The world is brimming with intelligent, hard-working people committed to accomplishing great things. As new opportunities emerge throughout the industry, many professionals are struggling to determine their value in the current marketplace.
Knowing your worth is a crucial component in any career plan, whether you’re trying to make sure that you’re applying for the right roles, or you just need help negotiating a salary. Collaborating with a specialist recruitment company like Kinetic, that knows its way around the finance sector is a good start.
However, there are some other ways that you can make sure that you know your value too.
- Examine the Hiring Market
Currently, 49% of the senior leaders in the financial services sector say that skills shortage is their biggest concern going forward. This means that candidates in this industry are in the ideal position to choose the role that’s right for them.
As the financial services space continues to face issues like the rise of new challenger banks and the increasing need for excellent customer service, any employee that can deliver the right skills will be in high demand. Specific roles are harder to hire for than others, so make sure that you pay attention to your specialism when doing your research. For instance, 40% of experts say it’s difficult to find qualified accounting professionals.
Remember, the more experienced you are, the more valuable you become.
- Recognise the Difference You Make
The majority of today’s banking and finance candidates are looking for roles where they can make a real difference. This means looking for ways that you can get more satisfaction out of your career from the moment you attend the job interview.
Sometimes, the best way to see how you’re making a difference is to ask your business leaders and peers for insights into some of the things that you do best at work. For instance, perhaps you’re particularly good at getting great reviews from clients or making customers feel safe.
You can also look for ways to make a difference by expanding your skills beyond the requirements of your role. For instance, many professionals in the banking and financial services space are beginning to look at transformative technology like automation and digitisation. Courses in these concepts are sure to make an impact on your team.
- Find the Value in your Skillset
Many banking and finance leaders have specific skills that they’re searching for in today’s competitive environment. The best way to prove that you have what it takes to help an organisation thrive is to get certified. For instance, if you’re an accountant, then it makes sense to ensure that you’re CIMA, ACCA or ACA qualified.
However, as mentioned above, it’s good to go beyond the certifications too. Look at the skills that you can develop to make you even more valuable to a potential employer. For instance, many banks are now looking for people with financial reporting skills such as “super-forecasting.” Additionally, analytical skills are particularly useful for banks that want to take advantage of new customer service technology.
Don’t forget to highlight your soft talents too. Banking and finance candidates are most appealing when they have exceptionally strong communication skills, and the ability to solve problems under the pressure of tight deadlines.
- Know Your Professional Reputation
One of the best ways to evaluate your professional worth is to look at your personal brand. Just like companies, people have reputations that they build based on the way that they interact with others. It’s important to know whether your values and ethics shine through in your behaviour, or whether you’re giving the wrong impression to the people you network with.
Find someone you can trust in your peers to give you an honest review of your personality. Do you come across as a confident leader or a micro-manager? Are you always on-time to meetings, and do you go the extra mile to get things done? If you have a mentor, consider asking them to review your brand too.
Once you know how you’re coming across, you can make changes to ensure that your personality conveys the right value.
- Examine Your Achievements
Formal financial qualifications and a history in the banking sector are a great way to demonstrate and develop your professional value. However, you can also add weight to your worth by highlighting some of the things that you’ve accomplished over the years. For instance, maybe you were the head of accounts at your last bank that helped to move your business into an “agile” framework.
Maybe you can write a report about the recent learning opportunities you’ve had, and how your new skills have improved your ability to deliver results to your current employer. The more you can quantify your achievements with numbers and statistics, the easier it will be to see your worth.
For instance, a person who improves productivity by 29% in their team thanks to agile methodology is a valuable part of any company.
- Speak to a Recruitment Company
Finally, even if you’re not planning on changing your career yet, speaking to a specialist banking and finance recruitment company like Kinetic is a useful way to measure your worth. You can ask our experts what kind of role someone with your skills would be equipped for or compare your current CV to the positions that you most feel drawn to. That way you can start to determine whether you’re ready for the promotion that you think you deserve.
Speaking to a recruitment group can also be useful when it comes to determining what kind of salary you can earn. Browsing through job descriptions will show you what organisations are offering for someone with your skillset.