INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Senior Finance Manager positions are at a 17% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 681,700 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 118,200 to 799,900 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Senior Finance Manager jobs was $134,180 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $70,830, and the highest 10% more than $208,000.
Our conclusion? The Senior Finance Manager job market is wide open for candidates.
Top senior finance manager sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
What to write in your senior finance manager experience section
Perfecting your senior finance manager resume experience section:
- Focus on results, not responsibilities;
- Use 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List only positions that are relevant to what you’re applying for;
- Include at least some form of quantitative data – it can be linked to the number of people you’ve managed or the - percentage decrease in costs that’s followed from your work - you decide;
- Choose action verbs over buzzwords.
We’ve collected some of the top resume experience sections from real Enhancv users. Check them out when drafting your own Senior Finance Manager resume!
- Manage the Sales Revenues Management Process and owning the trade investment budget (Size of Price 100 M€ per year)
- Support the definition of the new Route to Market and Commercial Strategy in light of the new Brand Acquisitions (100M€ yearly turnover)
- Re-design S&OP, financial planning and cash collection processes
- Support the design and execution of new brands launch
- Finance Business Partner, which launched the most successful (US$) pharma product in history, with limited resources.
- Winning all 2018 and 2019 tenders ($180m) across all Nordic markets.
- Project assignment - joined the EMEA Centre of Excellence team in the UK for two long term forecasting cycles, to consolidate and build the brand story at EMEA level.
- Implemented a cross functional approach for sales and OPEX forecasting, which resulted in high quality assumptions, output and brand P&L story. Awarded a ‘Value Award’ for this work, during a time of significant change for the Nordics.
- For the Nordic long term forecast review created Nordic therapeutic area story telling slides, which were adopted as best practice and implemented across EMEA for the next forecast process.
- Streamlined and created greater efficiencies in P&L and Balance Sheet reviews, VAT and tax, while enhancing robust financial systems and processes.
- Project assignment - joined the EMEA Centre of Excellence team in the UK for two long term forecasting cycles, to consolidate and build the brand story at EMEA level.
- Implemented a cross functional approach for sales and OPEX forecasting, which resulted in high quality assumptions, output and brand P&L story. Awarded a ‘Value Award’ for this work, during a time of significant change for the Nordics.
- For the Nordic long term forecast review created therapeutic area storytelling slides, which were adopted as best practice and implemented across EMEA for the next forecast process.
- Business partnered to submit winning tenders, while managing risks and opportunities, resulting in greater revenues +$190mUSD.
- Streamlined and created greater efficiencies in P&L and Balance Sheet reviews, VAT and tax.
- Joined agency as FP&A employee #1
- Established finance practices that fostered a culture of greater accountability, involvement & oversight by key stakeholders.
- Created scenario forecast model and led scenario planning meetings with CEO, COO and Leadership team.
- Partnered with Account Management in establishing pricing models, retainer utilization analysis, and account profitability tracking.
- Developed Media Campaign dashboard that connected with SQL tables and reported weekly insights to client's marketing team.
- Analyzed data trends from market research to identify key changes required in business plan and development which resulted in $65M revenue
- Collaborated with over 15 senior management stakeholders globally, including C level, to influence and close deals exceeding $200M
- Analyzed past operations data to identify potential risks, then developed strategy which reduced risks by 60%
- Directed finance global operations to identify areas of improvement for efficiency and maintain business metrics worth $60M
- Managed and maintained financial plans worth $150M for analysis, MIS reporting and finance models
- Collaborated with 7 global teams to assess financial visibility and investment opportunities worth $10M
- Responsible for developing customer, regional and product (like digital security, cloud and others) P&L worth $350M
- Increased revenue by $15M by collaborating with sales team to create sales strategy for customer development finance model with business insights
PRO TIP
Show off real numbers that display your accomplishments in past roles. Instead of listing out your responsibilities as Senior Finance Manager, talk about the measurable impact you made to their business. Did you boost their revenue? Increase customer retention? Mention your proudest points on your resume.
Action verbs for your senior finance manager resume
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Senior finance manager resume skills section to impress recruiters
Checklist for a perfect Senior Finance Manager 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 senior finance manager 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:
Senior finance manager resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your senior finance manager 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 Senior Finance Manager 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 senior finance manager resume summary
Impressive senior finance manager 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
Include a link to your portfolio in your 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.
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Drawing the attention to your senior finance manager 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 senior finance manager resume
The Complete Finance Manager Course 2022
Financial Management, ERP systems, Accounting, Capital budgeting, Presentation design, Management, and Negotiation
Finance for Non Finance Managers
Obtain Suplemental Skills to Get a Raise, Better Job or Improve Your Own Business
Essential Finance For Managers
Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: All the finance fundamentals you need to start better managing your business
CFO and Senior Finance Ethics
This course explores the duties and obligations of a CFO, including how to perform ethically and in good faith.
MBA ASAP Corporate Finance Fundamentals for Career Success
Concepts & Tools of Financial Analysis, Valuation, Investing, Money Management, and Decision Making. DCF,NPV, IRR & more
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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 senior finance manager resume
The content of your Senior Finance Manager 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 Senior Finance Manager 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 senior finance manager 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 Senior Finance Manager resume’s professional feel.
Some non-traditional sections for your resume include:
Making your senior finance manager 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 Senior Finance Manager 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 senior finance manager 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.
