If you have your sights set on reaching the top of your profession, you will need to show commitment and expect to work hard to get there – no one became a CFO by just waiting for it to happen! Here are some top tips you should consider to help you take your career in finance to the next level.

Consistently overachieve

In order to move up the career ladder, you need to consistently exceed expectations by beating targets and taking a proactive approach to all your work. In addition to strong technical competence, earning a reputation for being a dependable, capable, hard worker is crucial. Show initiative and take a deeper interest in understanding the business needs that give rise to the projects you are working on. Always try to deliver a little extra on top of what you have been asked for.

Gaining skills for a promotion

It’s possible that in order to gain the right skills to move up in your career, you might need to change roles or move on to a new company. This might be a straightforward promotion elsewhere or a sideways move in order to receive better training and development for the long-term. If you feel that you are not being given the opportunity for growth in your current role, consider how you can change this. Speak to your Page Personnel recruiter to find out more about the options you have for moving organisations.
There are many different routes you can take in your finance career, so think carefully about your ultimate goal and the roles you will need to do to equip you with the right skills and experience to reach the top. Technical knowledge is one thing, but you should also stay aware of the commercial side of the business and gain experience in managing people.

Plan ahead

Make yourself a long-term plan and then set yourself some realistic goals. When do you want to have achieved your next promotion by and what skills would you like to gain through the role? You can use your line manager and your company’s appraisal process to help you shape these goals and set out some practical steps to get you there.

Find good role models

It is important to identify role models who can help you to learn what you need to know in order to progress. Look at the senior people in your company and find out what opportunities there are to learn from their experience. Many companies offer mentoring schemes where trainees can ask senior managers for advice and guidance. You should also consider what you can learn from your peers and your managers – they may have knowledge you can use to develop yourself professionally.
Take the first step, start the search for your next role today, search our finance jobs now.