Financial Analyst resume keywords
Most financial analyst applications are screened by software before a person reads them: the ATS ranks resumes by how many of the posting's words they contain. The lists below are the terms that show up most in financial analyst job ads. Use the ones that are true for you, with the same spelling the ad uses.
Hard skills and ATS keywords
- Financial modelling
- Excel (advanced)
- SQL
- Power BI
- Forecasting
- Variance analysis
- SAP
- Budgeting
- Financial modelling
- Forecasting
- Budgeting
- Variance analysis
- Excel
- DCF valuation
- FP&A
- SQL
- Power BI
- Board reporting
Soft skills recruiters look for
- Analytical thinking
- Attention to detail
- Business partnering
- Communication
- Integrity
Soft skills only count when a bullet proves them. "Team player" is ignored; "Rebuilt the quarterly forecast model, improving accuracy from 88% to 97%." shows it.
Action verbs to start your bullets
- Modelled
- Forecast
- Analysed
- Identified
- Reduced
- Built
- Presented
- Improved
How to use these keywords
- Mirror the job ad: if it says "Financial modelling", do not write a synonym.
- Put the top 6–8 in a skills section and repeat the key ones inside experience bullets with a number.
- Never list a skill you cannot talk about in an interview.
- Keep the file text-based (no skills inside images or tables), or the ATS cannot read it.
Which ones is your resume missing?
Every posting is different. Paste your resume and the job ad — free ATS Match Score Score your resume free (0-100)
No signup. It lists the keywords from the ad that your resume does not contain.
Need the resume itself? See the financial analyst resume example and generate one free from rough notes.