A healthy financial services sector supports the entire economy. It gives individuals access to loans for homes and cars, helps them save for retirement and other goals with investments like mutual funds, and protects their assets and health with insurance. It also lets businesses grow and expand with credit and financing. This industry includes thousands of depository institutions, providers of investment products, insurance companies, and the critical financial utilities that support these functions.
To work in the field, you should read and learn as much as you can about this massive business. There are a lot of high-quality publications that cover the industry, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and Value Line. Find one that fits your needs and reading style, and subscribe to it. Many libraries have subscriptions to these publications, and you should also get in the habit of checking out other finance-related books or periodicals at your local library.
You will need to be able to quickly absorb new information and solve complex problems, but this career is also highly collaborative and less cutthroat than some other areas of the finance industry. This is due to the fact that most financial firms emphasize mentoring and internal promotions based on aptitude, rather than length of service. It’s important to stay current with the new tools being introduced to this field, which seems to happen almost daily.
There are a wide range of jobs in financial services, and you should focus on a job that suits your skills and personality. You can start with a degree in any subject, as the majority of financial services positions do not require special certifications. However, you should try to specialize in a specific area, such as consumer banking, commercial banking, capital markets, or wealth management. If you are unsure of what to focus on, speak with mentors or other finance professionals in your network and ask them for advice.
The key to success in the field is networking with other finance professionals and building a strong contact base. Many jobs are filled through referrals, and it is often not about who you know, but whom you know. Having a strong network can open up a lot of doors, so it’s important to make an effort to keep in touch with people you meet at events or through your own professional activities. It can help to have someone vouch for you when applying to jobs in this space, as it can give you an edge over candidates without the right connections. This will make it easier to secure an interview and ultimately land the job. This is especially true for senior level positions. For this reason, it’s a good idea to develop relationships with recruiters and headhunters in the finance industry, as they will have a better understanding of which roles are available and which applicants are most likely to succeed.