Top finance skills needed for financial services jobs

If you want to work in the financial services sector, it’s time to brush up on your finance skills. But what skills are needed for accounting and finance? We’ll run through the best skills for finance jobs. Plus, we’ll explain how to build on them and show employers you’ve got them.

We’ll cover the following finance skills:

• Hunger to learn
• Market awareness
• Analytical skills
• Communication skills
• Initiative
• Teamwork
• Customer service skills

Whether you want to be a financial analyst, accountant or financial news writer, you’ll deal with a lot of data in any financial services role. It takes a certain kind of person (with a particular skill set) to take that data and turn it into useful insights.

Here are some of the skills needed for finance:

A lot of roles in financial services require you to give advice or share information – whether you’re reporting on industry trends or helping customers navigate complex systems.

To succeed, you’ve got to become an expert quickly, so you should learn all you can about your specialism – and keep learning as things evolve.

• Be eclectic in your choice of extracurriculars. If you’re a science student, how about learning a language in your spare time? Perhaps, you could join a uni society which will teach you a new skill.

• List hobbies and societies on your CV. Big up the skills you’ve learned with extracurricular activities and call out how much you’ve enjoyed getting to grips with new things.
• Learn about the company. Prove you’re into learning by digging deep and referencing relevant info in your cover letter and asking engaging questions in your interview.
• Show enthusiasm. During your interview, talk positively about your experience of studying at university and the prospect of learning so much more in a new job.

Anyone working in finance needs to be aware of market forces and the latest market movements. If you hear a piece of news, you’ll use your commercial awareness to understand how it could affect the company you work for, your role or your clients.

• Read and research. Subscribe to business journals to keep up with what’s happening. Struggle to get the time to read? Stick on an industry podcast while you exercise or cook dinner.
• Act on what you discover. If you spot something interesting, research it further. You could organise a discussion group or bring it up at the uni debating society. Talking through a trending topic will help you understand different perspectives about what’s going on in the market and what changes might happen.

• Get an excellent grasp on the company you’re applying to. Look up recent successes, reasons for stock movements and key competitors. The more you know, the easier it’ll be to tailor your application to suit what the business is looking for.
• Share your opinion on trends. When you’re practising for your interview, think about an example of industry news. You should be able to discuss a story and explain why it interests you.
• Avoid asking questions you should know the answers to. If you do thorough research, you’ll avoid asking an interviewer about the things you’d easily find out if you viewed the company’s website or reports. An employer wants to know that you know about them, so don’t ask about things you can research yourself. Instead, you can ask follow-up questions based on what you’ve seen online. For example, “I read that you recently launched a new financial product for customers; would my role involve product development?”.

It takes an analytical mind to turn data into insight. The financial services sector is great for the type of person who gets annoyed by vague statistics and wants to see the raw data. The sector also suits those who enjoy drawing conclusions from their analysis.

• Embrace challenging uni assignments. Depending on what you’re studying, you might gain experience with analytical tasks as part of your degree. If you’re a business student, social scientist or statistician you’ll likely have experience analysing statistical data. You’ll learn a lot from challenging assignments, so hone your analytical skills here and ask for support from professors if you’re struggling.
• Remember to think beyond numbers. Any essay where you analyse the evidence to choose and support a conclusion is a valid way of building up your analytical skills.
• Volunteer for decision-making tasks. You’ll need to use analytical skills whenever you make an evidence-based decision. Why not volunteer to make those choices? For example, to pick a venue for a society event, you need to weigh up factors like location, suitability and price. It’s valuable analysis practice.

• Call out your analytical skills on your CV. List analysis in your skills and mention whenever you’ve used your analytical abilities in your education and work experience. For example, if you identified a pattern of which clothing rail customers browsed the most in the charity shop you volunteered for, mention how you boosted sales by rotating items.
• Prepare for tests. As part of the recruitment process, you might face tests. For example, verbal reasoning tests assess how well you analyse written information. Sometimes, you’ll tackle tests online at home and other times you’ll do them at an assessment centre. You’ll find example questions online that’ll help you get familiar with the types of questions you’ll face.

In an industry based on data, communication skills are key. As a journalist, you need a writing style that can jazz up the driest financial report. If you support clients with analytical tools, you need to provide clear advice.

• Learn on the job. Telephone jobs, such as calling alumni for donations or volunteering for a peer support line, will develop your verbal communication skills and confidence. Any customer service role will also increase your communication skills.
• Write – and share your writing. Join a student publication or take responsibility for a society website. Advertising an event online is another way to use your written skills. You don’t have to be into creative writing to flex your written communication abilities.

• Take your time when responding to application questions. Give your application the love that it deserves. When you’re responding to questions in a form, make sure your answers are clear and well-structured. The same goes for your CV and cover letter. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Activity, Result) to answer competency-based questions – verbally in an interview or when filling in an application.
• Practise your interview technique. In your interview, you want to speak clearly and confidently. In addition to the things you say, you also want to show the interviewer you’re the right candidate through your body language. Take note of our interview advice so you can come across how you want to.

While you’ll have support from colleagues, you should expect to have independent responsibilities early on in a financial services career. As a data analyst, for example, you’ll have a sector to focus on and will need to take initiative with your research. It’s exciting, but it can be challenging. Building up confidence in taking initiative will help you excel.

• Take initiative more at work. If you’ve got a part-time job, look out for how you could improve things. If you spot a problem, suggest the solution to a manager. Taking advantage of a quiet spell in the café to do a stock take of drinks is also using your initiative. Show that you don’t have to be told to do something to do it.
• Consider running for a position in student government. As a student governor, you’ll have the chance to use your initiative to make positive changes. You’ll learn skills and it’ll look good on your CV. Of course, only some people can run the student union. If you’re not elected, you could try chairing a society instead.

• Send out unsolicited applications. Literally use your initiative to apply for smaller firms that aren’t advertising for roles. Do your research and reach out to relevant people. LinkedIn is a good place for networking online.
• Give examples on your CV. The application process doesn’t usually leave much space for initiative, so you don’t need to worry about it too much. However, it’s always good to list relevant experiences on your CV, so big up when you’ve acted independently.

As well as showing that you’ve got the initiative to work alone, you need to show that you’re good at working in a team. Unless you want to be a lone wolf hedge fund manager, many finance roles require you to be a strong team player. You should be happy to support your colleagues and collaborate with other departments.

• Make the most out of group projects. You’ll likely come across plenty of group work at university. During group projects, make a conscious effort to focus on the teamwork aspect. Think about how you can work better as part of a team. You could even ask your teammates for feedback.
• Take up a sport. Playing as part of a team is a fun way to grow your teamwork skills. You don't have to take it seriously. You'll learn from casual games with mates.

• Share examples of teamwork. Think about the times when you’ve achieved something in a group. What skills did you bring to the table? How did you make sure you all worked well together? Talk about collaborating with people on your CV and in interviews. Just make sure you’re clear about what you contributed, not just what the team achieved.
• Show your best version in group activities. If the recruitment process involves an assessment centre, you might have to complete team tasks with other applicants. Remember, group tasks aren’t about showing yourself as the best member. Employers want to see how well you work together, not against each other. You need to strike the balance between contributing your ideas and not taking over.

In lots of roles in the financial services industry, you’ll need to help individuals and deal with them as valued customers. Analysts answer customer queries and regulators mediate in specific cases. Good relationships and satisfied clients are key to success.

• Squeeze everything you can out of work experience. If you’ve got a part-time job in a customer service role, such as retail, you’ll gain lots of customer service experience. Want to get even better? Ask a supervisor for feedback.
• Volunteer. If you don’t have paid customer service work, volunteering is another way to get experience. You’ll find volunteer opportunities at charities, festivals or on campus. You could give prospective students a tour of the university, for example. If you do that, put in extra effort to research the information they’re likely to need so that you’re well-placed to answer questions and deliver excellent service.

• Highlight transferable skills. If you’re going for a customer-facing finance role, draw attention to any customer service roles you’ve had on your CV – regardless of the sector. When it comes to the interview, share an example of a time when you offered excellent service.
• Show your ability to connect with people. In the interview, make it clear that you’re good at interacting with others through how you talk to your interviewer. Be polite and engaging. A good suggestion is to ask your interviewer what they like about working at the company – it shows you’re interested in them (plus, you’ll gain useful insights).

Various skills will benefit you in the financial industry. While the exact skills required for finance will vary depending on your desired role, many traits will be useful whatever specialism you go into.

If you’re a good communicator and a team player who’s willing to learn, commercially aware, analytical and initiative-taking, you’ll thrive in finance. And if you’re in a role where you’ll deal with clients or the public, customer service skills will help you too.

By combining your finance skills with industry know-how, you’ll be well on your way to sector success. What is finance knowledge? The understanding of how money and financial products work and, within the financial services industry, everything you need to know to do your job.

If you focus on growing the skills you’ll need in finance and learn how to show them off during the recruitment process, you’ll go far. Good luck!

This article was last updated in May, 2025.