Tag: skills

Financial Advisor
by James Adam

Qualifications and Skills Required to Become a Financial Advisor


Business

Who is a Financial Advisor?

Financial advisors give financial guidance and counselling to clients like helping them in investing their money in a proper manner to reach their financial goals, generation, and management of money, income tax preparation and more. Various professions such as investment managers, wealth relationship manager, and insurance agents are some of the financial advisors.

Qualifications required to become a Financial Advisor

The minimum qualification required in order to become a financial advisor is a Bachelors degree. A degree in any major is acceptable but a major in finance, accounting, economics, and related fields are desired and have more job opportunities.

In order to advance your career as a financial advisor, you may need a Masters degree. Those who wish to advance their careers or change their careers and don’t have time to attend college traditionally can choose to study online. The online education is more affordable than the traditional one and you can study at whichever university you prefer from anywhere in the world. In order to find suitable colleges online, you can search for the online finance colleges, best online accounting colleges and colleges with related majors.

Skills required to become a Financial Advisor

For every work, a certain skill set is required. A person can’t cook good food if he/she doesn’t have the necessary culinary skills. To be a good financial advisor, the various skills required are good analytical skills, handling stress, being unbiased, be able to explain complex things and situations in a simple and understanding manner.

The person should know how to communicate with people and form a good network. One can’t discuss their financial matters with anyone especially if it’s a huge company or institution and hence a financial advisor should be trustworthy and completely reliable.

You need to do your research and be updated on subjects and news relating to your field which will help you to pave your way in becoming an expert in your profession. The social skills needed are honesty, willingness to learn new things, dedication and determination.

Is a Bachelors degree enough to become a Financial Advisor?

It depends on what type of services you wish to provide as a financial advisor that decides your required qualifications but a Bachelors degree is the minimum qualification. If you wish to obtain a certificate in the field, you must indulge in a coursework related to financial planning and a good amount of experience in the field. The criteria may vary in each country. The certificate is a designation to show that you are knowledgeable in the field. What really matters is your potential and expertise in the field.

Pros and cons of becoming a Financial Advisor

Every job has its own pros and cons. Nothing is perfect in this world but one should know what they are signing up for. Determination and a positive attitude towards failures and struggles will help you become successful in whatever profession you are in.

Some of the pros of this profession are given below.

  • You can be your own boss. You need not work under any firm and can even work from home. The cost to start your own institution or anything as such is very low.
  • You can build up your qualification level easily through online courses which will help you in obtaining a certificate. The degrees obtained from reputed universities will have a great value.
  • If you want to study online, you can go check out the online finance degrees in institutes such as Colorado State University, Capella University and more.
  • This profession lets you keep learning new things.

The cons of working as a financial advisor are mentioned below.

  • It is a profession that involves a lot of stress.
  • In order to get certifications and licensing, there are certain standards for an individual to be eligible. This may take a few years.
  • At first, one may have to work in some company in order to get experience or certification.

In conclusion, being a financial advisor is a reputed job with its own challenges and experiences. It is a good option to pursue education from a reputed institution, as it can give you high rewards and job opportunities.


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by Incredible Planet Staff

Tips for returning to the workplace after a career break


Business

Much like returning to work after a holiday, taking a career break and heading back into the workplace is never easy – especially if you have to find a new job. Whatever your reason for taking a break away from your career, whether it has been a year or more than a decade, it can often feel difficult to jump back into your professional career where you left off and ‘get back into it’.

Often, when trying to find a new job after being away from the desk for a long period of time, it isn’t uncommon to apply to a mass of jobs that are suitable, flexible, local and have a worthwhile pay-packet. However, when the news you hear back is anything but “You’ve got the job!”, your (already) fragile self-confidence is set to decline rapidly even further.

As a result, here are three top tips to aid the transition back into the workplace, to ensure job success!

  • Boost your self-belief before you do anything

Returning to an industry can be tough. When updating your CV, it isn’t unusual to begin comparing yourself to others with more experience, often making you second-guess your own skills and strengths. So, it is important to be clear on your strengths and skills to increase your confidence and stand in good stead against the many other candidates applying for jobs.

One way of doing this is sitting down with a friend or family member and going through what you are good at. Write down at least 5 achievements and the skills you have demonstrated to achieve these successes in your career – examples are highly valuable and show potential employers how you work.

In addition, it is worth updating your skills and knowledge of the industry by taking part in courses (such as Prince 2 training or more specific refresher courses), reading about the current industry news in the news or through social media channels, such as LinkedIn or Twitter.

  • Networking is key

It’s so easy to neglect relationships with your work colleagues when taking a break in your career for a variety of reasons. Let’s face it, sometimes life simply gets in the way. Thus, before you start to meet people in your industry and begin to start the all-important process of networking, it is certainly worth spending time to create the perfect LinkedIn profile and re-connecting with some of your former colleagues.

Once you begin networking, it is helpful to reflect on your career to date, to have a clear, confident answer when you are quizzed by other professionals about your working life, or even for a job interview. Be prepared to outline your work experience and qualifications in the industry before your break, as well as giving a brief explanation of your break (without needing to justify or make apologies – people understand). It is worth also mentioning any relevant study or voluntary work you may have completed whilst taking your career break, and where you are now; what do you want to do now that you plan to return to work?

  • Consider a work placement or ‘returnship’

Everyone knows that experience is key, and the more evidence you have of it on your CV, the better. To avoid drawing attention to the gap in your CV, it is important to be creative and clever, and where possible, as for some help.

Whether this be through getting in touch with contacts from the industry, proposing a short ‘work placement’ or ‘returnships’, freelance or temporary work, it can really help to fill the gap in your CV, which naturally helps to build your network and professional confidence. It may even result in a full-time job.