Recruiters from the financial sector are facing a skill gap while acquiring the right candidates for varied job roles, why?

Most colleges and universities today focus hard core on syllabus and theoretical knowledge and fail to see the importance of soft skills to build a professional, especially from the finance stream. Finance students and professionals have a tough time at interviews as they fall short of simple social skills even though they have passed out from an impressive institute with a good grade.

It is imperative for a finance professional to exude interpersonal skills; a lack of such traits can hamper chances of getting a job or sustaining one. You may ask what these non-academic skills are. So, here’s a list of non-financial skills a finance professional must have.

  1. Communication: One of the biggest strengths a professional must have is the ability to communicate effectively. Most resumes/profiles posted on job sites mention good communication skills, also it is one of the top most trait a recruiter seeks for his company. An advantage to communicate better is good command over the languages both local and English. For a finance students/ professionals this helps to comprehend analysis/ number crunching and planning efficaciously.
  2. Written Communication: Established companies/businesses the world over communicate through Emails within the organization and to clients. Hence it becomes essential for every finance professional to have basic knowledge in drafting letters/invoices, writing emails and using appropriate language while creating a power-point presentation.
  3. Presentation: Just like communication is a basic trait, recruiters are looking out for, presentation comes next in line. The finance industry need professionals’ to be able to pitch ideas and present proposals effectively. Presentation skills are a requisite competency to move from positions of lower or middle level to senior ones.
  4. Critical Thinking:It’s not rocket science to be a critical thinker for a finance student or professional. A finance student may already have this aptitude since they are accustomed to act fast and effectively to various scenarios in short periods of time. A critical thinker is one that analyses or conceptualizes a situation from a balanced perspective.
  5. Negotiation: A lot of people make assumptions like – if you’re good at convincing and co-ordination you ought to be in a sales or marketing field, however such skills are required for a finance professional as well. A finance personnel must be able to tactfully reach an agreement that benefits all departments within the company as well as their clients.
  6. Problem solving: It necessary for a professional to act wisely and resolve with solutions to any difficulty in the business quickly. Any kind of resolutions requires one to be on top of their game and have a certain level of expertise to ensure long and short term goals are not hindered due to the change in plan.
  7. Team-oriented: The only way to bring work efficiently and increase productivity is to work in synergy with a team within a department and for a company as a whole, this does not differ to the finance industry. It is noticed that team player often excels in personal goals too in the long run; failing to adhere to be one will hamper your growth and may find it difficult to cope with complex situations, alone.
  8. Self-motivation: Every individual needs to have a certain drive or passion in order to perform better and deliver good, faster results. Lack of self-motivation will prove less to no effort in completing a task and will result in waste of time and loss of business. Focus on core strengths that allows one to excel and ultimately give you satisfaction & pride in your own achievements.
  9. Confidence: Confidence is an innate quality that can be developed further after you’ve gained expertise, amount of  time spent in the field or department and practical knowledge. The phrase ‘Practice makes a man perfect’ is apt when it comes to gaining confidence in a particular industry or department.
  10. Being well-read: To stay abreast with the latest in the finance world, one must keep track of the current happenings in and around the world. Finance news, books and internet should be your go to for any solutions and research on a regular basis.


Now, since you are aware of the non-finance skills that will help you excel, be sure work on them to sail seamlessly at an interview, workplace or business.