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FinTech companies are companies that use a form of innovation that works to improve the way financial services are delivered. A fintech company is any company that uses a form of technology to enhance and automate their financial services. The main goal of fintech is to streamline processes by eliminating any unnecessary steps for all kinds of end users. If you are someone that’s interested in finance, technology, and computer science, this may be the industry for you.
As this is a growing industry, there are constant changes in the skills needed to succeed in it. However, since it’s a combination of finance and technology, you must have a good understanding of both. If you are someone that’s looking to start and try out a career in this field, you would need to know what interviewers in fintech companies are currently looking for. If you’re interested in working at a fintech company, but do not feel like you have enough of the necessary skills, it’s never too late to acquire new knowledge, especially through online programs or certifications. If you’re someone that’s currently in the process of doing interviews at fintech companies, I put together a list for you of the most in demand skills and what fintech companies are looking for in a potential hire.
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Hard Skills
Blockchain
One of the most important things to have in-depth knowledge about in fintech companies is blockchain. This is important because of the recent increase in demand of cryptocurrencies. Considering that they are relatively new, not many people have enough knowledge about blockchain technology, however, it’s one of the most sought-after expertise in the hiring process for a fintech company. According to a LinkedIn study that was done, the demand for blockchain experts is expected to increase by at least 30% year over year.
Every fintech company needs to analyze and understand a very large amount of data. One of the main ways to stay on top of competition in the fintech industry is through analyzing customer data. A potential hire needs to be able to sort through large amounts of data, identify the important data from it and analyze it and interpret it. To achieve this successfully, you would need to have a good knowledge of certain technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning and Machine Learning.
Cybersecurity
With the development of technologies, especially in fintech companies, new form of criminal activities occurs, typically generated by cybercriminals. These are very dangerous attacks that must be taken seriously because they could they lead to a loss of confidential company and client information. Dealing with the consequences of such thing can take a long time and has an overall large negative impact of fintech companies. Such attacks or data leaks may lead to a negative reputation for the company, increase trust between business-to-business relationships and even employees may be affected as well. Having some knowledge regarding cybersecurity is crucial in a fintech company. Some of these skills include incident investigation, GRC, encryption methods and analytical skills.
There are many resources online that allow you to acquire such skills or enhance them, one great platform to do so is EDX.
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Soft Skills
Problem Solving
Since fintech companies are relatively new, they encounter more problems than other industries. These problems may be due to legal aspects, technological aspects or just issues with other companies. To be considered, a candidate needs to have both analytical and critical thinking skills.
Emotional Intelligence & Communications
Fintech companies are very fast paced, this means that to succeed their employees need to be very emotionally intelligent. This skill is helpful when dealing with clients, businesses and when communicating with other employees. Being emotionally intelligent allows the employees to also develop a collaborative nature and foster an environment of teamwork.
A great resource to developing your soft skills and learning more about them is The Mckinsey website, after you’re done reading the required skills for fintech companies (Mckinsey soft skills blog), go to the EdX website and the Mckinsey blog and learn how to develop and acquire those skills yourself!
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Takeaway
If these are qualities and skills you currently have, or are skills you’re interested in learning, then the fintech world is for you. The growing nature of the industry results in new openings being constantly offered so make sure you’re always enhancing those skills so you finally get your turn in the wonderful world of finance and technology!