Looking for a financial analyst? Join the club. Labor market analysis provider Burning Glass lists financial analyst as a high-demand position nationwide, with more than 56,000 open positions posted in the past year, and an average of 34 days to fill an open role. Quality financial analysts are in the unique (and crucial) position to generate significant value and revenue for both your company and clients, so it can be detrimental to go without them for long.
But what's the best way to ensure you find a quality financial analyst as quickly as possible? Glad you asked, we've got some tips for you.
Stick to this checklist and you'll be on your way to a super (and speedy) hire:
Want some help working through the list? Keep reading for insight into each of the steps.
Financial analysts chart out the best course to profitability, showcase a company's health from a financial perspective and provide data and insight needed for business managers to make key decisions. In this sense, every day an analyst position stays open is a day without a profit navigator, so it's important to fill the position without delay.
And while you don't want to be hasty, you do want to be efficient. Use this diagram to help determine where you can make your hiring process more time-effective.
Opportunities for cash and stock bonuses are valuable in this position, but a competitive salary is the foundation of a strong offer. Take a look at Randstad's salary guide to ensure the figure you're prepared to pay stacks up against the rest.
The national averages included in our salary guide provide a good starting point for auditing your pay levels. But because a good pay rate is relative based on location, it would be prudent to use our salary calculator as well, which provides up-to-date data on compensation for financial analysts in your specific area.
Before you can write an effective job description, you need to know who you're trying to attract. So, what does a great financial analyst candidate look like? It depends: A small company may require a well-rounded analyst with no particular specialty, while a large organization may be on the hunt for a financial analyst with years of experience in financial modeling for a specific industry. Get business managers, hiring managers and other necessary parties to agree on the skills and experience that make a good candidate for your specific needs.
Sort these skills and experience into two categories: "essential" — basic things like CPA certification, economics expertise and good communication and research skills — and "ideal" — such as variance analysis or account reconciliation. This simple approach will help you quickly assess which candidates rise to the top. To get you started, here are the skills most requested of financial analysts:
financial analysis
accounting
budgeting
financial reporting
financial modeling
scheduling
finance
economics
An engaging job description is an effective job description. Remember these three pointers in order to write descriptions that draw candidates in and excite them to apply.
don't write like a robot
Your job description shouldn't read like a report of duties to analyze. Stiff, matter-of-fact sentences strictly covering responsibilities and expectations aren't very engaging. Every candidate will expect accounting, financial modeling, budgeting and the like to be part of the job, so be sure to appeal to the candidate by using personable language and highlighting the human aspects of the job. To whom will the analyst report? What is the team structure? What is the atmosphere like? Bottom line: You're trying to hire a person, not a robot — so don't write like one.
show how the job is meaningful
A sense of purpose is a driving factor for many candidates when it comes to choosing an employer. Highlighting company-wide values and social-impact initiatives is a good way to signal to potential candidates that your employees are part of something bigger than themselves.
Candidates also want to know that their employer will value what they specifically bring to the team. Will the analyst be working on high-priority projects like a merger or acquisition? Are there opportunities to work directly with the CFO and CEO? How about an emphasis on individual growth? Listing the high-importance expectations and their opportunities for success demonstrates to candidates that their work will have meaning.
make it easy to skim
The goal of a job description is to paint the most appealing and accurate picture as possible in as few words as possible. Making your description easy to skim is the best way to ensure prospects get all the need-to-know information without feeling overwhelmed or zoning out. This doesn't mean you skip out on everything but the quick facts, however; it means you package everything to be easily digestible. Bullet points, short paragraphs and front-loaded sentences are all helpful in this regard.
You can find more writing tips and insights in our guide to writing highly effective job descriptions.
You're not hiring in a vacuum, so knowing how trends in the accounting and finance industry will impact the quality and quantity of your hires can only strengthen your recruitment.
Here are a few trends to pay attention to immediately:
The projected growth of demand for financial analysts is 10.8 percent over the next 10 years.
An increase in available financial products and need for expert understanding of specific geographic regions are driving factors for the forecasted growth.
There are myriad ways an employer can go about finding candidates for open positions, but all options are not equal in merit. This is especially true when it comes to hiring for a financial analyst. Financial analysts work on high-level projects with top leadership and highly sensitive information, so you need someone whom you can trust completely.
Working with a professional staffing firm that prescreens and vets all candidates in their talent pool is a great way to mitigate the risk of hiring a bad apple. And having access to qualified analysts in one central location can improve the efficiency of your hiring process by letting you see more qualified candidates faster.
Sounds good, right? We have accounting and finance industry experts ready to discuss your financial analyst needs today.
But if you'd rather peruse a bit first, check out the high-quality candidates we have waiting for you in our Find Employees portal.