In this article, we will talk about everything that you may be confused about and the answers to questions that you are looking for and even some bonus tips to help you increase your chances of getting interview calls with your job winning resume that is efficient and creates desired impact on the hiring managers.
So let's dive in!
Finance director resume writing
Research
As a person who is applying for the job of a finance director, you might already know the importance of research. There are a few guidelines we will follow to understand how to conduct research for a position of a finance director.
Job Market:
As a future finance director of the company/ organization you will be applying to, you should research about the job market. the eligibility of that role, the scope of that role, the scalability of that role and whether there is a future at that role. The job market in the field of finance is always changing and there are so many types of jobs that are emerging as the industry is becoming more tech savvy.
Therefore you should also research the current trends of the market such as any technological advancements, and new degrees, the new competition you should be aware of. Considering all of this you should apply and make a decision about whether you want to go with this company or not.
Job Description
The job description research is important as each organization you apply to might have a slightly different job description and each of these companies will expect you to do more than what is written on the piece of paper you will eventually sign.
Secondly, in order to know more about the job description in the market then you should visit websites like LinkedIn, monsters.com, Glassdoor, and other social media websites catered for searching for jobs, and other job portals. This will allow you to be prepared for what can come in your job description and be prepared for any questions that might be thrown at you in the interview.
Self Assessment
Under this section of research you need to look within yourself and as a person. You need to reflect and introspect, you need to check your qualifications, your skills, soft and hard, what are your achievements and your experiences. This will allow you to prepare yourself when you are sitting in for the interview, you will know since you have reflected what you have done till now and you are confident in what you have finished.
This will also help you understand whether you are a fit for the role you are applying to in this case of a finance director, whether your background matches the requirements of the organization you are applying to.
Resume Structure
The resume structure is a key aspect in resume research for a role of finance director. Here you need to know what structure you will follow for your role and what type of resume will best fit your background.
You need to see if the reverse chronological resume format, or the functional format, or the hybrid format will best suit your needs. The reason is to exemplify your strengths and your experiences the most and for the recruiter to capture on the best from your resume.
Key Words
Key words and action verbs are jargons you might have read a lot while doing research on how to write resume. It is a crucial element on how to create your resume. You need to be careful in what words you choose and how you place them on the resume so that you can catch the attention of the hiring manager. You need to be weary of not using the most common key words and action verbs otherwise you might lose out in the first stage which is clearing the ATS.
Therefore, you should find key words and action verbs with several synonyms and understand their definition, gauge if they are too superfluous and choose those for your resume. These words will eventually put emphasis on your experiences, your accomplishments. There will be literally no limits to the kind of words you will find online when you will research, just focus on choosing what will suit you the best and be honest to you as well.
Professional Summary
This section is the first piece of literature that encompasses your experience, your qualifications, your accomplishments in a matter of few sentences as it sits atop your resume. Thus you need to research what the market and the industry are putting in their resume. You need to know what kind of qualifications need to be highlighted, or the types of achievements, that need to be presented here.
This section gives the hiring manager the snapshot of your career thus needs to be accurate, honest and outstanding. This summary also tells the objective of your candidature for the organization thus presenting them what you bring to the table.
Resume Length
Research what is the standard size of your resume for the role of a finance director, it should not ideally be more than a page, however, it can go beyond. Moreover, be careful since even if you limit yourself to one page you cannot put your CV in your resume, everything has to be precise concise and legible.
Tailoring
As a future finance director you need to customize each of your resume to which ever company/ organization you are applying to to showcase interest in each of those particular places. You need to research their websites, their profiles on various platforms, read any news. This will allow you to use key words that are present in their language to be transferred to your resume which will make them realize that you are fit for their company.
Proofreading
Always proofread your resume and check the formatting. This is the crucial stop after you have created your resume. You need to check for any spelling errors, and grammar mistakes you might have made which might look unprofessional to the hiring manager. This might not be a big deal, however, this is most basis requirement of a professional who is applying to management position in the field of finance which is regarded very highly.
Online Resources
Go online and search for websites with credibility, take note from several websites and not just one. For example, we are all aware of not choosing Wikipedia as a source of research anywhere, and look in depth beyond that, therefore, in a similar fashion look beyond just LinkedIn and understand your role.
LinkedIn Profile
LinkedIn is one of the best resources currently for understanding the job market for all roles available. Therefore, utilize it such that you can get your relevant key words from there, you can pick job descriptions, check out competition of the companies you are applying to any much more.
📌Types of format:
Functional format:
The Functional format is ideal for those you are starting out in the industry, or do not have experience to show. This is relevant for those who might want to show more things that are not directly associated with the job position one might be applying to. Thus this type of resume format might not be relevant for the position of a finance director as this position will only be given to those with relevant experience and qualifications and not to those who are starting out in the field of finance or just graduated with a MBA degree.
Reverse chronological order format:
The Reverse chronological format is widely used format as everything you mention is in a reverse order, from last to first. This means that your latest experience will come first and then it will follow down to the earliest experience you want to put on your resume.
Secondly, this type of resume is relevant for those individuals who have had some heavy experience of a couple of years to decades as they will have numerous things to show on their resume. Therefore
Combination format:
The combination format is hybrid format of the reverse chronological format and functional format. It combines the features of both to give you a resume format that brings out the best of your background. Most of the people in the field of finance or in a nay field with substantial and/ or moderate experience will use this format. Reverse chronology of the experiences and education section along with the fact that yo might be shifting field from tech with MBA in finance as an example, you might need this format. Therefore, using this will aid in you becoming the perfect candidate for the role of finance director.
Finance director resume sample outline
Contact info
Mention your full name, your phone number which you will always be available on, your full address with pin code (address is optional), your professional email address, and lastly your LinkedIn profile (optional).
Resume summary
A resume summary is basically the objective statement of a resume which means that as a finance director you need to be precise and concise in the way you represent yourself, your qualifications, your representations, your achievements and recognitions.
The outline of the resume summary should be between eighty to hundred and twenty (80-120) words. It should start with the kind of personality you have, such as 'I am a dedicated person, with these many years of experience...', then you might want to express how achievements on a superficial level such as 'I have a proven track record of financial planning and delivering...'. This should be followed by a line or two about your actual achievements that are quantified, and naturally they can be quantified since you are working in the field of finances and you are dealing with numbers, and trying to optimize everything.
Sprinkle a few soft skills in the next line, mention some off your qualifications such as graduating with a degree in Management in Business Administration (MBA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification etc which adds value to you as a candidate.
Professional experience
The professional experience section usually follows a standard guideline however, the contents will have to be specific to the finance director persona. Following is the guideline with the contents of each tailored to a finance director:
Job title and Company:
You need to mention the title of the jobs you worked in previously along with the company.
Dates of Employment:
The month and year of your employment in a 'from - to' format.
Job Description:
The job description requires you to explain your tasks at previous employment, what was required of you in a concise manner.
Key Achievements:
State your key achievements, awards, and recognition and quantify as many as possible to leave the maximum impact on the hiring managers.
Educational background
Every education you mention here will be in the reverse chronological manner, which means your highest academic degree will come first and the lowest one will come last.
Degree Name:
The degree name will come first to tell the the reader in this case the hiring manger what is the education you have done.
Institution Name:
The name of the university, or the college, or the school you have completed your educational degree from
Location and Date:
The location of the institution and the from and to date of your education
GPA (Optional):
The grade point average is an optional segment, however, if you have achieved really high GPA through out our academic career then might as well put it as it shows that you have been consistent throughout your career since you were studying. High grades in the field of finance is really beneficial and is really liked upon.
Skills section
Skills section on your finance director resume should include all types of skills such as technical skills, hard and soft skills and more. Make sure you add all the skills in various sections in addition to your skills section.
📌List of relevant skills for your finance director resumes:
- financial management skills
- financial statements
- finance department knowledge
- finance team work
- risk management
- financial planning
- hard and soft skills
- financial reporting
- financial analysis
- annual budgeting process
- cash management
- financial reports
- cash flow management
- business administration
- managing company's financial health
- technical skills
- finance function
- ERP system
- professional development programs
- chartered financial analyst skills
- monthly financial reports
- business planning
- annual budgets
- annual revenue growth
- financial operations
- financial activities
- financial plans
- financial modeling
- accounting principles
- financial models
- annual budget
- analytical skills
- regulatory compliance
- cross functional teams work
- finance knowledge
Bonus Tips
Cover letter
Cover letter is a personal essay where you as a finance director will sell yourself to the organization through the use of words. It is usually 500-800 words long where you describe yourself with respect to your qualifications, accomplishments and weave it in a narrative which allows the hiring manager to experience your life vicariously through you.
Keywords
Here we have provided a list of keywords for you to include in your finance director resume. It will help you beat the applicant tracking systems and get your resume shortlisted for the hiring managers which will increase your chances of getting an interview call significantly.
📌List of relevant keywords for your finance director resumes:
- external auditors
- high ranking position
- finance
- career gaps
- revenue growth
- financial modeling
- perfect finance director
- accounting university
- accounting principles
- senior management
- financial plans
- financial planning
- financial management
- department heads
- finance director role
- finance position
- finance university
- annual revenue
- proven ability
- same industry
- financial professionals
- executive director
- chartered financial analyst
- relevant skills
- finance function
- director of finance
- cash flow
- financial reporting
- financial reports
- financial analysis
- soft skills
- financial planning skills
- finance team
- finance directors
- finance directors skills
- finance department
- financial management skills
- finance director
Conclusion
Now that you know all about writing your finance director resume, all you need to do now is go to our collection of resume examples and templates and more. You can also use our resume builder that will offer you AI generated suggestions like ChatGPT!
Best of luck with the job search!
