Financial Managers

People in this career often have these skills:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

People in this career often do these activities:

• Analyze financial records to improve budgeting or planning.
• Approve expenditures.
• Direct financial operations.
• Establish interpersonal business relationships to facilitate work activities.
• Supervise employees.
• Monitor flow of cash or other resources.

• Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets.
• Prepare reports related to compliance matters.
• Maintain regulatory or compliance documentation.
• Analyze forecasting data to improve business decisions.
• Recruit personnel.
• Communicate organizational information to customers or other stakeholders.
• Analyze financial records to improve efficiency.
• Recommend organizational process or policy changes.
• Prepare operational progress or status reports.
• Analyze risks to minimize losses or damages.
• Analyze financial records or reports to determine state of operations.
• Direct organizational operations, projects, or services.
• Determine pricing or monetary policies.
• Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
• Negotiate sales or lease agreements for products or services.
• Coordinate operational activities with external stakeholders.

• Marketing Managers

• Sales Managers

• Compensation and Benefits Managers

• Human Resources Specialists

• Accountants and Auditors

• Financial Examiners

• First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers

• Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents