In recent years, many professionals have taken the big leap and gone on to become independent financial consultants. For the many who have the right combination of skills and experience, the rewards have been very fulfilling financially and personally. If you'd like to join those leaving the security of corporate employment and get into the growing industry of financial consultancy, here are some things you must consider seriously:
Act Now! Activate a FREE three days trial to FinancialServicesCrossing.com, because you know how important it is to know about all the jobs.
1. Education and Training. Financial consulting is a technical field; there is no substitute to formal education and training. In fact, this highly dynamic industry requires continuing education. If you donĂ¢Â€Â™t already have a degree in accounting or finance, you need to get one.
2. Experience and passion. In any type of consulting, experience spells the difference. Fresh graduates rarely, if at all, succeed when embarking on a solo career. Experience gives practitioners the gut feeling to call the shots when needed. It takes actual participation in the market to actually get a feel of how it works and be comfortable with it. Of course, that alone requires the kind of dedicated attention only those with real interest in the field can give.
3. Acquire and polish people and other skills. Whether you intend to specialize in corporate finances or provide personal finance consulting services, you need people skills. ThatĂ¢Â€Â™s probably the most important of all skills and is a common requirement for all consultants. That and other critical skills like business management, client relations and quality management can be acquired and honed. YouĂ¢Â€Â™re selling a service; your skills are your inventory. Stock up on the best quality there is.
4. Get certified. Finance industries are strictly regulated industries. Most practices require special licenses and certifications administered by state and other regulatory bodies. Often, these licenses would require continuing education credit units. Check with your industry association and the appropriate licensing authorities for the requirements.
5. Write your business plan. When youĂ¢Â€Â™re ready with the paperwork and are certain your personality fits your choice of industry and youĂ¢Â€Â™ve got the skills necessary, itĂ¢Â€Â™s time to write down your game plan. You need to organize and structure your business. Consultants can only be effective financial advisors if they successfully organize structure and manage their businesses.
6. Build your clientele. Many use the internet to gain visibility and target clients. Your marketing goal however, should be two-fold: to build a solid clientele and a reputation as an expert. Many find that they can do both by writing books and giving lectures, trainings and hosting course-seminars. This allows for projecting expertise and is a proven way to build a solid reputation as an expert.
7. Hire a good lawyer. Finance consulting involves a significant level of business risk. ThatĂ¢Â€Â™s in addition to the many rules and regulations affecting the industry and the practitioners. ItĂ¢Â€Â™s important to have an experienced attorney to provide legal advice and prepare your legal documents.
Obviously, financial consultancy is not a business for the faint-hearted. Besides the intricacies of the industry itself and the statutory regulations you have to contend with, this business is directly affected by volatile economic situations. To succeed as a financial consultant, you need to be on top of your game all the time.
Carolyn , Harrisburg, PA
I would definitely like to join EmploymentCrossing again if I need to switch my job in future. It was a lot more helpful compared to other websites.
Meg , Oak Park, IL
The email alerts sent by FinancialServicesCrossing are cool. I got a job through this feature of the website. Thanks!
Derek , Arlington, TX
I got a job through FinancialServicesCrossing. It was very helpful as I could focus towards the particular listings I wanted.
Deborah , Lighthouse Point, FL
I found it really helpful as I got a couple of job leads through FinancialServicesCrossing, and got my new job.
Leigh , Denver, CO
I liked the 'My hotlist' feature on FinancialServicesCrossing. It was the best of the abundant of features on the site.
To compare FinancialServicesCrossing with other job sites
Financial Analyst United States-CA-Santa Barbara
Applicants should be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Applications (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and Department of Defense (DoD) financial sys...
See Every Financial Services Job We Can Find on the Internet!
Unlike other sites, FinancialServicesCrossing works for you and does not charge employers to post jobs and actually goes out and researches jobs for you. The jobs you see are the jobs we find for you and not the ones employers are paying us to post.
To compare FinancialServicesCrossing with other job sites
FinancialServicesCrossing - #1 Job Aggregation and Private Job-Opening Research Service — The Most Quality Jobs Anywhere
FinancialServicesCrossing is the first job consolidation service in the employment industry to seek to include every job that exists and not charge employers to post jobs on its site.
FinancialServicesCrossing uses sophisticated technology and manual work to comb employer websites and other job boards for jobs and bring them all to its site.
