Dream jobs in financial services

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by Valentina Ilie

In today’s dynamic business landscape, the finance department of shared service centers stands as a hub of diverse opportunities, welcoming professionals from various educational backgrounds. While a traditional finance education may seem like the prerequisite for a career in this field, the reality is far more inclusive. From creative problem solvers to tech-savvy individuals, the finance department offers a plethora of roles suited for talents from diverse disciplines.

Finance is a broad term, but essentially it refers to money management and the activities associated to it, including research and analysis.

The job diversity in the financial services is significant, with jobs available in accounting, procure to pay, regulatory reporting areas, as well as financial controlling, data science, project management and many others.

Clearly, a high percentage of the jobs require an economic background. For the economists, there are employment opportunities like Accounting or Reporting Analysts and Financial controllers’ positions, as well as auditing roles.

However, in our Finance department of Societe Generale Global Solution Centre, which reunites over 470 specialists, there are other career opportunities for which the economic background is not mandatory. One example is the Data science field of expertise, which is becoming increasingly popular because, on one hand, it identifies and predicts trends and, on the other hand, because it actively contributes to increasing the operational efficiency by avoiding risks and potential anomalies or facilitating the remediation of existing anomalies. In this domain, the job requirements are more oriented to the talent, skills, and experience and not necessarily to economic education, even if we are talking about finance data. For example, one of our colleagues started as Romanian and French Teacher and now is working alongside us.

“Even though I am a Romanian and French Teacher, with a background in Customer Support, one of my passions has always been finance. With hard work and dedication, I’ve managed to acquire the skills necessary to work as an Accounting Analyst for 6 years, and then move to a Business Data Designer position in the Finance Shared Service Centre of SG GSC.”, says Georgiana Postoaca, Business Data Designer in Finance Shared Services Center. 

In the era of big data, the finance field relies heavily on data analytics to derive actionable insights. Individuals with backgrounds in mathematics, statistics, or even computer science can excel in roles focusing on data analysis and reporting. Their expertise in interpreting complex data sets and generating meaningful reports adds tremendous value to financial decision-making processes. Also, continuous improvement is at the heart of shared service centers. Professionals with backgrounds in engineering, operations management, or business administration bring a fresh perspective to streamline financial processes. Their knack for optimizing workflows and implementing efficiency-enhancing strategies drives operational excellence within the finance department.

With the constant creation of new tools and new analytical techniques, project management roles took their well-deserved place, with roles like Project and Portfolio Manager. And in the frame of constant changes, Change Management roles are considered essential because they ensure changes are implemented smoothly, focusing on lowering the impact of changes perceived by the employees.

Other roles in the finance industry for which the economic studies are not mandatory, are related to data quality or procurement.

Like in most professions, the only constant in the finance and investment industry is change (Thomas Fitch, 2007), therefore we need to adapt, and even better, to make the most of the available opportunities on the labor market.

So, if you decide that a career in finance is right for you, the Finance Shared Service Centre in Societe Generale Global Solution Centre might be the place where you can find your dream job.

Bibliography: Thomas Fitch, Career opportunities in banking, finance and insurance, 2007, https://www.google.fr/books/edition/Career_Opportunities_in_Banking_Finance/y9xstk6xQiYC?hl=fr&gbpv=1&dq=finance+jobs&printsec=frontcover