The COMPLETE guide to writing a fantastic Financial Services CV

One of the most challenging aspects at the start of job hunting can be writing a CV, especially when it is a Financial Services CV. Often you have to ‘brush the dust off’ your old CV; reformat the old word document and rack your brain on how to summarise your current role into a couple of paragraphs. This is a common problem many modern-day professionals face, often to no avail. Luckily for you, this article seeks to explain how to find that balance between ‘standing out’ and maintaining the desired professionalism. 

1. Qualifications 

Due to the nature of the Financial Services industry, professional qualifications are required for advice roles and most support positions. Whether it be CeMAP (Certificate in Mortgage Advice & Practice), Diploma of Financial Planning, DipFA (Diploma for Financial Advisers), DipMAP (Diploma in Mortgage Advice and Practice). Therefore, this usually is a binary concept for IFA firms and Mortgage Brokerages with vacancies stating necessary qualifications to be suitable for the role. It may be a good idea to ensure your qualifications are located near the top of your CV to ensure you get over the first hurdle straight away.  

2. Remember, it’s marketing! 

Think of your CV as an advertisement of your skills and attributes you can bring to a new organisation. What are your personal USP’s? What makes you stand out from your peers? It might be a cliché, but put yourself in the shoes of the business, and ask yourself the questions you think they would be asking, and then ensure the answers are included within your CV. It may be a good idea to add a core competency section to display your key skills (E.g. I consistently hit my targets) and then give context (of writing 4 mortgages a month and often exceed this by achieving circa 6). This will help you build credibility and increase your chances. Do be careful to not overdo it, keep the information relevant and try not to obviously brag, this blog post explains how to find balance between confidence and arrogance. With this being said, don’t write an essay! CV-library wrote a great article on how to keep your CV on two pages which is great to use as a point of reference.

3. Experience

In conjunction with qualifications arguably the most important thing to include on a Financial Services CV is your experience. Some roles such as Trainee or Junior roles may allow little to no experience whereas, more Senior positions like an Independent Financial Advisor, Senior Paraplanner or Mortgage Advisor traditionally require numerous years of experience. It may be a good idea to give this section the same weight as your qualifications section, because companies may reject you on the ground of lack of experience. Even in junior roles, it is important to show that you have shown some form of initiative whether this is through work experience or a more formalised internship. Therefore, it can be beneficial for highlighting your experience.  

Writing a covering letter 

Writing a covering letter seems like a long arduous process however, you can create a template to assist each job application, by using an initial skeleton copy and then tailoring specifically to each vacancy you apply for. To boost your letter, undertake research and discuss some aspects in the company that appeal to you and explain why.  

Using LinkedIn 

As the modern-day professional networking site, it can be a great way to display the companies you have worked for and can give an opportunity to display public references from previous employers. Furthermore, your education can be shown with grades and name of institution (much in the same way as your CV) and also skills and endorsements that your LinkedIn connections can choose to give you. A great blog article that explains how to turn your LinkedIn profile into a resume is this one written by the balance careers and is well worth a read of you are thinking about making that change.

General tips

Keep it simple

It is important to keep it simple. Your layout shouldn’t be too fancy as this can make it harder to absorb the information. Simple formats can often be best, as you want to keep the reader engaged for as long as possible and see your qualities as a candidate. Try and keep it to 2 sides of A4 if possible, employers don’t want to sift through loads of text to get to the good stuff.

Don’t be generic

It is important to tailor your CV to your industry because the employer will be more engaged when reading a CV which they can relate to. This lets the employer know that you are serious about the role and have not sent your CV out to loads of companies. Where possible research the company as much as possible as this shows them you are serious about the role and gives a great impression.

Spell check

Seems obvious, however, loads of CV’s have grammatical / spelling errors which stand out and give a bad impression. Employers DO look for mistakes on CVs so it important you check and check again that there are no silly errors.

Keep it updated

It is crucial to keep updating your CV as you go through your career. It is recommended every year as a minimum you take time to update your CV with specific achievements or experience you may have gained which you feel is applicable. Remove some of the less relevant older data to make room for newer unique selling points. Sending an outdated CV would look highly unprofessional and put you on the back foot immediately in terms of showcasing yourself. Remember you get one chance to make a positive impression and to stand out from the crowd.

Don’t leave gaps

Leaving gaps on your CV will immediately make the employer suspicious and they wont always give you the benefit of the doubt. If you have been out of work for a prolonged time, then try and put a brief explanation of what you were doing whilst in-between jobs. You’re better off covering it now in your CV rather than some unexpected questions being sprung on you at an interview which may catch you off guard. It always helps to include reasons why you left jobs and is generally considered positive where these were for career progression.

Contact information

Have your contact information easily available (email, mobile number and address) and kept up to date. Otherwise, recruiters/ potential new employers can’t get hold of you. You don’t want to be waiting for your phone to ring, especially annoying if the recruiter is calling the wrong number!

Include relevant stats

If you are applying for a sales-based role then it is important to include as many sales figures as possible. These can help boost your chances of getting through to the interview stage because it showcases your proven past performance. You want to provide them with as much relevant information as possible, so they can relate the data to their business as well.

Finally, when breaking down previous employment, try to use bullet points when describing duties or achievements as oppose to paragraphing. By using your bullet points you’re breaking up information; making it easier to read and more engaging.

Conclusion

1. CVs are important and should be taken seriously – This one is obvious, right? 
2. Prioritise experience and qualifications – These are the most important things especially in the financial services industry 
3. Remember to market yourself and utilise everything you can – Go beyond your duties and list key achievements you obtained within your roles  
4. Apply for jobs – Don’t worry, we have loads, apply today and find your dream job  HERE