Chief Financial Advisor Skip West notes that starting a career in finance provides individuals with a potentially profitable opportunity. It’s a field where there’s room to grow, among other benefits. However, the only way to achieve the ultimate goal of success in finance is to start with a strong foundation. The rest comes together from there, though it requires some hard work and dedication. Here are some tips for anyone looking to start a career in finance.
Skip West
Have a Strong, Well-Written Resume
This task may seem challenging to achieve, considering a person just starting has little experience. However, it’s the ideal opportunity for a person to highlight their attributes, skills, and educational background rather than focusing on their work history. With that being said, that doesn’t mean that a person shouldn’t include information about their work history. It just means that the individual should focus on other aspects as a bulk of it.
Use Any Connections Advantageously
Throughout a person’s time in school and life, they may establish connections in the business. Skip West recommends considering all these connections and reaching out to them at the start of a person’s career. They may have the insight to help the person grow in the industry and opportunity options for the individual to look into. Therefore, anyone starting in the industry should make a few calls or emails as soon as possible.
Know the Options
A career in finance is a vague ambition. The industry has countless opportunities, so the first task a person straight out of school should do is look at all the options and decide which ones, or hopefully, ones, are possible choices for them. Then, the next step is to use the choices to search for job opportunities. Fortunately, looking for a job in today’s world is easier than ever since the Internet has many sites that list potential job openings.
Have Both Small and Large Goals
A person may have the significant goal of becoming a financial advisor at a major company or the CEO of a bank. Skip West explains that while dreaming big, these objectives take time, focus, and experience. Therefore, these are just some goals a person should have when starting. It can lead to frustration when finding that their ultimate goals are only sometimes instantaneous. Therefore, in this industry, and most of that matter, having small goals can help a person reach the large ones. By making smaller goals, a person can obtain them more easily and build up their confidence in the industry and in general.
The finance industry can be challenging at times, but it can be pretty rewarding when a person creates a solid foundation for success. It helps a person to get their feet wet and build up gradually.
