What Is Financing And Is It Good For Me?
Are you fascinated by the math or statistics courses you took in the past? Do you feel that you are solving problems creatively using a digital approach? Do you want to help companies plan to increase revenue or maintain profitability in the short and long term? If so, then a major in finance may be right for you.
What is a finance major?
Financial planning, investment decisions, and cost analysis/containment are all different aspects of what you can and will learn as a finance specialist. As a finance specialist, you will study the performance of companies in the past to predict their future performance and learn how to communicate insights that lead to strategic change. Many of your assignments will be project-based, whether it's individual case studies to strengthen your problem-solving skills or group presentations to practice interacting with others. Common courses in this field include accounting, economics, mathematics, and psychology.
Is this suitable for me?
Finance is an exciting specialization with many career opportunities. Contrary to popular belief, it is also a major that requires analytical skills and a healthy dose of creativity. Most importantly, it helps you develop multiple skills at once, giving you a great opportunity to be successful in various industries after graduation from recent graduates. Here are some questions to ask yourself when deciding whether a finance major is right for you:
- Am I interested in mathematics and statistics?
- Am I a creative problem solver and can I overcome challenges by proposing innovative solutions?
- Want to know how we can help your company increase revenue?
- Do you have the ability to communicate clearly and effectively to express your thoughts?
If you answered yes to all of the above, becoming a financial professional may be right for you.
What Can I Do With a Finance Degree?
Funding as a field of study is quite broad and offers many career options. These include:
- Bank investment
- Management consulting
- Investment management
- Business Finance
- Accounting
- Crisis management
- And more...
If you are interested in how a company allocates its finances, corporate finance could be your goal. If you are fascinated by financial markets, how people create investment portfolios, and how to create and maintain wealth, investment management may be the way to go. If you want to know the odds and statistics and how they relate to your business decisions, risk management might be the way to go.
What do finance majors earn?
The salaries of finance majors vary widely depending on the careers they choose to pursue. While accountants can earn an average salary of $63,000 per year, management consultants can earn an average of $86,000 and investment bankers can earn upwards of $250,000.
What Motivates You?
Some of the most common interview questions can also be the most challenging to answer. “What motivates you?” is a deceptively simple one. It can give your future employer a sense of your aspirations and long-term goals. It can paint a picture of why you get up in the morning and what makes you tick. How you choose to answer this question can either give a hiring manager a compelling reason to remember you or it can unintentionally leave you looking uncertain, or worse, indifferent. This question can make or break your job interview, so here are a few key insights to consider as you prepare to answer:
What motivates you?
Reflect
If you try to find an answer to this question on the spot, you're probably selling yourself short. This is an opportunity to demonstrate strong self-awareness and requires thoughtful reflection to get the right answer. A helpful strategy can be to think about the times in your life when you felt the most driven and inspired, whether in a previous internship, in your classes, on a sports team, or as part of another extracurricular activity. Personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator can also illuminate new ways to identify and articulate your passions and strengths.
For example, if you find that you are most motivated while prepping for final projects or getting ready for a championship game, you can share that having clear and ambitious end goals is important to you. It can be equally essential to reflect on what activities or spaces leave you feeling discouraged or unmotivated. Taking the time to identify these energy drainers can help you avoid work settings that may not be a good fit, particularly if you’re looking for your first entry-level job and are still trying to understand the type of job that will work best for you.
Honesty
Hiring managers can quickly tell if you're honest about your motivation. General answers such as "I love working with others" are easily forgotten. Many reactions that attract attention may seem fake. You are more persuasive when you are authentic. Look at the job description and pull out what you are genuinely excited about. If you’re eager to work on a close-knit team and you see that this role has highly collaborative project management, that’s a great place to dive in. Alternatively, if you get energy from being around others, but this job has you doing predominately independent work like data analysis, that’s something you need to consider carefully.
Keep it concise, positive and connected. “What motivates you?” is a broad question, so it can be tempting to rattle off a long list of things that get you excited to wake up in the morning, but a compelling response will be succinct, grounded in previous accomplishments, and connected to the job at hand. Curate a list of two to three key motivators accompanied by-
1) a specific example of when this motivated you and
2) how you see this playing out in the job that you’re applying for.
Say something like: “I’m very motivated when doing work that positively affects others’ lives. As part of the community service that I do on campus, I had the opportunity to come up with a service project with other team members, and I found that I’m at my personal best when I have the chance to be both creative and service-oriented. I’m excited to see that this job also focuses on fostering a service-oriented mindset.”
Pro Tip: Whatever you say, don’t say money. Salaries are certainly important, but money should never be the primary motivating factor that you share in an interview.
Below are some potential motivating factors and ways to connect what motivates you to job descriptions:
Bringing out the best in others → Example: Laterally managing teammates to their greatest potential
Creative expression → Example: Innovating new solutions to complex problems
Working in teams → Example: Encouraging collaborative practices across teams and departments
Making a difference → Example: Upping the standards for inclusive processes Winning or competing → Example: Setting and achieving ambitious goals in ambiguous contexts
Self-reflecting on the front-end and identifying what truly motivates you will not only narrow down your job search to a list of more meaningful opportunities, but it will also help you feel confident walking in on interview day.