INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Financial Planning 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 Planning 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 Planning Analyst job market is wide open for candidates.
Top financial planning analyst sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
What to write in your financial planning analyst experience section
Perfecting your financial planning analyst resume experience section:
- Focus on results, not responsibilities;
- Use 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List only positions that are relevant to what you’re applying for;
- Include at least some form of quantitative data – it can be linked to the number of people you’ve managed or the - percentage decrease in costs that’s followed from your work - you decide;
- Choose action verbs over buzzwords.
We’ve collected some of the top resume experience sections from real Enhancv users. Check them out when drafting your own Financial Planning Analyst resume!
- Task: Prepared comprehensive financial operating statements to help identify strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities to business. Action: Identified $50M bottom line opportunity. Recommended less promotional activity. Result: $15M increase in margin.
- Task: Build, interpret and track return on investment/capital models. Action: Detected $1M shortfall in benefits of capital project. Collaborated with IT, construction, procurement, and accounting to recognize benefits. Result: Full benefits of project met.
- Other responsibilities: annual bottoms up budgeting and monthly forecasting of gross profit components, ad-hoc financial analysis for senior leadership, develop performance tracking metrics
- Monitor the monthly spending of 10 divisions and compare it to the proposed spending plans and projections
- Conduct monthly variance analysis and report back to Director of Finance on the Department's financial position
- Completed analysis to estimate the 2020-21 fiscal budget of roughly $23.0 million
- Responsible for forecasting year-end compensation and benefit expenditure for 118 employees (updated monthly)
- Developed the costing analysis on three of the Department's 2020-21 initiatives with a combined funding request of approximately $5.0 million
- Developed and maintained complex financial models to forecast revenue and expenses, and identify opportunities for cost savings and revenue growth
- Prepared and presented financial reports to senior management to aid in decision making
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to analyze data and provide insights to support business objectives
- Improved financial processes and procedures, resulting in more accurate and timely reporting
- Managed multiple projects simultaneously, meeting deadlines and exceeding client expectations
- Conducted financial analysis to identify areas for improvement in pricing, product mix, and customer segmentation
- Developed and tracked key performance indicators to monitor business performance
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement pricing strategies and optimize product portfolio
- Prepared financial reports and presentations for management and investors
- Contributed to the development of financial planning and budgeting processes
- Developed financial models to forecast revenue, expenses, and cash flow for clients in the FMCG industry
- Conducted variance analysis to identify areas of improvement and recommend corrective actions
- Assisted in the development of annual budgets and quarterly forecasts
- Prepared financial reports and presentations for management and investors
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to provide insights and support decision making
- Developed and maintained a financial model for tracking and reconciling intercompany eliminations resulting in a 15% reduction in errors
- Created a streamlined financial reporting process by automating the consolidation of detailed financial information from multiple source systems resulting in a 20% reduction in processing time
- Collaborated with the finance team to integrate functional area spend and headcount reporting into the MMS finance matrix resulting in a 10% improvement in accuracy
- Assisted in building a sales funnel to revenue forecast model resulting in a 5% improvement in forecast accuracy
- Developed and maintained a financial model for tracking revenue and gross margin by product line and market segment resulting in a 10% improvement in forecasting accuracy
- Collaborated with the sales and marketing teams to develop pricing strategies resulting in a 5% increase in gross margin
- Implemented a new financial reporting system resulting in a 20% reduction in processing time
- Conducted financial analysis on new product launches resulting in a 10% improvement in ROI
PRO TIP
The person reading your Financial Planning Analyst resume will be busy, make sure you never waste their time with fluff.
Action verbs for your financial planning analyst resume
Recommended reads:
Financial planning analyst resume skills section to impress recruiters
Checklist for a perfect Financial Planning Analyst resume skills section:
- Make sure to include most if not all essential skills for the job;
- Check the job description and add some keywords to pass ATS;
- List both hard and technical skills;
- When it comes to soft skills – elaborate on them in other sections of your resume (e.g. the experience section).
Top skills for your financial planning 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
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Recommended reads:
Financial planning analyst resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your financial planning 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
recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Financial Planning 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.
Writing an effective financial planning analyst resume summary
Impressive financial planning analyst resume summary checklist:
- Point out the achievements that make you a valuable applicant;
- Mention the total years of experience you have;
- Highlight the things you believe make you the best fit for the position;
- Keep it short: aim at having no more than 3-5 sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
You’re not going to get hired simply because of a good summary or objective. However, your recruiter can bump you up in front of similarly experienced candidates who didn’t demonstrate such passion and drive.
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Drawing the attention to your financial planning analyst resume education section
Crafting a job-winning education section.
- Use the reverse-chronological format when listing your degrees;
- Tailor the classes you’ve taken to the position you’re applying for if you’re an entry-level candidate;
- Mention the awards and honors you’ve received;
- Add your certifications (but only those relevant to the position).
Top Certifications for your Financial Planning Analyst resume
The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2022
Excel, Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, Business Analysis, Financial Math, PowerPoint: Everything is Included!
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
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
Financial Analysis: Financial Ratios For Analysts
Learn How To Analyze Financial Ratios of Stocks Like A Professional Analyst/Investor or CFA
Financial Modelling, Financial Planning and DCF Valuation
How to create a startup or existing company financial model from scratch and carry out the DCF Valuation
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Choosing the best format for your financial planning analyst resume
The content of your Financial Planning Analyst resume is what will get you hired, right?
But even when your content’s amazing and you’re a true over-achiever, recruiters might not think you’re a good fit if your resume looks messy or is not formatted the right way.
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.
Deciding which one to use depends on your experience, the industry, and the company. In short — you need to know what your applicant profile is.
For instance, reverse-chronological resumes are great for people with over 10 years of experience and no employment gaps. Here, you need to list all your relevant experience in a reverse-chronological format, starting from the most recent and going back to less recent positions.
Functional skills-based resumes, on the other hand, are great for entry-level applicants, graduate students, or people who have different kinds of experience. It focuses on skills, education, and character traits, rather than experience.
If none of these work for you, and you dream of adopting a more creative approach that makes a difference, the combination (or hybrid) resume format is exactly what you’re looking for. It allows you to focus on both your experience and your skills, making it a ‘best of both worlds’ format. It’s also suitable for those who want to spice things up by adding different creative sections (e.g. ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my day looks like’).
Here are some additional tips on perfecting your resume layout and style:
- Go for a traditional resume font sized 12p;
- Use standard 1-inch resume margins for increased readability;
- Make sure your resume fits on a one-page template. In case you’ve got 10 years of experience or more, your resume’s length can reach two pages;
- Avoid unwanted editing and plagiarism – save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiters.
Want to take it a step further? Learn how to make your resume stand out without relying too much on creativity.
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PRO TIP
Test your draft Financial Planning 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.
Want to include something more to your financial planning analyst resume?
So you’ve already listed details about your education, experience, and skills. You’ve also crafted an amazing summary.
But now you feel a creative urge to showcase your personality and not just your expertise.
We’ve got you! Thanks to our modern templates, you can now include a chart of what your typical day looks like or even a word or two about your life philosophy. All this without sacrificing your Financial Planning Analyst resume’s professional feel.
Some non-traditional sections for your resume include:
Making your financial planning analyst resume stand out
You want to make a strong first impression to all recruiters that get a hold of your resume. Sure you do! But how?
Well, the easiest way to stand out is by adding a bit of creativity to your Financial Planning Analyst resume. You could do this by going for a colorful layout or adding a creative section or two. It all depends on the industry and the position you’re applying for!
For instance, a position in design would allow for a more colorful resume, while a position in finance would probably not.
What Makes a Great Financial Planning 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.
