Here is Finance Monthly’s list of the top 8 qualities and personality traits that can put you in prime position for a promising career in finance.
- Having the right attitude
Having a positive attitude is vital when applying for a job in any field, and not just in finance. Most managers acknowledge that with the right training, skills are easily learned. What always stays the same though is a candidate’s attitude. You’ll never know absolutely everything in finance, but being positive, thoughtful and eager to learn are characteristics that will always set you apart from the competition.
- Willingness to grow and evolve
Finance is a vast industry and once you’re in, there’s plenty of room to evolve, move around, and find your niche. But it’s not just this willingness to climb up the corporate ladder that employers are after – you also have to make it clear that you’re a person who shows a strong desire for continuous education and improvement, as well as a capacity to learn new things and apply them in their role. No one wants to hire someone who’d be happy to just stay in their comfort zone and never evolve.
- Emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence is becoming an increasingly important factor in career success and one of the main attributes that will help you make it in the finance industry. Research has shown that the ability to decode other people’s emotions and show empathy can increase mindfulness and result in more effective leadership. Naturally, a person with high emotional intelligence is more likely to acquire new clients and service those relationships over time.
- Problem-solving skills
In today’s fast-paced workplace environment, having watertight knowledge of systems and processes isn’t enough. It is also vital to be able to tackle problems as they arise. Whether it’s addressing the financial implications of a complex business structure or coming up with a personalised solution for a client’s financial difficulties, being able to think on your feet and come up with innovative solutions to problems will see your career soar to new heights.
- Persistence
Are you someone who gives up easily when faced with a challenge or do you tend to stick with a problem until you identify the most suitable solution? Financial institutions value employees who don’t give up easily when dealing with difficulties and showing that you are the type of person who wouldn’t rest until the issue is resolved will certainly help you catch the interviewer’s attention.
- Communication skills
This goes without saying – excellent communication skills are of great importance if you want to succeed in the world of finance.
- Customer skills
With communication skills come customers skills too. In addition to strong written and oral skills, aspiring finance workers need to be able to listen effectively and explain something complicated and jargon-heavy in simpler terms to clients who have limited knowledge on the particular subject.
- Vision
Last but not least, it is imperative to be able to see beyond the task and into how a specific way of execution would fit into and align with the views of the corporation as a whole. Making it clear that you’d be devoted the company’s larger goal at all times is something that would definitely win you some extra points.
Choosing a career path within Finance & Accountancy can be a daunting experience for new graduates. The sector is vast and there are various options depending on one’s ambition and career aspirations. From my experience, there is no ‘best’ career route, but there are a number of options that can help give Finance & Accountancy candidates the springboard and experience needed to be hugely successful within the sector. Whatever career path graduates decide to take, they will be required to study towards a professional qualification (ACCA, CIMA, ACA) so it is beneficial to know what route is most useful and why.
A good grounding will open up doors throughout a candidate’s career
It is very hard to say what job roles are best within Finance & Accountancy because this would be based on the individual aspirations of each graduate in question. Each path will suit a different skill set and type of candidate, and it takes experience and basic training for candidates to decide what niche they want to specialise in. In my opinion, graduates need to fully understand the finance sector before they can decide what their dream job may be. For example, some people may wish to become the future CFO of an FTSE listed business, and others may be driven by a certain charity, each of which is very different, and it is hard to determine what career choice is best without a good understanding of the basics.
For that reason, we generally do not discuss achieving specific roles with students or recent graduates, but instead, steer them towards gaining a good Finance & Accountancy qualification within Practice or Industry. People that have gained a solid understanding of the finance sector early on, and have a background in either Practice or Industry will be in a very strong position throughout their career. Candidates will be able to transition into their dream job/sector once they have learnt what the role of a finance professional involves.
The first and best career choice, in my opinion, is securing a graduate position or entry-level role within one of the Big 4 Accountancy Practice firms - Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG - or a well-recognised firm within the top 10.
The best career option for graduates within the Finance & Accountancy sector
Finance & Accountancy graduates we work with at Sellick Partnership are always ambitious individuals looking for a role that can offer them fast progression. They generally also strive for a long and varied career, and there are two routes that I believe offer what all of them should consider, regardless of what sector or area of finance they want to end up working within in the future.
The first and best career choice, in my opinion, is securing a graduate position or entry-level role within one of the Big 4 Accountancy Practice firms - Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG - or a well-recognised firm within the top 10. Training through a respected Practice firm means that candidates will automatically go down the ACA route which is widely recognised as the most prestigious qualification within the sector.
From my experience, candidates that are ACA qualified and have experience within a top 10 firm will have much better career opportunities and can command the highest salaries on the market. It only takes a bit of research to realise that the majority of Finance Directors within FTSE-listed businesses have all gone down the technical ACA Practice route. For that reason, this is most certainly the route for any ambitious candidates that have their sights set on a leading finance role within a large and highly respected business.
It will be no surprise that these roles are incredibly competitive. For example, PwC usually have around 2,000 graduate and internship roles in the UK and often receive more than 40,000 applications, while KPMG receive up to 20,000 applications for its 1,000 vacancies. It is therefore vital that candidates are switched on and perform exceptionally well throughout the application process. It is also important to remember that the Big 4 look at the whole person and are often impressed by candidates who do extraordinary things outside of their academic life, such as volunteering or sector relevant internships.
PwC usually have around 2,000 graduate and internship roles in the UK and often receive more than 40,000 applications, while KPMG receive up to 20,000 applications for its 1,000 vacancies.
An alternative route for highly ambitious graduates
Big 4 roles are hugely competitive, and rejection should not be taken personally. Instead, I would urge candidates to use the application experience to their advantage and think of alternative options. A lot of the graduates I work with set their sights on a Big 4 role when instead they should be casting the net a little bit wider. A good second option is a similar graduate position within Industry. We are witnessing an increasing number of Industry organisations – such as AJ Bell, Manchester Airport Group, Marks & Spencer and The Cooperative Group – promoting their graduate schemes, so this is fast becoming a great career choice for ambitious graduates looking for a fast-paced and rewarding career within the sector.
Candidates entering the profession this way will generally study CIMA or ACCA qualifications and will learn the trade from within Industry from day one. This route is a good choice for graduates that like variation as it gives candidates exposure across multiple areas of finance. It also gives them a more rounded knowledge of accountancy and allows them to develop commercial skills early on. Graduates starting out within Industry will learn how businesses operate and learn first-hand how important a finance function is to the success and profitability of a company.
A successful career within Finance & Accountancy takes drive and determination to build
Regardless of the route into the Finance & Accountancy sector, the journey to qualifying and success will be down to a person’s own determination to succeed. The prospects for driven young people are excellent, with structured career progression and management opportunities often arising within two years after qualifying, however, the journey will be challenging and will require a huge amount of commitment. Any candidate that is considering a career within Finance & Accountancy needs to be aware of this, and ensure it is the right career choice for them. Graduates that are prepared and succeed can expect to enjoy high earning potential, flexibility, room for growth and job security for years to come.
If you are graduating soon and would like more advice on the right career choice for you we would be delighted to help. Feel free to get in touch with Martin or a member of the team at Sellick Partnership directly by calling 0161 834 1642.
More than a third (38%) of IT decision-makers across the UK financial sector believe it has become more difficult over the past five years to find staff with the right skills and experience. Over a third (34%) believe the problem is going to worsen in the coming five years. This is according to a survey across a range of financial and banking sector organisations, including retail and investment banking, asset management, hedge funds and clearing houses.
The survey, commissioned by software vendor InterSystems found a shortage across a variety of roles. Almost a fifth (18%) of respondents cited a lack of data scientists followed by 17% who revealed a shortage in security consultant/specialists, while 16% referenced application developers and 12% mentioned financial analysts.
“IT skills shortages are clearly a major concern for banking and financial services firms across the UK and this is only likely to escalate in the future,” says Graeme Dillane, financial services manager, InterSystems. “Skills shortages are a barrier to innovation in the banking and financial services sector. And as firms upgrade their legacy systems and look to innovate to meet the latest wave of regulations, that represents an increasingly serious concern.”
When survey recipients were asked to name the key qualities that technology can bring to help mitigate the negative affect of skills shortages within businesses today, 44% of respondents said: ‘simplicity of use’, 42% cited ‘ease of implementation’ and 36% ‘high-performance’.
The study also found that skills shortages are one of the biggest barriers preventing innovation as cited by 35% of the study, behind only cost (41%) while compliance was referenced by 31%.
“These findings match with our experience in talking to customers and prospects across the sector,” added Dillane. “IT employees with the skills that banks and financial services companies are looking for are in short supply. Knowledge transfer is therefore increasingly key alongside solutions which combine ease of development; simplicity of use; high-performance and intuitive workflow transfer.”
(Source: InterSystems)
