How to Pursue a Career in Finance Without a Finance

HOW TO PURSUE A CAREER IN FINANCE

WITHOUT A FINANCE DEGREE

Starting a new career can be difficult, especially if your current degree is focused on a different field. When it comes to a career in finance, it is possible to enter the industry without obtaining a finance degree.

Afinance degree may not be a hard prerequisite for most finance graduate jobs anymore – as finance employers now hire across all disciplines of study. However, there’s no denying that a finance degree does give you an added advantage in terms of understanding the overarching concepts of the industry itself.

However, if you are a graduate with a non-finance degree, that just means you’ll have to put in a bit of extra work to prepare for this career pathway! Here are five ways you can show future employers that you possess the skills they seek, as well the passion for a successful career in finance.

LEARN THE JARGON

If you are interested in a career in finance, make sure you’re familiar with financial terms. Do you know what the difference is between mutual funds and unit trusts? What about “AML” or “KYC”? Or what bull and bear markets are?

An interviewer will generally assume that an applicant for a finance position is knowledgeable about financial concepts, regardless of their educational background. You can start by browsing through Investopedia and World Finance to learn basic finance and investment terminology, then creating a finance vocabulary bank so you can keep up when speaking to interviewers or networking with industry professionals.

NETWORKING

No matter what industry you are in, networking is a crucial part of career development. This holds true as well if you’re planning on breaking into the finance industry.

Utilize social media platforms such as LinkedIn to connect and interact with finance professionals in the field you’re keen on. They can help you learn more about the field and maybe point you to opportunities that aren’t publicly advertised yet. You can also take advantage of industry networking sessions offered by your university, or speaking to finance employers at job fairs.

However, before you approach anyone, be sure to do your research beforehand and prepare intelligent questions. Networking is not going to help you if you can’t demonstrate to contacts that you’ve already out-thought into this and done your homework!

The bottom line is: the more people you reach out to, the more informed you will be regarding your options. So don’t be afraid to reach out to finance professionals no matter where you go.

FOCUS ON YOUR AREA(S) OF INTEREST

The finance industry is ever-growing and it offers a wide range of career opportunities. So it’s best if you figure out beforehand what areas you’re most keen on working in. That way, you can work on developing the skills needed to be successful in the role(s) of your choice.

For example, if you have a degree in the humanities, you’ll likely have strong research skills, and be able to offer a more macro perspective and critical analysis on global affairs. You can then think about how to focus these strengths into a financial analyst role, where your job will be to do research and advise stakeholders on market movements before they make investment decisions.

Narrowing yourself down to a shortlist of interesting finance pathways will help you be more focused in your preparation instead of spreading yourself too thin. And if you don’t know yet what pathways are available to you... well, that’s what this guide is for!

SCORE A FINANCE INTERNSHIP

The best way to gain experience and to test if a career in finance is for you is by doing an internship. Not only will it give you exposure to different finance roles, it also provides you with an on-the-ground perspective of the various skills required.

With how competitive this industry is, a relevant finance internship or two is a must if you hope to stand out as a graduate candidate. This will help you build your CV and gain professional references for future jobs. You will also be able to build your professional network, which could help you land a job offer after graduation. Take note that some finance employers (particularly investment banks or small fund managers) do explicitly prefer to convert interns to full-time roles instead of hiring from scratch!

STAY UP TO DATE WITH FINANCIAL NEWS

Be it Business Insider, Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Edge, or other finance news sites, make sure you stay up to date on current financial and investment market news, both locally and globally.

Finance employers will expect you to prove your knowledge of current market trends during the assessment process, or ask you to solve specific finance case studies. The markets are always changing, so make sure you’re constantly up to date!

A useful tip is to sign up for Google Alerts or other news aggregators to deliver current trending finance topics right to your inbox. For example, if you are interested in the current market performance of mutual funds, you can have Google send you a daily summary of articles and videos regarding that.