When you’re up against candidates with similar financial backgrounds, it’s important to be conscientious in how you market yourself as you apply for financial jobs. Your application materials are your first opportunity to make a positive impression on hiring managers, so slow down and ensure you are portraying yourself in an effective manner – avoid these mistakes when applying for a financial job:
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Only Emphasizing Hard Skills
Your financial expertise is obviously the foundation of your qualifications when applying for finance jobs – but it shouldn’t be the only aspect you highlight on your applications. Hard skills, or technical ones that can be taught, are just one part of what hiring managers are looking for in candidates. They are also looking for soft skills, which are more personal in nature, such as teamwork, problem solving, adaptability, positive attitude, and communication. Emphasize both your hard and soft skills to make the best impression on hiring managers.
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Not Tailoring Your Resume
Submitting the same resume for each finance job for which you apply costs you the opportunity to make your qualifications clear. While many jobs will share similar requirements, there may be different focuses between positions and companies. Prior to applying for a finance job, review the job description and tailor your resume to highlight the skills and achievements that are the highest priority for that particular job.
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Using the Wrong Keywords
Since many organizations use applicant tracking systems, software that scans and filters their applications based on pre-designated keywords, it’s essential to be strategic with the wording in your resume. Review finance job postings and look for commonly used words and phrases, then compare your resume to ensure you have those included. Otherwise, you risk being automatically rejected for finance jobs for which you’re qualified, simply because you used different wording.
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Submitting Without Proofreading
In the world of finance, attention to detail is critical to prevent costly mistakes. That’s why submitting your resume for finance jobs without proofreading is a major mistake. If a hiring manager catches misspellings, grammatical errors, or formatting issues on your resume, they may be concerned about how conscientious you would be handling the aspects of your financial job if hired. Take the time to proofread your resume, as well as have someone else take a look, to ensure it’s error-free.
Let PrideStaff San Jose Help You Find Your Next Job!
Find your next financial job by working with PrideStaff Financial. PrideStaff Financial is experienced in staffing and recruiting for the financial industry and will work with you to match you with the positions that are the right fit for you. Contact us today to learn more.
