The Perfect CFO Resume Writing Tips

Do you want to apply for a CFO position to help you get closer to your career goals? Applying for jobs on Seek, LinkedIn, and other job boards can be a time-consuming process, however, to streamline the process, you can ensure your resume writing helps you to stand out from the crowd, and your online profile helps you to get an interview!

If a recruiter or hiring manager are looking for a CFO, they are searching for specific transferable skills. With less than ten people being interviewed for the job and hundreds of people, just like you, applying, The Perfect Resume team have created Resume Writing Tips to help you stand out from the others.

What do recruiters look for in a CFO resume or an online profile?

Tailoring your resume to a CFO position is mandatory today to ensure that your application will pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). In doing so, your resume will be read by the prospective employer. Then, fingers crossed, you will be shortlisted as a potential candidate and be called for not one, but multiple job interviews!

Firstly, before you apply to be a CFO, you need to be acquainted with what a CFO does!

CFOs handle the company or organization’s finances.

Hiring Managers are looking for a results-driven CFO to assist in assessing financial risks and opportunities and managing lower-level financial managers. They also help set and track financial goals, objectives, and budgets.

To be successful as a CFO, you should have knowledge of necessary corporate procedures, be open to learning, and have strong communication skills. Ultimately, a high performing CFO should be able to achieve financially sound balance sheet and resolve company fiscal and regulatory matters.

Knowing this, your resume and online profile should include the hard and soft skills that the recruiter or hiring manager is looking for in a candidate.

The CFO position description template will also contain pivotal information about what the candidate will need to do daily. Such as:

• Assisting with high-level decisions about policy and strategy.
• Recruiting new staff members when necessary.
• Overseeing the company’s fiscal activity, including budgeting, reporting, and auditing.
• Assuring legal and regulatory documents are filed and monitoring compliance with laws and regulations.
• Identifying and addressing financial risks and opportunities for the company.
• Supervising financial reporting and budgeting team.
• Reviewing financial reports for ways to reduce costs.
• Working well with Chief Marketing Officer, CEO, and COO to develop the strategic plan.

You will also have some requirements and personal attributes that you will need to demonstrate in your resume to ensure your potential employer will take your application seriously, such as:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline, master's degree, or MBA.
• Experience in a senior management position.
• Strong financial and accounting background, including an understanding of profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow management, and general finance and budgeting.
• Experience with corporate governance.
• Proven negotiation skills.
• Experience with budget management, public accounting, and cash flow.
• Ability to understand new issues quickly and make wise decisions.
• Ability to inspire confidence and create trust.
• Ability to work under pressure, plan personal workload effectively, and delegate.

You may also want to do some industry research to find out what other companies want in their CFOs.