Where are the skills shortages now in global banking? Which skills and qualifications do you need on your CV to get yourself noticed by global financial services recruiters? Which sectors should you cover if you want to get noticed?
We have some answers. Based upon an analysis of the resumes uploaded to the eFinancialCareers CV database globally in the past three months, cross-referenced with jobs currently advertised on this site globally, we've identified some of the hardest to find skills and qualifications. As the chart below shows, the ratio of jobs-to-CVs is most favourable for people cognizant of the programming language C#. For every C# job advertised on eFinancialCareers, a mere 2.7 CVs have been uploaded to our system since late March.
Our analysis suggests that comparative skills shortages also exist for specialists in regulatory change, model risk, e-trading, regulatory change, and equity capital markets (ECM). For each currently advertised role mentioning these terms, we have fewer than six recently uploaded resumes in the system. As ever, an ACA accounting qualification will also act as a good differentiator.
At the other end of the scale, which skills won't make your CV stand out now? Much as 'big data' and 'FATCA' are buzzwords of the moment, they won't do much to differentiate you. Nor will being a telecoms media and telecommunications (TMT) banker - even though TMT M&A has been hot all year.
One of the most ubiquitous skills listed on financial services CVs (and one not shown on the chart below) is VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). Nearly 11,000 people in our database cite VBA as a skill, amounting to more than 30 resumes per currently advertised role. If you're expecting your VBA expertise alone to get you a job, you may be disappointed...