Former HR Manager and Writing Professional
Apart from overseeing the affairs in the financial unit, a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is top-tier personnel in every functioning organization. Only competent individuals get to occupy this position. So the question becomes: How do you prove your competence to potential employers if you cannot give a detailed report about yourself and your qualifications? No one will want to hire you if your CFO resume is not compelling enough.
Hence, this article is written to educate you on how best to create an employee-worthy resume.
What is a CFO Resume?
A Chief Financial Officer resume, otherwise known as a CFO resume, is an executive-level document that reveals all your financial, computing, and accounting abilities to intending employers. CFO resumes pass through rigorous vetting processes due to the responsibilities required of a chief financial officer and the need for an active accounting unit. An ideal CFO CV or resume contains a professionally written executive summary, authentic details of the applicant, necessary references, and specific keywords for maximum attention.
The CFO Resume Template
A Chief Financial Officer resume is not different from the regular executive resumes you know. The only difference is that there is more emphasis on financial literacy, and the skill-set differs. However, CFO resumes have similar properties. This means that more than one person can use the same chief financial officer resume template by tweaking words/dates and adjusting the job history.
An ideal CFO resume template contains the bio/profile of the applicant, professional summary, relevant skills, professional experience, educational background and additional certifications, and hobbies (optional). Below we will give tips on how to fill in your template and then give you a typical chief financial officer resume example.
How to write a CFO Resume
Most times, especially with CFO resumes, an eye-catching resume does not impress hiring managers nor increases the chances of gaining an interview for applicants. Sadly, many resume writers who rate design above content ride with this notion. The truth is, overly aesthetic resume templates can limit your chances of getting hired.
Using too many colors, just like in some CFO resume examples, is not the best option. Instead of trying to outdo yourself, use the traditional resume format that communicates your skills and qualifications to the hiring manager within a short time (maximum of 6 seconds).
Below are some tips for writing the best CFO resumes.
Ensure you are fit for the job
The secret to writing an appealing CFO resume is ensuring that you’re fit for the job. You cannot be confident about what you don’t know. Being aware of your qualities and prowess gives you the confidence to tailor your resume adequately without flinching.
Get to know the do’s and don’ts of the job and assess yourself before applying. This means adequately and thoroughly reading through the job description to see where you fit in. Writing your resume without prior knowledge reduces its quality and increases the chances that you are spending a lot of time on a resume that will get no attention. So to be on the safe side, ensure you are fit for the job before writing your CFO CV.
Use strong words, targeting finance and leadership
When writing a chief financial officer resume, never forget there is no second chance to prove yourself to the hiring team. Your potential employers will most likely judge you based on your words, which is also applicable in the hiring process.
So you have to learn the art of writing with strong words. Use action verbs to highlight specific roles you played in your previous workplace(s). You can use words like “enlarged,” “organized,” “spearheaded,” “implemented,” etc., to explain your former job descriptions.
Show career progression
Recall that the position of a Chief Financial Officer is an executive role, which requires ample experience. Hence, you must show your level of competence and career growth by stating your previous job titles under each company headings and work experience. You can also use your accomplishments to show career progression if you have no formal promotional record.
Arrange your professional history in ascending order, starting with your most recent positions, and make no mistake missing out on vital details about your career. However, do not turn your resume into a mini storybook about your entire career. Focus on relevant info such as your roles in financial- and accounting-related field and the necessary skills pertinent to CFO.
Be concise
Standing out from the crowd requires being concise, articulate, and timely. No hiring manager would want to spend more than a minute vetting your CFO CV. Thus, it is fundamental to avoid ambiguity and ensure the hiring team can understand your resume within 60 seconds. Anything that takes more than that is susceptible to entering the trash bin without any consideration.
In addition, avoid cluttering your CFO resume with unnecessary skills that are unrelated to the position of chief financial officer. Keeping your skill-set short and clear doubles your chances of getting the position as the acceptable length of a formal CFO resume is one page (A4 size).
Ensure clear formatting
Reverse Chronological is the known format for a professional CFO resume. This format makes it easier for hiring managers to understand your resume: your skill-set, career values, and potentials. One of the essential skills that indicate success as a Chief Financial Officer is possessing organizational skills, and organizing your CFO resume like that of executive personnel is the first way to show your organizational abilities.
Your text style, font type, font size, paragraph spacing, etc., should be uniform. Although the headings of the different sections of a resume may have different text styles and fonts, they must be coherent to avoid misinterpretations.
Edit and proofread your CFO Resume
Your CFO resume is the first, and probably the only, chance for you to prove yourself worthy of employment. You don’t want to mess it up! Carefully edit (delete and add) and proofread your resume to check for omitted words, grammatical errors, etc. These errors are better identified and corrected in your custody than the hiring manager.
You can also create different CFO resume samples and run them by trustworthy editors or experienced friends to ensure nothing but quality. Finally, check out other chief financial officer resume samples, and rewrite a more appealing one for submission.
Chief Financial Officer Resume Example
Note, the details below serve as a generic CFO resume sample. You can always tweak it to suit the company’s requirements.
Fred Amani CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Austin, Texas 512-387-0928 Fredamani@gmail.com PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY Result-driven CFO with 5+ years of experience in leadership and financial documentation. Proficient in managing several deadline-driven projects concurrently in a fast-paced environment. Renowned analytical skills, with the ability to identify and understand business needs while leveraging available resources. Excellent communication skills and expertise in delivering comprehensive financial reports for internal and external purposes. Ability to propel feasible financial increase and ensure proper management of funds. A dedicated team player, highly empathetic, and can collaborate with individuals from different backgrounds to ensure the company's growth.
SKILLS Hard Skills Curating unique financial strategies Performing market analysis Pioneering revenue allocation Bookkeeping Financial management Budget development Soft Skills Leadership Teamwork Problem-solving Effective communication Result-oriented PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Dell Inc. Senior Business Accountant Austin, Texas 2013-2018
Things to Note
This is a great example of a CFO resume for a number of reasons, and it is our duty to point them out to you so you know what to look for when you review your own resume.
First, the professional skills section used active verbs in the present tense and related the candidate’s unique selling points to aspects of a CFO position. That is important because you don’t want your professional summary to harp on skills that aren’t related to the job or the company you are applying to.
Another thing to note is the is quantifiable, measurable achievements used in the bullet points in the Professional Experience section. This sample does a good job of not just saying the applicant was good at his job, but showing the ways he excelled. In turn, you should use numbers as often as you can.
Lastly, note that this resume shows that you won’t become a CFO overnight. This applicant likely had an internship straight out of college, and then worked relevant positions to climb his way up the ladder. Even if he embodied other roles at their companies or worked multiple positions, he only included positions that would make him look good for a CFO position. If you are aiming to be a CFO, you should have years of experience in a Finance or Accounting related field such as:
- Accounting Manager
- Financial Analyst
- Senior Business Accountant
- Corporate Financial Controller
- Or others
Final Words
From the CFO resume example above, we started with a brief description of the applicant’s profile, including name, country of residence, contact info, and email address. That section enables the hiring manager to reach out in case of further questioning. So, provide accurate details while writing your profile. Afterward is the professional summary part. This is the first part of your resume that explains, in a few seconds, all you are and what you stand for. Make it unique!
The accompanying section is for your skill-set. List your top skills that are in sync with the company’s requirements. This shows that you’re fully aware of the CFO position.
Going further, writing your professional experience requires a lot of work to ensure you don’t clutter your resume and end up sounding redundant. Be assertive in your claims and back them up with realistic figures. Resist the urge to exaggerate.
In addition, do not stuff that section. Two to three work experiences are acceptable, but do not hesitate to market yourself in each of them. Finally, support your CFO CV with a customized cover letter. Both documents should be unified and have the same information about you.
