INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Financial Data 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 Financial Data 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 Financial Data Analyst job market is wide open for candidates.
Top financial data analyst sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
Writing a strong financial data analyst experience section
Financial data analyst resume experience section: Ultimate checklist
- Use no more than 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List relevant positions and situations that add value to your application;
- Describe situations, tasks, actions, and results (the S-T-A-R method);
- Remember to include numbers in whatever form you like (e.g. the number of projects you’ve finished);
- Begin each bullet point with an action verb.
Check out the examples below when building your experience section. They will help you stand out!
- Collaborate with upper management through data visualization that resulted in a decreased spending of 30%
- Utilize SQL to gather data and perform an in-depth analysis of department records, and create impactful dashboards in Power BI to help reduce costs and expenditures by 10%
- Create and maintain financial reports that clearly communicate results, forecast performance and variances to plan, and allocate a budget of $20 million
- Identified and corrected data errors, leading to a 20% increase in report accuracy.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to resolve data issues and assist with new projects.
- Developed and maintained audit reports using Tableau, improving data tracking efficiency by 25%.
- Investigated data issues and reconciled variances, ensuring clean data for stakeholders to make better data-driven decisions.
- Prioritized issues and projects in a growing environment, meeting all compressed timelines and deadlines.
- Developed and maintained financial models for various business units, resulting in improved forecasting accuracy by 15%.
- Conducted ad-hoc data analysis to support business decision-making, resulting in cost savings of $500,000 per year.
- Created dashboards using Tableau to visualize key performance indicators, improving data tracking efficiency by 20%.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for process improvement, resulting in a 30% reduction in data entry errors.
- Presented findings and recommendations to senior management, enabling them to make informed decisions based on data-driven insights.
- Developed and implemented financial models to predict future business performance, resulting in a 10% increase in revenue
- Conducted data analysis and provided insights on investment opportunities, leading to a 12% increase in returns
- Created and maintained financial dashboards to track company KPIs and metrics, resulting in improved decision-making
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop and implement financial strategies and plans
- Streamlined financial reporting processes and reduced reporting time by 30%
- Analyzed financial statements and prepared financial reports that were used by management to make critical business decisions
- Developed financial models to forecast future business performance, resulting in a 15% increase in accuracy
- Provided support for budgeting and forecasting processes, resulting in a 10% increase in efficiency
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to develop and implement financial strategies and plans
- Assisted in the due diligence process for potential acquisitions, resulting in successful completion of multiple acquisitions
PRO TIP
The person reading your Financial Data Analyst resume will be busy, make sure you never waste their time with fluff.
Action verbs for your financial data analyst resume
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Writing a strong skills section for your financial data analyst resume
Checklist for your financial data analyst skills section:
- Include all relevant skills from the job description to pass ATS;
- Focus on skills that show your expertise;
- List your technical skills in a clear and concise manner;
- Leave room for transferable skills related to teamwork, communication, negotiation, and conflict management.
Top skills for your financial data 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
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Financial data analyst resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your financial data 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 Financial Data 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.
The ideal summary for your financial data analyst resume
Mastering the summary section: checklist
- Mention the total years of experience you have in the field;
- Focus on 2 to 3 of your top achievements;
- Highlight the things that make you the best fit for the position;
- Go for short, easy-to-read sentences to keep the recruiter’s attention.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a brief but informative introduction to your experience section. In this section you should go into more depth about what you have done, and how you did it.
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Things to Include in Your Financial Data Analyst Resume Education Section
Financial data analyst resume education section checklist:
- Mention your highest education degree;
- Add the duration of your course and the institution you attended;
- List the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- Feature your certifications if they are relevant to the position;
- Entry-level positions: Share more about projects and classes.
Top Certifications for Your Financial Data Analyst Resume
The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2022
Excel, Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, Business Analysis, Financial Math, PowerPoint: Everything is Included!
The Complete Financial Analyst Training & Investing Course
Succeed as a Financial Analyst &Investor by Award Winning MBA Prof who worked @Goldman, in Hedge Funds & Venture Capital
The Data Analyst Course: Complete Data Analyst Bootcamp 2022
Complete Data Analyst Training: Python, NumPy, Pandas, Data Collection, Preprocessing, Data Types, Data Visualization
Learn to be a Financial Analyst
Master the skills you need to get a job as a financial analyst: forecasting, budgets, variance analysis and more
Financial and Economic Modeling and Investments
Financial Statement Analysis, Business Analysis, Investments, Finance, Financial modeling, Financial Ratio Analysis,MBA
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PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Financial Data Analyst. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Formatting your financial data analyst resume
What’s worse than a .docx resume? A resume with a poorly chosen format.
In general, there are three basic resume formats we advise you to stick with:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Choosing between them is easy when you’re aware of your applicant profile – it depends on your years of experience, the position you’re applying for, and whether you’re looking for an industry change or not.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that – all your relevant jobs in reverse-chronological order. It’s great for applicants with lots of experience, no career gaps, and little desire for creativity.
When working with less experienced applicants, we suggest the functional skills-based resume format. It’s great for recent graduates or people with large career gaps. Functional skills-based resumes focus on your personality, the skills you have, your interests, and your education. Ultimately, the idea is to show you’re the perfect fit without putting too much emphasis on your work experience (or lack thereof).
If you’re in the middle or are generally looking to make your resume feel more modern and personal, go for the combination or hybrid resume format. It offers the best of both worlds by combining sections focused on experience and work-related skills and at the same time keeping space for projects, awards, certifications, or even creative sections like ‘my typical day’ and ‘my words to live by’.
Financial Data Analyst Resume Formatting Checklist
- Choose the resume format based on your level of experience and the company you’re applying for
- Go for a traditional 10-12p font
- Stick to 1-inch page margins to ensure high readability
- Match the length of your resume to your experience, but don’t go for more than two pages!
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
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PRO TIP
Test your draft Financial Data 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.
Additional sections for your financial data analyst resume
In some cases, especially when it comes to entry-level positions, adding more sections beyond the usual ‘experience’, ‘skills’, and ‘education’ works well in your favor. Such additional sections will help you paint a fuller picture of who you are in the recruiter’s head.
Here’s a list of fun yet informative additional sections for your resume:
Making your financial data analyst resume creative
We know too well that recruiters go through tons of resumes every day. The worse part is, they often need to hire people for different positions and teams. So how do you make yourself stand out in such cases?
By adding a dash of creativity to your Financial Data Analyst resume. It can be in the form of a colorful layout, a section describing your typical day, or even a picture of your favorite book – you decide!
Just make sure that the levels of creativity match the industry, company, and position you’re applying for.
What makes a great financial data 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.
