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REDDITFinance is a great field for anyone who wants to advance their career and take on some bigger roles. It also offers opportunities in a wide number of related fields. Financial professionals with the right foundation can find work as executives, senior analysts, or find independent work as financial consultants. However, advancing your career, even in a field as vast as finance, requires a solid plan and a clear head. Here are a few ways that you can advance your finance career.
Get More Certification
The more certifications you have, the more opportunities you’ll have access to. You’ll become a more complete professional and get to integrate new valuable skills in the process. They will also give you an edge over other candidates and show that you have a diverse skill set that might be valuable to employers.
You could get a CPA certification, for instance, if you’re working in accounting. Most of the exams are passed at state level. Another option is to go back to school. If you have a bachelors, then you can always go for a master’s degree.
While this might seem easier than done, you should consider online classes as well. Getting an applied economics degree online, for example, could give you access to a wide variety of applied economics degree jobs, like quantitative analyst, economist, or market researcher. These classes can also be condensed or stretched depending on your availability.
Build Your Resume
You also have to do everything in your power to make your resume more attractive. Your resume is really a marketing tool, with you being the product. It should emphasize your accomplishments, credentials, and experiences, and make sure that they relate to your ultimate goals. It should also showcase some of the accolades you’ve received.
Make it a habit to constantly update your resume every time you reach a new milestone. You should also never hesitate to present it if there are any openings within your organization, but shop it around if you think there might be a better opportunity elsewhere.
Get a Mentor
In the field of finance, you also have a lot of people who would not only love but are also actively looking for people they’d like to mentor. You could also ask directly people you admire in your organization if they would like to take you under their wing. You’d be surprised at how many would be willing to do that. You could also ask your leaders if they could recommend anyone who could mentor you.
Networking is also a very powerful tool all finance professionals should take advantage of. You just never know who you might run across. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up shaking ends with the person who’ll hand you that lucky break you’ve always dreamed of.
Conclusion
The field of finance offers great advancement opportunities, but you’ll have to make the first step if you want to access them. Follow these few simple tips and you should be able to increase the chances for advancement either in your organization or elsewhere.
