Qualifications that WILL get your CV seen. The CFA is not necessarily among them

As a follow-up to last week's article on what UK-based financial services recruiters have been searching for when they search through the eFinancialCareers CV database, we'd like to elaborate on the particular qualifications they've been using to sift your CVs.

The list for July, in rough order of popularity, is below. Some qualifications were searched for on their own - the implication being that they will get your CV seen even if you don't necessarily have the relevant experience to accompany them. Others, like the CFA, were only searched for in combination with particular experience and job titles.

1. The ACA 

In terms of qualifications, the ACA was singularly our most popular search term in July. Holders didn't even need to have qualified at the Big Four. Multiple recruiters conducted multiple searches for ACA qualified candidates over the month.

2. CIMA or ACCA 

The CIMA and ACCA qualifications ranked behind the ACA in order of search popularity. In many instances many recruiters searched for the ACA or the CIMA or the ACCA or the US CA qualification interchangeably.

3. A CFA - in combination with other things

Depressingly, if you've just completed a CFA exam, simply having that particular three letter acronym on your CV alone doesn't appear to make recruiters any more likely to pull your CV out of the database. This isn't to say that recruiters didn't search for the CFA: they did, but only in combination with other skills such as risk management, equity research, private banking and investment management. This appears to confirm what we've said numerous times before: a CFA qualification alone will not get you a job.

4. A 1st or a 2.1 in maths

Mathematicians with a good degree from any UK university were also pursued by a handful of voracious recruiters.

5. A PhD AND C++ 

It's not enough simply to have a PhD. One particular user conducted a large number of searches for individuals who combined a higher educational qualification with C++ coding ability. Although this ranked high on the search list, it may have been for one particular role, however.

6. A PhD or DPhil in maths, pure maths, or statistics

One recruiter spent a lot of time searching for candidates with high level maths qualifications.

7. Maths and C++ 

Another recruiter spent a long time unearthing candidates with maths and C++ skills. It's not clear whether this was the same person looking for PhDs with C++ knowledge.

8. An MBA

Surprisingly, an MBA ranked low down the list. It was, however, a standalone search term. The implication is that an MBA might get your CV seen by recruiters if you don't have relevant accompanying experience and it's not from a top school. Notably, however, only one recruiter searched for MBA candidates (albeit a lot of times.)

9. C# and computer science

Although many banks continue to rely upon C++, computer science graduates familiar with C# had their CVs pulled out of our database this month.

10. Java and computer science 

Java-fluent computer science graduates also appear of interest to banks and banking recruiters - just not as interesting as computer science graduates who know C#.