Economist and controller CV: example and tips

What employers look for in an economist or controller

Economists work in business, the public sector and organisations, with titles such as controller, business controller, financial controller, project economist and finance adviser. What the roles have in common is budgets, forecasts, analysis and reporting, and helping managers make good decisions. Job ads often ask for someone who is “analytical”, has “good business understanding”, is “good at explaining numbers” and is “strong in Excel”.

Many employers and recruitment agencies use systems that sort applications by the words in the ad. Use the same words as the ad, where they match what you have done. If it says “forecast” and “variance analysis”, both should appear in your CV, not just “financial management”. Selja does this for you when you paste in the ad. Our guide to an ATS-friendly CV explains how these systems read your CV. Most ads in Norway are in Norwegian, so it helps to know terms such as budsjett (budget), prognoser (forecasts) and avviksanalyse (variance analysis). These words come up again and again:

• Budgets, forecasts and rolling forecasts.
• Monthly reporting, variance analysis and KPIs.
• Financial management, cost control and profitability analysis.
• Decision support and sparring partner for management.
• Business controlling, financial controlling and project finance.
• Excel, Power BI, SAP, Xledger, Unit4 or Visma.
• Analytical, structured and good at explaining numbers.

Formal requirements: degrees, titles and authorisations

There is no authorisation needed to call yourself an economist or controller. According to utdanning.no, economist is a collective term for people with higher education in economics and business administration. Employers usually ask for a bachelor's or master's degree in business administration, economics or finance, and some accept long relevant experience instead. Write the degree, institution and year, and mention your specialisation if it fits the job, for example financial management, finance or accounting.

In Norway, a master's degree in business administration can carry the additional title of civil economist on the diploma, if it meets the requirements of the Norwegian Association of Higher Education Institutions (UHR), including 120 credits in business and economics subjects in the bachelor's part. Only use the title if it appears on your diploma.

Some roles close to finance require authorisation from the Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet). A state authorised accountant needs, among other things, at least 60 credits in accounting subjects and two to three years of experience. A state authorised auditor needs a master's in accounting and auditing, at least three years of experience and a passed practical exam. If you hold such an authorisation, show it clearly with the year. Read more in our guide to an accountant CV.

Example of a summary for an economist or controller CV

The summary is the three to five sentences at the top of your CV. It should say who you are, what you can do and what you are looking for. Here is a made up example you can use as a pattern:

Example: “Business controller with five years of experience in retail and manufacturing. Responsible for the budget and monthly forecasts for a division with a turnover of 400 million kroner, and built Power BI reports that the management team uses every week. Enjoys finding the explanation behind the numbers and making it clear for the people who make the decisions. Looking for a senior controller role with responsibility for analysis and business support.”

Replace the numbers with your own, and only write what you can explain in an interview. You will find more examples in our guide to writing a CV summary.

Bullet points with results: weak versus strong

The most common weakness in an economist's CV is bullet points that describe tasks but not their effect. The employer wants to know what happened because you did the job: lower costs, better forecasts, faster reporting or a decision that was made. Start with a strong verb in the past tense, and finish with a number.

• Weak: “Responsible for the budget.” Strong: “Led the budget process for six departments with total costs of 120 million kroner, delivering the budget two weeks earlier than the year before.”
• Weak: “Made reports.” Strong: “Built a Power BI report that replaced 15 spreadsheets, cutting monthly reporting from five days to two.”
• Weak: “Analyses.” Strong: “Analysed profitability per customer and found 40 customers with a negative margin. New price agreements improved the result by 3 million kroner the following year.”
• Weak: “Forecasts.” Strong: “Introduced quarterly rolling forecasts, reducing the gap between forecast and result from 8 to 3 percent.”
• Weak: “Project finance.” Strong: “Monitored the finances of 25 construction projects with a combined budget of 900 million kroner, with monthly reports to the project managers.”
• Weak: “Support for management.” Strong: “Was the regular sparring partner for the sales director, and prepared the basis for the decision to close two unprofitable product lines.”

Skills, systems and courses worth including

Controllers are often judged on the tools they master. “Good IT skills” says very little. Name the tool, what you have built with it and how often you use it.

• Advanced Excel: models, pivot tables, Power Query or macros.
• Reporting and analysis: Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, SQL or Python, with examples of what you have built.
• ERP and finance systems: SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, Xledger, Unit4, Visma or Oracle.
• Specialist areas: financial management, investment analysis, project finance, IFRS or public sector accounting principles.
• Courses and certifications with name and year, for example in Power BI or financial management.
• Languages: Norwegian and English, especially if you report to a parent company abroad.

Recent graduate, or many years as an economist

If you are a recent graduate, your master's thesis, your subjects and what you did alongside your studies show what you can do. Give the topic and method of your thesis, and mention subjects that fit the job. Internships, summer jobs in banking, auditing or accounting, and roles as treasurer in a student association are worth including, ideally with the budget you were responsible for. Also show which tools you know, such as Excel and Power BI. Our guide to a CV for recent graduates has more advice.

If you have many years as an economist, the effect on the business is what sets you apart. Highlight results for costs, margins and decisions, management responsibility and large projects, for example introducing a new finance system. Cut older roles down, and keep the CV to two pages. Many recruiters look for economists on LinkedIn, so make sure your profile says the same as your CV. Our guide to your LinkedIn profile shows how.

Common mistakes in an economist or controller CV

Most mistakes come down to numbers that are not allowed to tell a story. Look out for these before you send your CV:

• Tasks with no effect, such as “responsible for reporting” without saying what the report led to.
• Large numbers with no context. Say what the number refers to, for example turnover, costs or budget.
• Too much jargon. The CV is often read by managers who are not economists.
• Long lists of systems without saying what you did in them.
• Confidential figures from previous employers. Use percentages, rounded numbers or scope instead.
• The same CV for business controller and financial controller roles, even though they look for different things.

Tailor your CV to every finance job with Selja

A business controller role asks for business understanding and working with sales and operations. A financial controller role asks for month end closing, consolidation and IFRS. With Selja you paste in the job ad and upload the CV you already have, and in under a minute you get a professional, ATS-friendly CV and cover letter tailored to the job, with the keywords where they match what you have done. Selja never adds experience or skills you do not have, and asks you if the ad wants something your CV does not show.

It is free to start: check your CV for free for an honest review the way a recruiter reads it, or take a free ATS check against the ad. With Pro you also get Job match, which gives you a score from 0 to 100 for how well you fit the job, and you can compare job offers and see their value per year. See pricing, or get started.

The application and next steps

The cover letter for a finance job should show that you understand the business. Say why you are applying there, how you meet the most important requirements, and give an example of a result you are proud of. See our example of a job application for a template.

The interview for a controller role often includes a case, an Excel test or a question about explaining a variance to a manager. Read our guide on how to prepare for a job interview, and practise with the interview questions. Before you negotiate, check the level with the free pay check and read our guide on how to negotiate your salary.