Five Skills That Could Land You a Job in Financial Markets

Working in financial markets isn't just a "numbers" game. In fact, there are several special areas that appear to be increasingly important for today's financial job seekers.

And in this somewhat tight financial jobs market, having skills in those areas could mean the difference between landing a position and not.

Wall Street employment hit a decade high three years ago in June, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Approximately 15,000 jobs have been added in securities, commodities and investments from the cycle bottom, or a two percent gain. Despite those additions, we are still 61,000 jobs below peak, or a seven percent drop.

Human Resources professionals and recruiters are looking for those qualified candidates that are the best fit for their organization. And eFinancialCareers has identified five areas that have been appearing more in financial markets job descriptions.

Languages

Language skills are becoming a necessary proficiency for Wall Street professionals. And it's not just Mandarin. "We've seen increasing requests for Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Italian and Russian speaking financial markets professionals," says Constance Melrose, Managing Director, eFinancialCareers North America.

Client Service

Client Service skills appear to be increasingly sought after - and why not? "Firms want to make sure they are the provider of choice in the highly competitive financial services arena," adds Ms. Melrose.

Internal Auditor

Internal Audit assures the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls, verifies compliance with corporate policies and procedures, and identifies opportunities to enhance operating efficiencies and/or reduce costs. Any surprise why it's becoming more important? No, but a 3.5% unemployment rate for accountants and auditors makes this a very hard skill set to find.

Asset Allocation

Asset Allocation is a broad money management phrase, in keeping with the buy-side becoming more active in recruiting - a trend we've seen for most of this year.

Investment Banking Analyst

The Investment Banking Analyst role supports the senior bankers with financial and valuation analysis, pitch presentations, and capital markets insights. A group to watch as an indicator of deal market strength.