According to the Brewer Morris salary survey, 64% of those who responded received a pay rise in the last 12 months, while 72% received a bonus. As treasury skills become more sought-after it’s a good time to be in treasury.
So started a lively and informative evening on treasury careers. Rachael Crocker from Brewer Morris began the evening by speaking to ACT members about key trends in treasury recruitment.
Having established where new roles are being created, how do you ensure you stand out from the crowd?
Rachael suggested:
Is there a right time? How do you prepare yourself for a role change? A lot depends on the role and the organisation.
It doesn’t look good if you change jobs every year as your CV needs to show commitment to an organisation and ideally, progression within the organisation. Equally, you have to balance this with ensuring that you don’t stay so long that you no longer develop yourself or learn new skills.
If you want to stay in your company look to take on new projects or do a secondment – these can help you develop your skills without having to leave. But if the time is right for you to move on it’s worth following these rules:
A lot of these sentiments were echoed in the panel discussion that followed between Frances Hinden at Shell, Gary Williams at Mitsubishi and Mike Taylor at Accelerating Experience Limited.
The discussion was wide ranging and honest, and the panel recommended following these career management steps:
The audience was keen to learn what skills are highly sought, based on the panel’s experience, and how to ensure this comes across in both a CV and during an interview.
Although this depends on the company and the role there were two key themes in the discussion.
For the final session the audience were asked to choose between a session on interviewer or interviewee techniques. Mike Taylor led the interviewee session and started with an interactive debate on what comprises a successful presentation.
There are 3 aspects to a presentation:
However, there is wide variation as to how important these aspects are.
Research has shown that content accounts for just 8% of the impact you make, with language counting for 37% and demeanour 55%.
So during an interview you need to think about how you are presenting yourself – what image do you want to impart, how do you build rapport and show interest; and what language are you using – remember to listen well and make conversation (not just answer questions).
Storytelling will help you to demonstrate what YOU can bring to the role. Focus your CV on what is right for the role and tailor it to the position. Show your key achievements, not just your job description. In the interview use the STAR method to answer questions (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Show the headline and then the evidence – try to avoid leaving the punchline to the end. Make sure you show how you are different – what is your point of difference’. This could be a personal achievement, qualifications, or how you build and use your external networks.
People skills are fundamental to success. Developing your leadership skills is now essential to developing your career.
My thanks go to all the speakers for their time and insightful contributions. I would like to thank Brewer Morris for supporting the event and Simmons and Simmons for providing the venue.
[su_box title="Find out more" box_color="#51284F" radius="1"]For information about the ACT’s mentoring scheme please go to www.treasurers.org/cpd/mentoring and for online courses/news articles/podcasts and webinars on professional development visit the ACT Career hub.[/su_box]
