How To Match Your Skills To The Job You Really Want

As a newcomer in the workforce, harnessing your ambition and energy is essential for early-career success. 

Often, entry-level workers have greater personal time and fewer financial responsibilities, so this is the ideal time to take risks, embrace challenges, and focus on ambitious goals. 

However, as personal and work lives progress, stability can become a greater priority over professional growth, and many mid-career professionals can find themselves stagnating in roles or companies they've outgrown.

The downsides of staying in a familiar work environment are many. A workplace can become a comfort zone, stayers often lose out on more generous salary increases, and you can end up trapped in the inertia of repetitive tasks that may soon be taken over by AI anyway.

If this sounds familiar, it could be time for a change. First you have to figure out what you want, and what you can offer. Here's three springboard steps to consider.

1. Assess yourself

Start by conducting a core competencies and skills assessment on yourself. Identify the skills that set you apart. Whether it's financial modeling, risk assessment, or strategic financial planning, understanding your strengths is essential, but also be honest in outlining what you need to develop and learn too.

If this is something you struggle with, revisit the notes from your annual appraisals and all will become clear. 

Next, ask a trusted colleague, mentor or industry peers for their insights, or even enlist the services of a professional career coach for a full 360 view. This self-awareness is the base of your job hunt so it's important to get it right. 

2. Define your new career goal

Next you need to know what you want. Are you aiming for a role in investment banking, as a financial analyst or perhaps in wealth management? Review job specs online to see what piques your interest, and determine what aligns with your salary expectations and working model preferences. 

Let your search simmer for a little while, and your priorities should emerge through active consideration of roles and companies. Remember, each sub-sector of finance values different skills and experiences so keep your search broad at first. 

Also remember, a stepping stone to that new career goal may involve some upskilling.

This doesn't mean you need to go back to formal education and start another diploma or degree, but if there's a skills gap between what you’re doing and what you want, some investment will be required here.

Many established colleges and universities now offer experiential learning courses for mid-career professionals, so look for these shorter learning opportunities if you're squeezed for time. 

3. Draft your skills-based resume

Focus on your existing transferable skills and draft a skills-based resume. Forget about your chronological history, especially if you've already had a long career, and get straight into the nitty-gritty of what the roles you're looking at really want. 

Open with a personal statement that positions you as the ideal candidate for this particular role – tweaking per application may be necessary – then list the skills you've gained over the years in three columns. This will help your resume pass the ATS scanners. 

Naturally, skills listed will be reflected in the job spec of the role you're applying to.

Now, you can condense your employment and education history, with bullet points on successes in these positions that surprise surprise, reflect the skills listed above.

Ready to find a new career opportunity? Check out the Benzinga Job Board, where you can filter by location, and where there's thousands of new jobs updated every week at every level, like these three. 

Finance Manager – Channel Finance, Autodesk, Portland, OR

Autodesk is seeking a self-motivated and enthusiastic finance professional to join its Channel Finance team as a Finance Business Partner. This role involves providing financial analysis and support to a number of teams and stakeholders, while taking responsibility for planning, delivering reliable and accurate financial data, and modeling. The ideal candidate will look beyond numbers and consider the business impact of all financial decisions. A Bachelor's in accounting or finance is preferred, an MBA or CPA a plus, a minimum five years' of related experience is required, as is strong aptitude for financial software. Find out more here.

Finance Manager, Honeywell, El Paso, TX

Join the team at Honeywell in Texas as a Finance Manager and you'll be supporting the financial landscape, speed, quality and cost efficiency of business operations through budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis and reporting. Working closely with the Security and Leadership teams, your work will support key business growth and commercial initiatives, as you drive working capital improvement across sites. Qualified candidates will possess a Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, business, or related field, and will have at least three years' of finance experience. A full list of requirements is available to view here.

Finance Analyst, SAIC, Remote

If you're interested in a fully remote role, take a look at this Finance Analyst position available with SAIC. Although open to 100% remote anywhere in the U.S., candidates local to Reston, VA, Orlando, FL or Hunsville, AL are preferred, and the successful candidate will assist with all financial processes related to Corporate Real Estate, while balancing operational costs. This involves cost allocation process management, ensuring compliance with disclosure statements, forecasting, assisting with audits, and preparing monthly invoice packages. A Bachelor's degree and three years' experience is required, or a Master's and one year of experience. The ideal candidate will be highly-proficient in Costpoint/Cognos reporting, and will have a background in government contracting. See more here.

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