Scott Tominaga has worked in the financial world for many years now, mainly as a financial analyst but he has also occupied other positions within this industry. We caught up with Scott to dig deeper into what a career is like in the world of finance and what he recommends that people do in order to forge a career in this sector. During our chat we talked about how most skills within the positions in finance are transferable, but that each requires additional skills in order for people to be successful. Specifically we spoke about the role of an analyst and here are the skills which Scott says you will need if this is a career which you wish to embark on.
Analytical
It almost goes without saying that in order to be a great analyst you must be able to process huge amounts of data in a way that is analytical, where you pick out the key bits and pieces. This takes time, patience and of course the ability to be able to pick through the details of the data that you are reviewing. You must then use these snippets of information to make decisions or predictions based on what you have read.
Confidence
A financial analyst must be confident in what they are doing and they also must be confident of their own abilities. When you report back to your manager or to your team, you must do so with the confidence that you have completed the job to a high standard. Much of the role of a financial analyst is sales and they must sell their ideas, their analysis and their advice to the team that they are working with, in order to do this effectively they must be confident in what they are saying.
Passion for Numbers
Scott remarks that if you don’t love math then you will never succeed as a financial analyst and this is because the large majority of your job involves crunching through huge amounts of numbers. Not only must you understand what the numbers signify, you must also have a raw passion and love for numbers, without this you will greatly struggle in such a position.
Patience
Reviewing such large amounts of data takes time and you may have to review multiple pages of documents and reports before you see anything that is worthwhile. You must also use this information to correlate with what is important to the people for whom you are analyzing and all of this requires a great amount of patience. Although the financial world moves at great speed, you must have the calmness and the ability to take your time in order to get the right information.
These are the skills which you will need in order to work as a financial analyst and without them you may struggle to find success in this field of work.