December 2025
7 Expert Strategies to Strengthen Your Finance Resume
In today’s competitive financial services industry, your resume needs to do more than list experience. It needs to tell your story, show impact, and align with the roles you want next.
To help you prepare, Jesse Skaff, Phaidon International’s Executive Director and host of the Searching Smarter Podcast, spoke with executive career coach Amy Adler, who shared expert advice on how to create a resume that stands out to recruiters and hiring managers.
1. Start with clarity: What is the next step in your financial career?
Before you update your resume, define your direction. Ask yourself: what is the next step in my career story?
Amy explains:
Everything a candidate says and does should follow from a clear understanding of where they belong next in their professional life.
Once you know the type of role you want, you can tailor your resume to highlight the skills, results, and experience that match that target. Amy calls this the “Olympic Rings” of your career: the shared space between what you’ve done, what you do best, and what you want next.
Your resume should act as a roadmap toward your next role, not a record of everything you’ve done.
Define your next move before editing your resume. Focus your achievements and keywords on roles that support your future direction.
Already know your next career move? Register your resume with Selby Jennings, and our consultants will help you find your next opportunity.
2. Build your billboard: Create a personal brand headline
Skip the old “objective statement.” Start instead with a short personal brand headline. This section gives a quick snapshot that helps hiring teams see your value right away.
Your headline should answer three questions:
- Who are you?
- What do you do best?
- What drives you?
Example: “Analytical finance professional focused on risk aware growth strategies across global markets.”
Amy describes this as your billboard. It sets your direction before anyone reads further.
Tip: Write this section last. Once your achievements are clear, it becomes easier to summarize your story in one strong opening paragraph.
3. Transform duties into measurable results
A common mistake is listing tasks without showing outcomes. Hiring managers want to understand the impact you delivered, not just what you handled.
A useful method is to lead with the result, then explain how you achieved it.
As Amy notes:
Don’t tell employers what you did. Show them why it mattered.
Example: “Increased portfolio yield by 25% percent by redesigning risk assessment models for low yield investments.”
This turns your resume into a record of results, not responsibilities.
Tip: Lead bullets with outcomes and quantify them when possible.
4. Show how you improved the business, not just how you did your job
Hiring managers want proof of value. They want to see how your work improved performance, processes, or decision making.
Highlight where you:
- Improved workflows
- Strengthened relationships
- Reduced risk
- Supported capability growth
- Delivered insights that informed decisions
A simple test is to ask: What improved because of my work?
Tip: Use the CAR framework [Challenge, Action, Result] to structure each point. Use action-based language such as improved, optimized, strengthened, reduced, accelerated, or delivered.
5. Align your resume with your interview preparation
An impact focused resume sets you up for stronger interviews. Each achievement becomes a story you can expand on. Amy explains,
A well written resume is the foundation for great interviews. It gives you ready made stories to share about your results.
Use your bullet points as prompts. Develop concise stories that show what you achieved and how you approached challenges. This demonstrates skill, initiative, and personality.
Tip: Use your resume achievements as interview talking points. Consistency between what you write and what you say builds credibility.
6. Why targeted applications outperform mass applying
Online job boards and AI driven quick apply tools make it easy to send out large volumes of applications, but volume rarely produces strong results.
As Amy says,
Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s best.
Corporate openings receive an average of 250 applications, and usually only 4 to 6 candidates are invited to interview. Employers respond to relevance and alignment, not quantity.
A targeted resume tailored to well matched roles makes for a stronger impression than broad mass applying.
Tip: Focus on 6 to 10 high quality applications that closely match your skills and goals.
7. Own your career story
Your resume should evolve as your career grows. Review it regularly so it reflects your achievements, skill development, and future direction.
Key steps to maintain a strong finance resume:
- Quantify results whenever possible
- Refine your headline so it reflects your expertise and goals
- Update skills, certifications, and recent responsibilities
- Remove older roles that no longer support your career story
- Ask recruiters or mentors for feedback
Tip: Keep your resume current so you’re ready for new opportunities.
Take the next step in your career
Register your resume to Selby Jennings and let our team connect you with roles that match your skills and goals. Focus on opportunities that matter and move forward knowing you’re positioned for success.
Listen to the full conversation
For more insights from Amy Adler, listen to the full episode of the Searching Smarter Podcast, hosted by Jesse Skaff. They cover resume and interview strategies that help finance professionals stand out and secure new opportunities.
FAQs: Strengthening Your Finance Resume
Focus on measurable results, impact, and alignment with your target roles. Highlight achievements using metrics, action-oriented language, and the CAR (Challenge, Action, Result) framework to show how you improved processes, reduced risk, or delivered strategic insights.
A personal brand headline is a short statement at the top of your resume summarizing who you are, what you do best, and what drives you. It immediately communicates value to hiring managers and sets the tone for your resume.
Lead with results, then explain the action taken. For example: “Increased portfolio yield by 25% by redesigning risk assessment models for low-yield investments.” Quantifying achievements makes your impact clear and memorable.
Employers receive hundreds of applications for each finance role, but only a few candidates are interviewed. Targeted resumes that closely match a role’s requirements demonstrate relevance and alignment, increasing your chance of securing interviews.
Each achievement on your resume can become a concise story for interviews. Use your bullets as prompts to explain challenges, actions, and results, ensuring consistency between your written resume and verbal responses.
