INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Financial Risk 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 Risk 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 Risk Analyst job market is wide open for candidates.
Top Financial Risk Analyst sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to craft the perfect financial risk analyst resume experience section
Perfecting the experience section: financial risk analyst resume checklist:
- Be careful with bullet points: use no more than 4-6 per position;
- Mention only positions that are relevant to the job you’re applying for;
- List your experience in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Highlight your results by using numbers – e.g. percentage increase/decrease in an important metric that’s followed by - your hard work;
- Use action words whenever possible… but more on that below.
Need examples? We looked through thousands of Financial Risk Analyst resumes and gathered some examples of what the ideal experience section looks like. Check them out below!
- Daily PnL calculation of the trading desk portfolio and the investment portfolio.
- Daily regulatory capital calculations.
- Value-at-Risk daily calculation and stress testing.
- Daily review and reporting of the bank's liquidity position.
- Daily market risk reports.
- Improvement and automatization of existing reports.
- Contribution to the enhancement of the financial risk management process through the recalibration, development and maintenance of the financial risk models.
- Reporting of the key risk indicators of the bank for the different committees.
- Monitoring that the indicators are within the predetermined limits according to the bank's risk appetite.
- Monitoring of financial market trends to assess impact on the bank's portfolio positions.
- Forecasting of liquidity needs.
- Sensitivity Analysis.
- Accounting reconciliation.
- Contribution to the trading desk and treasury teams' requests.
- Contribution to internal audits.
- Monitor and Manage Credit risks related to Underwriting
- Monitor Interest Rate Risks and implement regulatory Market Risk reports, as required by HQs and shareholders.
- Ensure the proper valuation of the financial instruments such as government bonds and derivatives in accordance with HQ rules
- Participate actively in the Assets and Liabilities Committee
PRO TIP
Don't make the same mistake everyone else does. What we mean is, don't list your Financial Risk Analyst job responsibilities instead of your achievements. Recruiters know what you do. They want to know what kind of difference you can bring to their company. Focus on what you've accomplished.
Action verbs for your financial risk analyst resume
Recommended reads:
Impressing recruiters with a top financial risk analyst resume skills section
Checklist for an impressive Financial Risk Analyst resume skills section:
- List both hard and technical skills that are important for the role;
- Check what the job description says and add some keywords based on that;
- Focus only on relevant skills;
- Try not to list things such as “communication”; rather, highlight your soft skills in other sections of your Financial Risk Analyst resume.
Top skills for your financial risk 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.
Recommended reads:
Financial risk analyst resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your financial risk 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
Include a link to your portfolio in your Financial Risk Analyst resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Crafting a strong summary for your Financial Risk Analyst resume
Checklist: The perfect financial risk analyst resume summary section
- Add a couple of keywords from the job description;
- Mention some of your most valuable skills and characteristics;
- Highlight your top achievements (and add numbers!);
- Use no more than 3-5 sentences to guarantee readability and keep - the hiring manager interested.
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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An impressive education section: financial risk analyst resume
Financial risk analyst resume: Education section checklist
- Highlight your highest education degree;
- Include the degree subject, year of graduation, and institution name;
- Mention some of the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- List your certifications (incl. the body that’s issued them);
- Entry-level positions: Give preference to courses that are relevant to the position.
Top Certifications for your Financial Risk Analyst Resume
The Complete Financial Analyst Course 2022
Excel, Accounting, Financial Statement Analysis, Business Analysis, Financial Math, PowerPoint: Everything is Included!
Finance Training for Financial Analysts
The comprehensive course in Excel, Accounting, Financial Analysis, Forecasting, Business Valuation and PowerPoint.
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
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
Introduction to Financial Ratio Analysis
Learn to calculate and interpret various activity, liquidity, solvency, profitability, and valuation ratios
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PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Financial Risk 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.
The right format for your financial risk analyst resume
When it comes to formatting your Financial Risk Analyst resume, there are certain things you need to keep in mind. These include your level of expertise, your total years of experience, and the position and company you’re applying for, to name a few.
You can choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological format is just that – all your experience listed in a reverse-chronological way. It’s great for experienced professionals who have been in the industry for many years and have no career gaps.
The functional skills-based resume, on the other hand, focuses on skills, education, and personality traits, rather than experience. This makes it great for graduates, people with less experience, or bigger career gaps. The idea is to show you’re the perfect match without putting too much emphasis on your lack of relevant experience.
If none of these sound suitable, go for a hybrid (or combination) resume. It’s a mix of experience, skills, and personality traits. It’s also considered modern and innovative because of its non-traditional structure and sections. Here, you can add details about what your typical day looks like or what your life philosophy is. In short, the hybrid resume format shows who you are, both as a professional and as an individual.
More tips on perfecting your resume style and layout:
- Choose a traditional 12p font;
- Make sure your resume margins are no bigger than an inch;
- Go for a one-page template. If you have broad experience and can’t fit your resume on one page, choose a two-page resume template
- Save your resume as PDF to avoid formatting issues and unauthorized editing.
Read this: Ways to make your Financial Risk Analyst resume stand out
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
More sections worth adding to your financial risk analyst resume
If the industry, company, and position you’re applying for allow for that, you could include other sections in your Financial Risk Analyst resume. By doing this, you’ll show the recruiter that you’re a real human and not a robot.
Here are some ideas:
The right kind of creativity for your financial risk analyst resume
Several years ago, everyone preferred keeping a safe distance from creative resumes. Today, adding creativity to your CV is considered cool, innovative, and one of the best ways to stand out.
You can add a creative section that describes your typical day or even go for a colorful creative template. No matter what you choose, make sure to keep the position, company, and industry in mind. Otherwise, you risk looking silly.
What makes a great financial risk 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.
