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Personal Financial Advisor resume example

A resume for a Personal Financial Advisor needs to show the work itself: advise clients on financial plans using knowledge of tax and investment strategies, securities, insurance, pension plans, and real estate. Day to day that means work like this: interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan; analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives. 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.

  • Certified Financial Planner
  • CFP
  • Financial Advisor
  • Financial Planner
  • Portfolio Manager
  • Financial Consultant
  • Financial Counselor
  • Financial Life Planner
  • Investment Advisor
  • Wealth Advisor
  • Wealth Manager
  • CFA
  • Investment Rep
  • PWM Associate
  • SRI Advisor
  • Account Manager
  • Asset Analyst
  • Asset Manager

O*NET records 40 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.

  • Interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan.
  • Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives.
  • Answer clients' questions about the purposes and details of financial plans and strategies.
  • Review clients' accounts and plans regularly to determine whether life changes, economic changes, environmental concerns, or financial performance indicate a need for plan reassessment.
  • Manage client portfolios, keeping client plans up-to-date.
  • Recommend to clients strategies in cash management, insurance coverage, investment planning, or other areas to help them achieve their financial goals.
  • Recommend financial products, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or insurance.
  • Implement financial planning recommendations, or refer clients to someone who can assist them with plan implementation.
  • Contact clients periodically to determine any changes in their financial status.
  • Prepare or interpret for clients information, such as investment performance reports, financial document summaries, or income projections.
  • Explain to clients the personal financial advisor's responsibilities and the types of services to be provided.
  • Investigate available investment opportunities to determine compatibility with client financial plans.

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.

  • Interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Answer clients' questions about the purposes and details of financial plans and strategies, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
  • Review clients' accounts and plans regularly to determine whether life changes, economic changes, environmental concerns, or financial performance indicate a need for plan reassessment, 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.

  • ACT! ACT4Advisors
  • Advent Axys
  • AdviceAmerica AdvisorVision
  • Advisory World ICE
  • ASI Client Acquisition Solution
  • Asset allocation software
  • Automatic Data Processing ProxyEdge
  • Brentmark Stock Option Risk Analyzer
  • Cabinet NG CNG-SAFE
  • Cheshire Financial Planning Suite
  • ComplianceMAX
  • Corel QuattroPro
  • Cygnus IncomeMax
  • DataViz Beyond Contacts

102 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.

  • 10-key calculators
  • Desktop computers
  • Notebook computers
  • Personal computers
  • Personal digital assistants PDA
  • Tablet computers

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.

  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • SQL Server
  • Microsoft Visual Basic
  • Salesforce
  • SQL
  • Swift

What this job rates as most important

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

  1. 01Active Listening
  2. 02Reading Comprehension
  3. 03Speaking
  4. 04Writing
  5. 05Critical Thinking
  6. 06Complex Problem Solving
  7. 07Judgment and Decision Making
  8. 08Mathematics
  9. 09Service Orientation
  10. 10Social Perceptiveness

Knowledge areas

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

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Economics and Accounting
  • English Language
  • Mathematics
  • Psychology

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.

  • 58%Bachelor's Degree
  • 23%Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.
  • 12%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Personal Financial Advisor do?
Advise clients on financial plans using knowledge of tax and investment strategies, securities, insurance, pension plans, and real estate. Day to day that includes work like interview clients to determine their current income, expenses, insurance coverage, tax status, financial objectives, risk tolerance, or other information needed to develop a financial plan and Analyze financial information obtained from clients to determine strategies for meeting clients' financial objectives.
What skills should a Personal Financial Advisor put on a resume?
O*NET rates Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Writing, and Critical Thinking 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 Personal Financial Advisor list?
Software recorded for this occupation includes ACT! ACT4Advisors, Advent Axys, AdviceAmerica AdvisorVision, Advisory World ICE, and ASI Client Acquisition Solution. 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 Personal Financial Advisor work?
O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Certified Financial Planner, CFP, Financial Advisor, and Financial Planner. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Personal Financial Advisor need?
In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 58% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Personal Financial Advisor 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.