What skills should a Financial Quantitative Analyst put on a resume?

O*NET rates Mathematics, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, and Active Learning among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Financial Quantitative Analyst list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Amazon Web Services AWS software, Apache Hive, Bloomberg Professional, C#, and C++. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Financial Quantitative Analyst work?

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Analyst, and Quantitative Equity Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Financial Quantitative Analyst need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 60% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Financial Quantitative Analyst role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Financial Quantitative Analyst resume example

A resume for a Financial Quantitative Analyst needs to show the work itself: develop quantitative techniques to inform securities investing, equities investing, pricing, or valuation of financial instruments. Day to day that means work like this: apply mathematical or statistical techniques to address practical issues in finance, such as derivative valuation, securities trading, risk management, or financial market regulation; research or develop analytical tools to address issues such as portfolio construction or optimization, performance measurement, attribution, profit and loss measurement, or pricing models. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Investment Strategist
Portfolio Manager
Quantitative Analyst
Quantitative Equity Analyst
Investment Portfolio Control Consultant
Quantitative Research Analyst
Quantitative Strategy Analyst
Research Analyst
Data Analyst
Equity Structurer
Finance Analyst
Financial Analyst
Financial Engineer
Model Risk Manager
Model Validation Analyst
Predictive Modeler
Quantitative Financial Analyst
Quantitative Model Analyst

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Apply mathematical or statistical techniques to address practical issues in finance, such as derivative valuation, securities trading, risk management, or financial market regulation.
Research or develop analytical tools to address issues such as portfolio construction or optimization, performance measurement, attribution, profit and loss measurement, or pricing models.
Interpret results of financial analysis procedures.
Develop core analytical capabilities or model libraries, using advanced statistical, quantitative, or econometric techniques.
Define or recommend model specifications or data collection methods.
Produce written summary reports of financial research results.
Maintain or modify all financial analytic models in use.
Provide application or analytical support to researchers or traders on issues such as valuations or data.
Devise or apply independent models or tools to help verify results of analytical systems.
Collaborate in the development or testing of new analytical software to ensure compliance with user requirements, specifications, or scope.
Confer with other financial engineers or analysts on trading strategies, market dynamics, or trading system performance to inform development of quantitative techniques.
Consult traders or other financial industry personnel to determine the need for new or improved analytical applications.

21 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Apply mathematical or statistical techniques to address practical issues in finance, such as derivative valuation, securities trading, risk management, or financial market regulation, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Research or develop analytical tools to address issues such as portfolio construction or optimization, performance measurement, attribution, profit and loss measurement, or pricing models, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Interpret results of financial analysis procedures, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Develop core analytical capabilities or model libraries, using advanced statistical, quantitative, or econometric techniques, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Amazon Web Services AWS software
Apache Hive
Bloomberg Professional
C#
C++
IBM Cognos Business Intelligence
IBM SPSS Statistics
Insightful S-PLUS
JavaScript
Linux
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Azure software
Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Excel

36 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Computer data input scanners
Desktop computers
Laptop computers
Mainframe computers
Multi-line telephone systems
Personal computers
Photocopying equipment

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

C++
Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA
Java
Python
R
SAS
SQL
The MathWorks MATLAB
AWS
Apache Hive

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Mathematics
02Critical Thinking
03Reading Comprehension
04Complex Problem Solving
05Active Learning
06Active Listening
07Judgment and Decision Making
08Speaking
09Writing
10Systems Analysis

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Mathematics
Economics and Accounting
Computers and Electronics
English Language

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

60%Master's Degree
35%Bachelor's Degree
5%Doctoral Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Financial Quantitative Analyst do?: Develop quantitative techniques to inform securities investing, equities investing, pricing, or valuation of financial instruments. Day to day that includes work like apply mathematical or statistical techniques to address practical issues in finance, such as derivative valuation, securities trading, risk management, or financial market regulation and Research or develop analytical tools to address issues such as portfolio construction or optimization, performance measurement, attribution, profit and loss measurement, or pricing models.
What skills should a Financial Quantitative Analyst put on a resume?: O*NET rates Mathematics, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Complex Problem Solving, and Active Learning among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Financial Quantitative Analyst list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Amazon Web Services AWS software, Apache Hive, Bloomberg Professional, C#, and C++. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Financial Quantitative Analyst work?: O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager, Quantitative Analyst, and Quantitative Equity Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Financial Quantitative Analyst need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 60% reported their level of education as "Master's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Financial Quantitative Analyst role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.