Most Important Skills for an Associate Finance Manager at Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin Associate Finance Manager Chris highlighted communication as "very very important," especially when bridging the gap between engineering and financial leaders. Strong organizational skills, critical thinking to navigate "a lot of gray area" in decision-making, and proficiency in Excel and business intelligence tools like Tableau are also crucial for success in this role, according to Chris.
Communication, Organization, Critical Thinking, Financial Analysis, Data Analysis
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Chris Seifert
Associate Finance Manager
Lockheed Martin
CU Boulder
UCLA - MBA
Business Management & Admin
Aerospace, Aviation & Defense
Finance
Scholarship Recipient
Video Highlights
1. Excellent communication skills are crucial for interacting with high-level leaders and bridging the gap between finance and engineering.
2. Strong organizational skills are essential for managing multiple tasks and providing timely updates.
3. Critical thinking and problem-solving abilities are needed for navigating ambiguous situations and making sound financial decisions. Proficiency in Excel and other business intelligence tools such as Tableau or Alteryx is a significant advantage.
Transcript
What skills are most important for a job like yours?
For me, communication is very important. My job and group are somewhat unique because we have a lot of face time with very high-level leaders, like vice presidents, directors, and their staff.
They also come from an engineering background. Our job is to bridge that gap for them, helping them manage their financial performance and understand financial rules as clearly and concisely as possible. This communication piece is key when interfacing with them.
I would also say a strong sense of organization is important. Historically, I haven't been the most organized person, but this job has been a trial by fire. You have 10 to 20 different things happening daily that you need to track and keep tabs on.
You need to know where things are in the process and if you need to follow up. Often, vice presidents or directors will ask for a status update on the spot. Having a good system and being organized in general will set you up for success in a job like this.
Next, I would say critical thinking skills are crucial. A lot of what we do involves gray areas, and we have leverage to make our own decisions.
For example, when the government is involved, we have to decide if we can bill them for a certain type of cost or if we bill materials to one part of the government or another. There's a lot of decision-making where critical thinking skills come into play. You have to think through the scenario and the impact of your decisions.
Lastly, as far as hard skills, Excel is a must. It's a given that if you're in finance, you need to be good at Excel. However, our company is leaning more towards tools outside of Excel, like Tableau and Alteryx. These business intelligence software types are slowly being adopted.
So, any extra skills in these areas are definitely a bonus when we're hiring.