A seasoned small business and technology writer and educator with more than 20 years of experience, Shweta excels in demystifying complex tech tools and concepts for small businesses. Her work has been featured in NewsWeek, Huffington Post and more.
Shweta Small Business WriterA seasoned small business and technology writer and educator with more than 20 years of experience, Shweta excels in demystifying complex tech tools and concepts for small businesses. Her work has been featured in NewsWeek, Huffington Post and more.
Written By Shweta Small Business WriterA seasoned small business and technology writer and educator with more than 20 years of experience, Shweta excels in demystifying complex tech tools and concepts for small businesses. Her work has been featured in NewsWeek, Huffington Post and more.
Shweta Small Business WriterA seasoned small business and technology writer and educator with more than 20 years of experience, Shweta excels in demystifying complex tech tools and concepts for small businesses. Her work has been featured in NewsWeek, Huffington Post and more.
Small Business Writer Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
Rob Watts Managing Editor, SMBWith over a decade of editorial experience, Rob Watts breaks down complex topics for small businesses that want to grow and succeed. His work has been featured in outlets such as Keypoint Intelligence, FitSmallBusiness and PCMag.
| Managing Editor, SMB
Updated: Mar 22, 2024, 1:32am
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Financial analysts analyze an organization’s past financial data to spot trends and assess risks, which helps them predict outcomes for business decisions, identify sale or purchase opportunities and make investment recommendations.
When you need to hire a financial analyst, write a specific job description that accurately reflects the work you want done. Use this guide to explore contemporary financial analyst job description examples and discover some tips on how to draft your own job description to attract top candidates.
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A financial analyst analyzes historical financial data to guide businesses in optimizing their investments to maximize profit. To that end, a financial analyst works with different types of data such as company financial statements, performance of investments such as stocks and bonds, industry research, stock price movement, macroeconomic data and more, depending upon the specific role they play within the organization.
A financial analyst typically performs the following functions:
A financial analyst can don multiple hats within an organization’s structure. To ensure that you get the right fit for your unique situation, write a financial analyst job description that is crystal clear about your needs.
Divide the job description into different sections, such as job brief, job overview, responsibilities, preferred qualifications, company culture and work benefits so that it is easier for the potential candidates to understand your requirements.
The job title should be a four- to five-word description that outlines the purpose and scope of the job succinctly. Take a look at job titles for financial analyst job descriptions used by your competitors and use something similar.
This is the first section of the job description and you want to make a good impression so that you attract the right candidates.
Provide a brief summary of the ideal candidate in three to four sentences. Include the basic qualifications, experience and attitude you are looking for. Also, talk about how you will support the new hire to ensure they integrate with your team successfully.
Continue the job description with your motive behind hiring a financial analyst. You can talk about how you expect the new hire to help you improve specific pain points within the organization. Mentioning specific problem areas can help you find someone with prior experience in achieving those outcomes.
The responsibilities of a financial analyst depend upon the specific needs of your organization. Here, we list some common responsibilities for financial analysts.
Although there are no strict qualifications defined for a financial analyst, here is a list of skills and qualifications someone applying to work in your organization as a financial analyst should hold:
Financial analysis is a wide field and the qualifications are specific to your requirements. These are some of the preferred qualifications you should look for in your shortlisted candidates:
Conclude the job description with details about your company culture, benefits package, remote work policy and required application materials such as past employer referral, portfolio of successful projects and certifications.
The job description starts with a position summary, including company details. This helps candidates understand their specific role within the company. Note that the description does not include specific qualifications for the position.
The job description mentions details of workdays and shifts in the role and responsibilities section. If you want to include working hours details, we advise you to do this under a separate heading, such as the job brief, for clarity.
The job title (called “Product Controller” in this organization) makes it clear that it is an entry-level position. That’s the reason none of the skills and qualifications mentioned in the job description are required. The only skills specified are soft skills essential to the candidates’ success.
As a senior-level position, this job posting lists far more responsibilities and qualifications than other examples. That’s because an employee in this role needs to be able to hit the ground running and understand the nature of the role already, without training from the ground up. Listing specific qualifications will help you weed out candidates who are not prepared for a higher level of responsibility.
Forbes Advisor editor Cassie Bottorff also contributed to this article.
A good financial analyst has an eye for spotting trends and patterns in large datasets, is conversant with data analysis tools and has excellent communication skills. They should also be able to present their analysis in a manner that does not need advanced financial knowledge to understand and implement.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual salary for financial analysts was $96,220 as of 2022. The lowest-paid financial analysts earned under $59,000, while the highest-paid professionals in this career earned more than $169,000 a year.
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Small Business WriterA seasoned small business and technology writer and educator with more than 20 years of experience, Shweta excels in demystifying complex tech tools and concepts for small businesses. Her work has been featured in NewsWeek, Huffington Post and more. Her postgraduate degree in computer management fuels her comprehensive analysis and exploration of tech topics.
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