INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Finance Business Analyst positions are at a 6% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 492,100 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 31,300 to 523,400 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Finance Business Analyst jobs was $83,660 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $48,760, and the highest 10% more than $159,560.
Our conclusion? The Finance Business Analyst job market is wide open for candidates.
Top finance business analyst sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to Write the Perfect Finance Business Analyst Resume Experience Section
Finance business analyst experience section: checklist
- List your positions in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Go for 4-6 bullet points;
- Add only relevant work experience;
- Include information about the challenges you’ve faced, the actions you’ve taken, and the results you’ve achieved;
- Use action verbs instead of filler words.
We’ve selected some of the top Finance Business Analyst resumes made using the Enhancv platform to illustrate what a great experience section looks like. Use them as inspiration when building your own resume:
- Successful filing of Research and Development (R&D) tax credit achieving a 45% better than forecast outcome.
- Designing, implementing and owning IT Finance reporting process within 4 weeks of starting in the company.
- Timely reporting of IT P&L, Capacity Planner and R&D
- Business partnering to identify and mitigate potential business risks
- implement effective internal control processes
- Implemented new finance and procurement ERP systems, resulting in a 25% increase in efficiency
- Achieved cost savings of $500,000 annually through the new systems
- Trained 50+ users on the new systems and provided ongoing support
- Reduced support tickets by 90%
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of new systems
- Analyzed the profitability of new projects using financial models, resulting in a 15% increase in revenue
- Conducted financial due diligence on potential acquisition targets, resulting in a successful acquisition with a 20% ROI
- Streamlined financial reporting processes, reducing the monthly close process by 3 days
- Developed and maintained financial models to support business decisions
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to provide financial analysis and support for strategic initiatives
- Managed the budget for a $20M construction project, ensuring compliance with financial regulations and minimizing cost overruns
- Developed and maintained project financial reports, providing timely and accurate information to stakeholders
- Coordinated with project managers to forecast cash flow and monitor project expenses
- Achieved a 10% increase in profitability through effective cost control measures
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure the successful completion of projects
- Developed financial models to evaluate potential acquisitions, resulting in a 25% increase in revenue.
- Analyzed sales data to identify trends and opportunities, resulting in a 10% increase in sales revenue.
- Provided actionable insights to senior management to support decision making, resulting in a 15% improvement in profit margin.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to streamline financial processes, resulting in a 20% reduction in operating costs.
- Developed and implemented financial controls, resulting in a 10% reduction in fraud and error losses.
- Collaborated with business partners to develop and track key performance indicators, resulting in a 15% improvement in overall financial performance.
- Provided financial analysis to support business cases for new product launches, resulting in a 20% increase in revenue.
- Streamlined financial processes to reduce reporting cycle time by 25%.
PRO TIP
The person reading your Finance Business Analyst resume will be busy, make sure you never waste their time with fluff.
Action verbs for your finance business analyst resume
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Finance business analyst resume: How to write a strong skills section
The ultimate finance business analyst skills section checklist:
- Balance between all kinds of hard skills – technical, analytical, etc.
- When it comes to technical skills, match them to the job description;
- Add keywords present in the job advert to pass ATS;
- Don’t forget to list transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, work ethic, and presentation skills.
Top skills for your finance business analyst resume
Microsoft Office
SAP
Excel
Salesforce
Data Entry
Quickbooks
Project Management
Customer Service
CRM
Communication
Negotiation
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Collaboration
Flexibitly
Resilience
Dedication
Empathy
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
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Finance business analyst resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your finance business analyst resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Finance Business Analyst resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Finance business analyst resume summary: things to include and things to avoid
Job-winning finance business analyst resume summary checklist:
- Mention your total years of experience in the field;
- Highlight one or two of your top achievements;
- Avoid getting into too much detail – you’ll do that in the experience section;
- Focus on short sentences that are easy to read and add value to your application.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Read the job description carefully and understand what the hiring company is exactly looking for. After that, write your summary accordingly while highlighting your potential and ability to be the best at that job.
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Highlighting education, courses, and certifications in your finance business analyst resume
Education section checklist:
- What? Where? What’s the result? Answer these questions when mentioning education and courses on your resume;
- Give preference to courses and degrees that are relevant to the job position;
- Be honest! Some recruiters love checking with colleges and universities to see if you’ve really been enrolled in them;
- Share more about certifications that have helped you turn into a professional, and mention the bodies that have issued them.
Top Certifications for Your Finance Business Analyst Resume
Business Finance Analyst Program (BFAP)
Increase your value as a Business Finance Analyst to become an Investment To Company instead of a Cost To Company.
Finance Training for Financial Analysts
The comprehensive course in Excel, Accounting, Financial Analysis, Forecasting, Business Valuation and PowerPoint.
The Business Intelligence Analyst Course 2022
The skills you need to become a BI Analyst - Statistics, Database theory, SQL, Tableau – Everything is included
Plan the Project as a Business Analyst
Increase your value as a Business Analyst by learning how to plan projects successfully without a Project Manager
The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2022
Excel, Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, Business Analysis, Financial Math, PowerPoint: Everything is Included!
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Finance business analyst resume format 101
If a couple of years ago Finance Business Analyst resumes could be text files with no graphic elements, today’s recruiters need a bit more to remember you.
And yet, you can still choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
But when it comes to choosing the right format for your Finance Business Analyst resume, there are two factors to keep in mind: your experience and whether you’re looking for an industry change.
The reverse-chronological format is the most common one. That being said, it gives recruiters exactly what they’re used to in terms of order and information. However, it’s not suitable for applicants with employment gaps or not enough experience.
We at Enhancv suggest the functional skills-based resume format for people with limited work experience who find reverse-chronological resumes irrelevant. This format showcases the applicant’s most significant accomplishments, skills, and strengths.
Don’t miss our resume format checklist:
- Go for a traditional easy-to-read resume font sized 10-12p;
- Don’t risk it: choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Make sure your Finance Business Analyst resume fits in one to two pages;
- Save your resume in PDF to avoid having it edited by someone else.
Looking for more tips? Check out our job-winning guide for crafting a resume that gets you remembered!
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PRO TIP
Test your draft Finance Business Analyst resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
Other sections for your finance business analyst resume
If the position you’re applying for allows for that, you can include some non-traditional sections in your resume. This will add a bit more depth to your application and will also give the hiring manager a better idea of who you are as a person.
Some ideas include:
A finance business analyst resume recruiters would love
You’ve drafted an amazing Finance Business Analyst resume, but are still not sure whether it will make a strong first impression? After all, recruiters go over tens of resumes each day, right?
Right! And the recipe for getting their attention includes a dash of creativity.
What’s more, a creative resume is perfect for adding your personality to the mix. For example, you could mention your favorite books, quotes, movies, or even what your day usually looks like.
Regardless of what you choose, make sure your levels of creativity match the industry, the company, and the position. Otherwise, your resume might look silly and inapt.
What makes a great finance business analyst resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
