14 reasons why employers need to hire candidates who are early in their finance careers

There are important short- and long-term benefits for employers to hire students, recent graduates, and others early in their careers for finance roles. We reached out to 14 hiring experts to get their thoughts:

• Implement Real-World Finance Challenges in Recruitment
• Create Immersive Finance Career Accelerator Programs
• Develop Strong University Partnerships for Talent
• Build Internships Focused on Fiduciary Standards
• Host Practical Finance Bootcamps for Candidates
• Establish Long-Term Campus Recruitment Pipelines
• Prioritize Skills-Based Hiring Over Credentials
• Design Structured Scalable University Hiring Pipeline
• Target Finance-Focused Platforms with AI-Powered Ads
• Launch Rotational Analyst Program with Universities
• Build Strong Internal Recruiting Team
• Engage Early-Career Talent Through University Partnerships
• Conduct Deal Room Sprint for Candidate Selection
• Recruit Tech-Savvy Graduates for Web3 Finance

Implement Real-World Finance Challenges in Recruitment

Having spent almost three decades as an HR professional in a finance company, my best advice would be to build “real-world” challenges into the recruitment process. Instead of just conducting interviews and reviewing CVs, I created finance tasks that mirror what candidates would actually be doing on the job.

We set up a simulated financial analysis project where candidates had to assess a business’s financial health using data we provided. This showed us their actual technical skills and how they think through problems when there’s real pressure.

The best part of such a task was that candidates got a clear picture of what the role actually involved. They could figure out for themselves whether the job was a good match. It also helped us quickly identify who could actually do the work versus who just sounded good in interviews.

The thing is, early-career candidates want to understand what they’re getting into. So when you make the hiring process more hands-on and show them exactly what the job involves, you end up with people who are genuinely excited about the work, not just desperate for any job they can get.

Susan Andrews, HR Consultant, KIS Finance

Create Immersive Finance Career Accelerator Programs

Hiring early-career talent into finance roles — whether for banks, fintech firms, investment groups, or accounting teams — requires more than just reviewing GPAs and Excel proficiency. The new generation of finance professionals expects purpose, digital integration, and rapid growth. Employers aiming to hire at scale must adopt a strategy that not only attracts skilled graduates but also nurtures them into agile, analytical, and compliance-ready professionals.

One high-impact strategy we recommend is creating an immersive Finance Career Accelerator Program specifically tailored to early-career talent. Unlike conventional internships or graduate programs, this model blends paid project-based work, real-time mentorship, soft skills training, and an early leadership track over a 6-12 month horizon. The secret lies in structuring the experience to simulate real finance workstreams while pairing each cohort member with a coach or manager who provides regular feedback loops.

To recruit hundreds successfully, companies should run this accelerator across multiple campuses and leverage both in-person and virtual pathways. Hosting finance-specific case competitions, resume clinics, and hackathons is another powerful way to identify top performers before formal interviews even happen. These touchpoints help evaluate problem-solving, ethical reasoning, and presentation skills.

We worked with a fintech client who needed to onboard 120 new analysts across four regions. Rather than relying solely on job boards, they launched a branded “Future of Finance” accelerator, partnering with university finance clubs, community colleges, and even YouTube creators who teach finance concepts. Applicants were invited to complete a two-week “Mini MBA” challenge involving real-world case studies in payments and fraud analytics. Finalists joined a 6-month rotational program with clear hiring pipelines. The result: 89% retention after one year, a more diverse talent pool (35% from non-traditional backgrounds), and significantly reduced onboarding time because hires came in already trained on internal systems.

To hire dozens or even hundreds of early-career candidates into finance roles, don’t just focus on credentials — build capability. Offer a recruitment experience that teaches while assessing, that nurtures while filtering. When your hiring process mirrors the reality of the work, you create stronger cultural fit, smoother onboarding, and long-term loyalty.

Miriam Groom, CEO, Mindful Career inc., Mindful Career Counselling

Develop Strong University Partnerships for Talent

Focus on university partnerships. Build strong relationships with colleges that have robust finance programs. Offer internships, workshops, and guest lectures. This creates a pipeline of candidates who are familiar with your company and culture. When I was scaling a team, this approach not only brought in fresh talent but also candidates who were already somewhat aligned with our way of working. It’s all about setting the stage early and making your company the obvious choice for top students.

Jack Perkins, Founder & CEO, CFO Hub

Build Internships Focused on Fiduciary Standards

A high-impact approach to hiring early-career professionals into finance is building a systematic internship program focused on fiduciary standards. While markets and portfolio theory are taught to most students, few are taught what it means to be a fiduciary. This deficit of knowledge produces both risk and opportunity.

Companies that offer formal training in ERISA fundamentals, standards of liability, and ethical investing can become industry leaders in a niche that’s expanding in terms of complexity. Interns gain real-life experience with client meetings, retirement plan analysis, investment due diligence, and compliance activities. They exit with knowledge and background, two assets most new hires don’t possess.

This method is particularly effective when scaled. Companies can collaborate with universities, business schools, and law schools to bring in high-potential interns from any discipline. A legal studies major who has an appreciation for fiduciary risk could be a better long-term contributor than a finance major with technical expertise only.

After a summer of full immersion in fiduciary work, interns return as the best possible candidates for permanent positions. They understand your process, your risk strategy, and your client expectations. More significantly, they’ve absorbed the fiduciary frame of mind: client-oriented, transparent, and legally defensible.

For companies with group retirement plans or institutional assets under management, this method ensures that your future generation of advisors will not merely comprehend investments; they’ll comprehend their duty.

Alex Langan, Chief Investment Officer, Langan Financial Group

Host Practical Finance Bootcamps for Candidates

Running finance bootcamps turned out to be one of the most effective recruiting strategies we’ve used for early-career hires. We hosted short, hands-on sessions that focused on practical financial skills like market analysis, risk modeling, and regulatory insights. These weren’t dry lectures; they felt more like problem-solving labs where participants could roll up their sleeves and get involved.

The format made it easier to spot candidates who were genuinely curious, eager to grow, and well-matched with our company culture. Many of those who joined the bootcamp later became full-time hires. The shared experience helped build early trust, made interviews more natural, and gave new team members a running start once they came onboard. Bootcamps gave us talent with both technical ability and cultural alignment.

Jeffrey Zhou, CEO & Founder, Fig Loans

Establish Long-Term Campus Recruitment Pipelines

One highly effective recruiting strategy for hiring large numbers of early career candidates into finance roles is to build and nurture long-term partnerships with targeted universities and colleges, especially those with strong business, economics, and accounting programs.

Instead of relying solely on job boards or generic outreach, establish campus recruitment pipelines. This means collaborating with career centers, sponsoring student finance clubs or case competitions, offering guest lectures, and providing real-world experiences like internships, mentorships, or shadowing opportunities. These efforts create early brand recognition and trust among students — critical when competing with bigger names in the industry.

For example, a mid-sized financial services firm I worked with partnered with three universities, offering a structured summer internship that fed directly into their full-time analyst hiring program. Within two years, over 60% of their junior finance hires came through this pipeline — fully trained, culturally aligned, and ready to grow.

Additionally, streamlining the selection process matters. Use scalable tools like pre-assessment platforms, virtual interviews, and automated scheduling to handle volume without sacrificing candidate experience. But keep a human element — early career professionals value personal feedback and mentorship.

In short, treat recruitment as a long-term investment, not just a hiring event. Build relationships, offer meaningful opportunities, and position your company as a place where young finance professionals can launch their careers with purpose and momentum.

Andrew Izrailo, Senior Corporate and Fiduciary Manager, Astra Trust

Prioritize Skills-Based Hiring Over Credentials

I would suggest re-orienting your hiring framework toward skills first, instead of classic pedigree markers. Instead of screening candidates based on GPA or which university they attended, develop real-world exercises that reflect the work of the job, such as analyzing a data set in Excel, building a discounted cash flow model, or writing a short investment memo. This approach will not only bring in more hidden gems from non-target schools, but it also provides you with tangibles to demonstrate how far along the bell curve your talent is on the ability to think critically and adapt. The trick is to test for the skills you actually need, not the credentials that are only suggestive of potential.

Kevin Huffman, Day Trader| Finance & Investment Specialist/Advisor | Owner, Kriminil Trading

Design Structured Scalable University Hiring Pipeline

One recruiting strategy I recommend for employers hiring dozens or even hundreds of early-career candidates into finance roles is to build strong partnerships with universities and professional organizations and design a structured, scalable hiring pipeline.

Start by identifying schools with strong finance, accounting, or business programs, and invest time in building relationships with their career centers, professors, and student groups. Host workshops, case competitions, and info sessions to position your company as an attractive place to start a career. This not only increases your visibility but also lets you assess candidates in a more authentic, interactive way.

Next, create a clear, efficient recruitment process that can handle volume without losing the personal touch. Use technology — like ATS platforms and video interviews — to screen candidates quickly, but also have touchpoints where you connect with them on a human level to keep them engaged.

Finally, focus on what early-career talent cares about: growth opportunities, mentorship, and a clear path forward. Show them how they’ll learn and advance, and you’ll stand out.

We’ve seen that when you invest in relationships and offer a meaningful career journey, candidates respond enthusiastically — and retention improves, too.

Harlan Rappaport, Co-Founder, Hire Overseas

Target Finance-Focused Platforms with AI-Powered Ads

When we needed to bring in a large number of fresh talent into our financial advisory division, programmatic job ads powered by AI helped us scale, but the real shift came when we stopped treating ads like broad announcements. Instead of casting a wide net across general job boards, we directed our ads toward finance-focused platforms, places where students and graduates already spend time learning or exploring industry insights. It made a quiet but consistent difference. The applications started coming in from individuals who understood terms like debt-to-income ratio and amortization even before the first interview.

Afterwards, we began paying closer attention to where those candidates were actually showing up online. It wasn’t just job sites, but also career sections of university portals, finance podcasts with ad slots, and newsletters from student finance societies. The AI tool gave us speed, but we had to guide it with details that came from our own hiring history. Once we did, the results felt more personal, with less noise and more people who genuinely cared about the finance world.

Brian Quigley, Founder & Loan Consultant, Beacon Lending

Launch Rotational Analyst Program with Universities

One very successful strategy is to have a strong university pipeline linking to a rotational analyst program. Have target schools focused on solid finance or business-oriented programs so that you keep your presence through internships, campus events, and alumni engagement. Then, top interns are funneled into a structured 12-24 month rotation across all of the key functions of finance, such as FP&A, treasury, or risk, among others. This approach can scale nicely, as it creates loyalty early and gives you time to assess fit before candidates are placed in permanent roles.

Nathan Barz, Financial Advisor, Management Expert, SEO Founder and CEO, DocVA

Build Strong Internal Recruiting Team

For employers looking to hire a large number of early-career candidates, it starts with building a strong, adaptable internal recruiting team. In the finance industry especially, success depends on more than just filling roles. Building a successful recruitment pipeline to contribute value for young professionals is required. A well-structured internal team facilitates consistency in candidate experience, from conducting outreach to fast-turnaround interview processes. This kind of alignment not only accelerates hiring but also strengthens your employer brand, helping you attract and retain top-tier early-career talent at scale.

Peter Reagan, Financial Market Strategist, Birch Gold Group

Engage Early-Career Talent Through University Partnerships

One effective recruiting strategy is to build partnerships with universities and colleges that have strong finance programs. Employers can participate in career fairs, offer internships, and host workshops or events to engage directly with students. By creating a presence on campus, companies can connect with a large pool of early-career candidates, showcase their corporate culture, and identify talent early. Additionally, leveraging online platforms like LinkedIn or job boards that cater specifically to graduates can help scale recruitment efforts while targeting candidates actively seeking finance roles.

Robbert Bink, Founder, Crypto Recovery Services

Conduct Deal Room Sprint for Candidate Selection

Conduct a two-week Deal Room Sprint, a paid simulation of underwriting, covenant checks, portfolio reporting, and CRM hygiene. We anonymize real loan data, auto-score accuracy, speed, and judgment, and feed it to 300 applicants. The top quarter of performers are then invited to panel interviews.

This system has reduced interview time by 70 percent, increased year-one retention to 88 percent, and produced analysts who become productive within less than 30 days. Candidates prefer the openness of this approach, and it provides pure, comparable metrics, rather than inflated GPAs.

Jeffrey Hensel, Broker Associate, North Coast Financial

Recruit Tech-Savvy Graduates for Web3 Finance

One recruiting strategy I recommend for Web3 employers hiring dozens or hundreds of early-career finance candidates is to shift focus from traditional finance backgrounds to graduates with coding skills and a genuine passion for technology.

Web3 finance roles differ fundamentally from traditional ones. Success requires understanding Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains, smart contracts, tokenomics, and DeFi protocols. Candidates must navigate decentralized systems, interpret complex on-chain data, and adapt quickly to regulatory changes. Strong analytical, technical, and communication skills are essential.

We’ve partnered with pioneering crypto accounting firms that are true innovators in the Web3 space. One standout client has expanded their graduate intake by prioritizing graduates proficient in Python, SQL, or VBA, or eager to develop these skills. They combine this with structured training on UK GAAP, IFRS, emerging crypto accounting standards, and professional qualifications such as the ICAEW ACA.

This forward-thinking approach is building agile, high-performing teams capable of developing proprietary real-time audit software, delivering proof-of-reserve audits every few seconds, and supporting hundreds of Web3 clients from top-tier crypto exchanges to cutting-edge DeFi platforms. The result? Rapid growth, relentless innovation, and unwavering client trust.

Employers scaling early-career hiring should build partnerships focused on future-ready technical professionals, design roles blending coding and finance, and provide mentoring on Web3 fundamentals. 

In Web3 finance, success isn’t about traditional profiles; it’s about versatile, tech-savvy individuals ready to shape the future of decentralized finance. This strategy drives innovation, agility, and competitive advantage for scaling companies.

Penny Sommerfeld, Director, RecruitBlock