New grads are jazzed about careers in money management, alternative investments, and accounting…and they should be. Careers in finance typically involve the ultimate validation of performance: the bottom line.
Yet, these career paths are often volatile. Wall St. has of late become a parade of box-carrying laid-off workers, and corporate types often find that they are lumped in as overhead, vulnerable to staff layoffs.
How does the career lattice pay off for money workers? Julie Steinberg of Dow Jones’ FINS network outlines the big picture in her Q&A with me on June 18. Here’s one more tip, customized from The Career Lattice: make the most of the performance meter of documented financial results you have captured. Many staffers have a hard time quantifying proof of their performance. That’s usually not a problem fo money workers.
As you build case studies that show you in action, set up these short narratives with a financial goal. Then show — in two sentences — the steps you took to achieve that goal. End with the goal, achieved, in a number.
Did you identify tax advantages that resulted in a net gain of $2 million to your employer’s net revenue? Uncover an obscure opportunity in a hot commodity that scored a big return? Simultaneously keep the lid on operating costs while balancing a portfolio to deliver consistent results despite industry turmoil? Short stories like these tell potential employers — inside your current organization and outside — how you think…in words and in numbers.
