Some of the most sought after career options available to individuals in the 21st century lies in the Marketing and the Finance domain. People do often feel and believe that these are two different domains with no correlation between them. However, that might not be the case to be. Many experts believe that the passion for marketing might just provide the candidates with an extra edge and impetus, when they are working to actually create a career in the financial domain.
It is essential to have a degree or a certification, to start building a career in any of the two industries. Pursuing an MBA from a renowned university, with a specialization in Finance, will add weightage to your profile, and make it more lucrative for a recruiter.
If you’ve already pursued your graduation and financial constraints make it difficult to invest in a degree, other options can be explored. Many finance executives around the world these days, consider CFA or FRM certification to be the ideal substitute for an MBA in Finance, taking in perspective the growth opportunities on offer.
There is a plethora of difference in the two fields. The same goes with the skills that you need, to grow in them. Since a job in the financial domain includes a lot of number crunching, knowledge of accounting, financial analysis, internal auditing and so on, are essential.
Marketing skills do not really need the math-oriented skills to a great extent, and are on the other hand, more people oriented. They require knowledge of each- social media, online channels of marketing, product marketing, offline channels of marketing and development, and the art of conducting market research.
Today, all the functions of an organization are inter-linked- Human Resources, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Administration, Strategy, Consulting, among others. As far as the relation between the Finance and the Marketing goes, to put it in simple words, the finance department safeguards the financial resources for the marketing department. Thus, Finance constitutes the logical and the analytical face of the business, while marketing constitutes the creative one.
Thus, this makes us return to the focus of the article, that is, how to bring the synergies of the Finance and the Marketing domains together and bring out the best in each!
One can thus find a solution to the conundrum by comparing and studying the job descriptions. For this one can find a job portal, look for the various opportunities available and see if your passion and skills can be better utilized to suit the needs and requirements of a particular company’s opening.
Lack of communication between the Finance and the Marketing departments can often lead to lack of coordination between the two departments, thus, eventually hindering the overall organization’s objectives. As an executive who is proficient in both finance and marketing, you possess the skills needed to breach the gap, and better facilitate the communication process between the two departments.
Having the relevant skills can take you in the right direction in your financial career, however to attain real success it requires more than just having the relevant skills. If you truly wish to stand out at work and your job, spotting of financial risk and initiating steps to mitigate the risks form a very crucial part of the entire equation.
It is equally essential to be able to predict opportunities in the business environment with the objective of maximizing gains. An in-depth and a detailed knowledge of how the market operates are invaluable. The passion for marketing will not only help you spot the trends and the patterns that financial experts might miss out on.
At a time when leading organizations around the world, look for expertise of various backgrounds in their candidates, if one truly desires to excel in any industry, they need to be adept with knowledge and concepts of not just theirs but other domains and industries as well. In such situations, an executive with knowledge of finance, marketing, market research and strategy forms a perfect fit and candidate for companies.
Marketing will help you improve on your communication and interpersonal skills. Marketing revolves around trying to understand the needs and wants of the clients. Thus, finding ways to fill the gap between their needs and wants and maximizing the utility they derive from products and services. This is a value that each executive needs to inculcate to grow, and who really knows how to succeed at it better than a marketer!
Bringing the creative element to your financial career will assist you to view situations from a new perspective and approach.
The ability to handle two diverse fields will also imply that you can bring the financial know-how into the mix, created by the synergies of the two. You will find innovative and creative manners to utilize your financial expertise in the marketing department.
To sum it up, having a zeal for marketing, but a desire to have a career in the financial industry proves that you are aware of what you’re talking about. While there is no denial, that marketing might assist you bring out the best of your creative and intuitive abilities, Finance will definitely pay you better. The two fields are extremely closely related, thus using experience gained from one and applying it to the other is not as difficult as it seems, till you continuously remind yourself of the differences of each.