the table for a this role. It typically includes your professional title, the number of years you've been working in the particular field, your specific areas of expertise, and some of your standout achievements.

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Your summary statement should be concise and quantified. Avoid overusing fluffy adjectives by replacing adjectives with metrics.

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3 Highlight your relevant skills and certifications

Your skills section should demonstrate your technical and soft skills that are relevant to the finance role and industry. Use keywords and phrases that match the job description to showcase your proficiency and competence. Common skills for finance professionals include financial modeling and analysis, accounting and auditing, financial reporting and compliance, risk management and mitigation, data visualization and presentation, communication and collaboration, problem-solving and critical thinking, and leadership and management. Additionally, mention any certifications or licenses that you have obtained or are pursuing in the finance field. These can help validate your skills, knowledge, credibility, and marketability. Popular certifications for finance professionals include Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), and Financial Risk Manager (FRM).

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If you are adding skills to your resume, then make sure that you have evidence that you are proficient in the particular skill that you are able to showcase on your resume in the position(s) that you have worked in. Same thing for your LinkedIn Skills section. If you are certified in a particular area of expertise that the job requires, then absolutely include that on your resume. I also don't mind seeing a certification that you are working on receiving in the future by placing "In Progress" or "Goal to obtain by December, 2023" so that the reader has knowledge that you intend to become certified.

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Skills included in a skills section of your resume should always be demonstrated and quantified within the body of your professional experience.

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4 Quantify your achievements and impact

Your work experience section should not only list your duties and responsibilities, but also highlight your achievements and impact on the organization. You can use numbers, percentages, and metrics to quantify your results and show how you contributed to the financial goals and objectives of your previous employers. For example, instead of saying:

"Prepared monthly financial statements and reports"

You can say:

"Prepared and analyzed monthly financial statements and reports, identifying variances, trends, and opportunities for improvement"

Or, instead of saying:

"Managed cash flow and budget"

You can say:

"Managed cash flow and budget of $50 million, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and liquidity"

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I cannot stress this one enough. Quantifiable and qualifiable achievements and accomplishments are more compelling and meaningful vs. listing just duties and responsibilities. Think of a process, procedure, or a project that you did that had an impact on the organization. Was it something you did that helped bring in revenues to the business or help save the company time on a particular initiative? This part takes some time and reflection, and perhaps someone to help you to expand on and share your achievements in more detail.

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Beyond quantifying skills, it is critical to understand the impact of skills in action. It is not enough to just highlight how many times you did something, but how the actions impacted the bottom line or overall culture. For example, creating 20 SOPs is irrelevant without highlighting that the 20 SOPs created were instrumental in achieving regulatory compliance.

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5 Tailor your resume to the specific job and industry

Finally, you should tailor your resume to the specific job and industry that you are applying for. This means that you should research the company, the position, and the industry, and use the appropriate language, tone, and keywords to match their expectations and requirements. You should also emphasize the skills and achievements that are most relevant and valuable to the potential employer, and avoid any irrelevant or outdated information that may distract or confuse them. By customizing your resume, you can demonstrate your fit and interest for the role and the company, and increase your chances of getting noticed and hired.

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Tailoring your resume is just that ... tailoring. It should not mean creating from scratch. If you find yourself creating a new resume for each job you are applying for, it's time to evaluate your search strategy. You should be applying for and have a resume that is targeted for roles aligned with your unique set of skills and experiences. Take the time to identify what the core qualifications are for the role and hone in on the achievements in your resume that demonstrate your mastery of those qualifications. Be sure to quantify and provide scope to set the scene for the reader. Streamline your resume by taking out unnecessary info, such as the minutiae of your day-to-day role.

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Create a master resume and/or a document that you can refer to that has a detailed list of achievements and accomplishments that you have done throughout your career, and fine-tune from there. You do not need to create a brand new resume for every role. Resumes are snapshots of your career, not long storybooks.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Remember, you want the reader's attention, so make sure you are sharing content on your resume that shows impact and value. Why should the Recruiter or Hiring Manager schedule an interview with you? Remember, an open position is a challenge that a company is hoping that a qualified candidate can help them solve. Show that you are that qualified candidate.

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Aarthi Venkatesh Resume Writer | Communication Coach | Marketer | Social Media Strategist | Freelance Content Writer | Placement Trainer | PG/Visa SOP Writer • Well, you get it, I'm a writer at large!
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Statistical ProofingIt is vital for a job-seeker, especially a Finance professional, to add numbers in the form of percentage changes, proportions, and quantity markers to add more weight to the value they added at a role. This is called statistical proofing and it helps recruiters get a tangible sense of your proficiency, putting you much closer to being moved up in the recruitment process, aside from making your resume more consumable.

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Sometimes the fastest way to make sure your relevant finance experience is seen is by spending time eliminating those aspects of your resume that are no longer helpful. By culling irrelevant information, you give the hirer space to find and take in the important parts of your background.

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Let’s assume you don’t work in Finance, but you have financial experience and responsibilities. Focus on transferable skills and tasks that involved financial understanding or management. Examples might include budget management in projects, cost-saving initiatives, or any involvement in revenue generation. Use quantifiable metrics to demonstrate your contributions: “Managed a budget of $50,000,” or “Implemented cost-saving measures that reduced expenses by 15%.” Highlight any use of financial software, even if it’s not your primary responsibility. Skills like data analysis, risk assessment, or financial reporting are also worth noting. The objective is to showcase your financial literacy and how it adds value to your experience.

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How do you summarize your finance experience on a resume? (2024)

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Choose the right format

2 Write a clear and concise summary statement

3 Highlight your relevant skills and certifications

4 Quantify your achievements and impact

5 Tailor your resume to the specific job and industry

6 Here’s what else to consider

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