Risk management involves not just crunching numbers but also understanding and building relationships with every department in a company. So what does it take to build a successful career as a risk manager?
1. First-Hand Experience
Get hands-on experience by first putting your skills to the test and working in a company’s risk management department. This way, you’ll have a perfect understanding of how the process works while learning the basics.
It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the many risk management systems and technology available. Learn something new and add that to your portfolio. Prior to breaking into the risk management market, it is important to go through the ground-zero experience.
2. Problem-Solving Skills
Risk management requires a lot of strategic planning. As you move up the ladder, you’re assigned more responsibilities. This involves creating unique risk management solutions that meet the specific needs of a company. In this case, creativity comes to play.
More so, you’ll need to develop good problem-solving skills. Whenever you’re faced with a task, don’t rush. Take your time and think through the best way to approach the problem.
3. Communication
One of the qualities that make a professional risk manager is understanding significant risks and the business organization’s risk management strategy. Your ability to communicate with the different personnel within the business environment including the employees, managers, and board of directors is important as well. To do this, you need to sharpen your communication skills.
4. Aim Higher
Knowledge acquisition is a continuum. Many professionals in the risk management industry are seeking higher degrees to further boost their knowledge. Apart from that, it adds quality to their resumes.
To increase your chances of becoming a sought-after risk manager, you need to upgrade your credentials to be on par, if not higher, with those of CRO and CEO. In other words, you need an advanced degree.
5. Take a Risk Management Course
As a risk manager or someone looking to follow this career, there are many benefits to taking such a course. Aside from the certification you’ll get, a risk management course will help improve your risk management skills.
Essentially, you can design the perfect risk management strategies and learn how to implement them. Such a plan will also help you see risks in advance that are bound to happen and help you create strategies to prevent or mitigate their effects. A comprehensive risk management course provides a much better understanding of the different types of risks and how to control them.
6. Business Understanding
Risk identification and estimation is another basic skill that you must have. Factor in how the business operates. Also, analyze the different internal and external factors that may likely affect business growth and development. Your ability to make improvements and find a lasting solution to pending issues will set you apart from the pack.
7. Math Skills
Analyzing risks involves the use of numbers especially when calculating estimated risks, costs, probabilities and more. However, you don’t necessarily need to be a mathematician; having at least basic knowledge will go a long way.
Since your profession requires working with a lot of numbers, then you need to be good with calculations.
8. Negotiation Skills
Risk management policies are not easy to create. It takes a lot of time and effort. Before arriving at the most suitable risk management policy for a company, you have to communicate with all the departments in the company to determine the best possible option.
With proper negotiation skills, you can talk to employees and make them risk-aware. One of the great skills you must have as a professional risk manager is the ability to be convincing.
Building a successful risk management career is not an easy task. However, you can get all the support you need to forge ahead by taking a risk management course and building the right skills.
