Before hiring an economist, you need to clearly understand whether you need such a specialist in principle.
If your company is not very large and belongs to a medium or small business, then only good services will be enough for you.
However, if you are involved in a large business, then the question of choosing the right candidate for the responsible position of economist-analyst should be approached with all seriousness.
First of all, it is necessary that education be obtained in a respected and self-respecting educational institution. And not at the recently opened faculty of a university, which initially had nothing to do with economics.
Very often, such faculties are opened by institutes or local universities to receive money. And, more often than not, low-grade accountants come out of such universities, and not economists, who were originally assigned to this specialty by their parents.
If you doubt the authenticity of the applicant's diploma, then this will not give you big problems... Since 2014, there has been a Federal Register of Higher Education Diplomas, in which, through an electronic request to the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, you can obtain the necessary information about the document provided.
As for the length of service, it is better for you to hire a specialist who previously worked at an enterprise of the same level as yours. If you are not ready to take young specialists for training. But the latter must be done either independently or with the help of the existing analytical department.
Examining a resume: qualities and skills
When viewing a candidate's resume, you will need to pay attention to the exact name of the specialty.
This is necessary, since there are a lot of areas of economic education..
And, for example, if you need an economist for an enterprise where you need to work with equipment and complex calculations, it is better to look for an economist-engineer.
Or, if there is a need for a specialist with knowledge of jurisprudence or another field, this is also worth paying attention to.
Questions and approximate answers to them
Now let's take a closer look at the next part: an interview for an economist, questions.
There is a list of questions that can be used to determine the level of knowledge of the candidate. What is asked in an interview with an economist? Usually all questions can be divided into three categories:
- basic - one without which you will not be able to hire a person;
- medium - the applicant will be able to work for you, but subject to additional training;
- high - you found the one you were looking for.
- what is the difference between profit and profitability;
- what is the break-even analysis;
- what ratios belong to the group of financial stability ratios;
- costing based on actual costs;
- cost estimation method;
Profit is an absolute value, and profitability is calculated as a percentage.
Analytical study of the relationship between costs and incomes at different levels production.
The coefficient of autonomy, the coefficient of the ratio of borrowed and own funds, the ratio of the ratio of mobile and immobilized funds, the coefficient of maneuverability, the coefficient of provision with own funds.
It is a costing method that includes the actual direct costs of materials and labor and production overheads in the cost of production.
A method of accounting in which costs are credited to WIP accounts and are debited from inventories of finished goods, rather than actual costs.
Thus, based on the above, it becomes clear to the candidate what an economist needs to know at an interview. And the recruiter now has an idea of what questions to ask an economist at an interview.
Here are some examples test items multiple choice.
If we talk about tasks, then the most in a simple way test the knowledge of the candidate will give him the task to write several formulas and build several graphs in Excel.
If the applicant does not have such skills, you can safely refuse his candidacy. You can also try to test the general intelligence of a person by asking him several tasks for quick wit and thinking outside the box.
Examples of Thinking Tasks:
Example 1
Draw 4 liters of water if only two cans are available: one for 3 liters and the other for 5 liters.
The first option is to take a full five-liter jar and pour a part into a three-liter one - 2 liters will remain. Then pour out all the water from a three-liter jar and pour the remaining 2 liters of water in the large jar there. Then refill the five-liter jar and pour a portion into the three-liter jar. Since the small jar is already partially full, only one liter will fit in, and the large jar will have 4 liters. Problem solved. 4
The second option is to type the full three-liter jar and pour it all into a five-liter. Then pour out all the water from the large jar and pour the liter of water remaining in the small jar into it. Then refill the three-liter jar and pour the water into the five-liter jar. This makes 4 liters. The problem has been solved.
Example 2
Several children stayed for an after-school day. One of them drew very well and quickly, in the end the teacher gave him the task: to draw all those students who cannot draw themselves. The boy thought about it and could not understand whether he needed to draw himself:
If he can draw himself, then he shouldn't;
But if he does not do this, then he must draw himself.
What should a boy do?
Ask a clarifying question to the teacher.
This problem creates a situation in which there is no solution, because there are no additional conditions due to which a meaningful answer could be found. And with its help, you can see if the economist knows how to determine how much data will be enough for him to solve the problem.
Do not forget also about general issues, which are asked in most interviews and give an idea of, for example, marital status and personal qualities and preferences of the candidate.
It should be borne in mind that the work of an economist involves a lot of time and confidentiality of most information about the company. Therefore, the hired candidate should speak well and competently, but not be inclined to talk.
Assessment of the candidate after the interview
After you've interviewed an applicant for the position of economist, it's worth re-weighing the pros and cons based on the overall impression of the applicant during the interview. 
Factors such as:
- - it is best if there are clothes close to the classic office style;
- - calm and restrained, with competent speech without unnecessary talkativeness;
- level of knowledge - it is good if the person answered most of the questions related to his specialty, and also does not apply to those who can quickly leave your company under the influence of circumstances.
For example, you should be careful if you are facing too young a man who has not served in the army and has not received a white ticket, or a young girl who has recently married and plans to have children.
The information presented in this article is only a basic and minimal guide to action when hiring an economist. It is best to entrust this work to competent HR specialists who have enough experience and knowledge. Well, candidates now have an idea of what interview questions for an economist can take place.
Thanks to their skills, HR will help weed out the majority of applicants who are not suitable for such a responsible position. It is also advisable to conduct an independent additional check, since in the personnel department you will be given an initial interview of an economist. And the level of knowledge and skills can be determined only by those who are well versed in the required specialty.
Today, the profession of an economist is one of the most demanded and promising professions in the world. Economists are needed in any company, from small businesses to multinational giants. The work of an economist is universal and mainly concerned with working with numbers and vast amounts of data.
What does an economist do
What does an economist do and what does he do? Depending on the specialization, he may be assigned various responsibilities, although the main task of any specialist in this industry is to collect data on the company's activities, analyze them, as well as plan and forecast further steps. For example, labor economists calculate wages, planners make plans economic activity enterprises, finance specialists manage the company's budget, monitor flows Money and keep records of them, sales economists are responsible for the supply of goods, accounting experts draw up the balance sheet of the enterprise and document all financial transactions carried out by the company, a specialist in banking work with securities and financial statements.
Any economist should have knowledge not only in economic sphere, but also in legal, statistical, informational.
Without knowledge of the current legislation, it is impossible to carry out activities related to the accounting of finances and their planning with high quality and without risk. Without the ability to work with statistical information and draw conclusions based on today's data, it is impossible to plan future activities taking into account the factors that can influence it. An economist must be able to think and analyze.
Development information technologies, on the one hand, greatly facilitated the work - various programs automate most monotonous processes, but on the other hand, an economist must have advanced skills in working with a computer and a separate software... Therefore, one of the basic disciplines taught in universities is computer science.
Knowledge of of English language.
English will not only help you get a job in a prestigious foreign company, but also allow you to get acquainted with the latest information published mainly in English-language literature. English will allow you to be in an advantageous position over your competitors, for whom learning this language has remained an insurmountable obstacle.
Well, the last thing that is literally vital for any economist is developed logical thinking. Those who are more successful in this field of activity are those who are characterized by high organization, attentiveness, adherence to order, emotional stability and strict self-control.
It is not worth counting on a high salary after graduation. Without work experience, the monthly salary is unlikely to exceed $ 400-500. With 2 to 5 years of experience, the salary rises substantially - from $ 800 to $ 1,500. Not the last place is occupied by the scale of the company's activities: in international organizations the salary is much higher.
Do not miss:
Pros and cons of the profession of economist
Advantages:
- a universal profession, a competent person can realize himself without problems;
- professional knowledge and skills will help in starting your own business.
Disadvantages:
- practice shows that working with numbers is routine and boring;
- high competition in the labor market, especially tangible for inexperienced university graduates.
It is advisable for a yesterday's graduate of the university to immediately decide in which area he will move up the career ladder. There are quite a few directions: accounting, financial management, marketing, analytics and others. The diversity of economic education allows you to move from one niche to another, which contributes to career growth.
A specialist diploma allows you to start working as an ordinary economist in small company, and in the future take the position of manager. The apogee of the profession is the position of the managing director, who, in fact, is fully responsible for the development of the company, the level of income and competitiveness.
An economist, who is he and what he does, it is worth turning to the concept of "economics". Economics is a science economic activity and everything connected with it. Thus, the profession of an economist implies the study, analysis and forecasting of the economic activity of a particular economic entity. It is economists who are responsible for financial efficiency the work of the enterprise.
In many ways, the profession of an economist is close to such professions as accountant, financier, and marketing. In small enterprises, the duties of these specialists can be performed by the same employee, whose position will most likely be called an accountant. Large enterprises usually have entire economic departments, which can also be called planning or commercial.
Only a person with a specialized education can hold the position of an economist, since an economist needs to understand many things to work. So, just necessary good knowledge accounting and management accounting, audit, economic theory, marketing, statistics, analysis of financial and economic activities. Knowledge of tax and labor legislation will be useful. In addition, an economist must understand the specifics of the enterprise, understand its nuances.
Obligations of an economist
The main duty of an economist is to analyze the economic activity of his enterprise according to a number of indicators. Such analysis provides an opportunity to look at the activities of the organization through numbers. This makes it possible to identify strong and weak sides, find reserves for increasing the efficiency of the enterprise and its specific structures.Another of the most important is making a forecast for the future period, based on today's indicators. Planning is necessary for management accounting purposes. Based on the data received from the economist, the head of the enterprise makes such management decisions, whether the enterprise has a loan (in what amount and for how long), whether to reduce or recruit employees, whether to increase additional production capacity etc. The economist receives information for analysis and planning from special forms of accounting and operational accounting.
If explain in simple words, an economist, then his activities are aimed at improving the efficiency of the enterprise, at reducing costs and increasing income.
I am an economist by profession. And in this article I want to tell you who an economist is, what he does and what responsibilities he performs at modern enterprise... Someone. and I know about this profession not by hearsay.
My father was always against me writing. Both he and his mother are accountants and economists by profession. The same future awaited me. Now, many years later, I can say “thank you” to my dad, because I found myself writing about business, accounting, economics and finance. If the "blood of an economist" had not been running in my veins, you most likely would not have read this article.
So, now I will tell you what an economist does, how much he earns, and I will reveal the secrets of high earnings in this area. At the very end of the article - a video about which economists graduate from universities in our country.
Why the words "economist" and "save" are not interconnected in any way
People study to be an economist for 5 years. All this time, information is being “poured” into their heads, which in practice will most likely not be useful to them (may my head of the department not be offended). In fact, I apply in best case 5-10% of all knowledge acquired at the university.
Undoubtedly, you need to get a higher education. Only in this way will a person who will have many years of work for a “stranger's uncle” learn discipline. Well, for overall development"Tower" will not hurt. However, my husband has a secondary specialized education, and he somehow lives! And how many more people did not receive higher education and have made significant progress in life.
So what's in practice? V educational institutions an economist is taught to analyze and save. When a young specialist comes to work, he realizes from the first days that everything that he is now doing has nothing to do with saving.
Why it happens? In universities we are being prepared for a certain "ideal" business, in which all processes are established, all personnel sit in their places and each one performs his functions. Those. in fact, we are being prepared to fulfill job description in their specialty. By the way, according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, upon employment, you must be presented with this document for review. For all the time I was working, I read and received the job description only when I myself performed the duties of a personnel officer (that is, I “stupidly” printed it out and signed it to myself).
No job description - no fixation of your duties. Therefore, if you are an economist, you will do everything, but not save money: keep track of SIM cards for corporate communications, prepare a presentation for the CFO's speech, send payments and answer calls. I immediately imagine a certain six-armed Goddess who does not understand what.
No one needs savings
Another reason an economist will never do economics in an enterprise is that there is no need to do so. Although, most likely, there is a need, but everyone is used to "going with the flow", no one wants to change anything. And this is due, first of all, to the lack of initiative of employees, and secondly, to the fear of department heads of losing their home place.
This has been happening to me for five years. I have been working as an economist / managerial accountant for 5 years. By the way, in work book it was written “accountant for wages”, But these are nuances, they took me just to the economist.
And every time my awl ... gave me no rest and forced me to come up with something to improve the situation at the enterprise, to simplify my work and the work of colleagues, they made me understand that it was better for me to sit and not twitch. And why? Probably because:
- They were afraid and did not want to change anything;
- The leaders saw in me a competitor who was really capable of moving them.
Once the top management noticed my desire to fulfill my direct duties in the profession. And I even became a "favorite". But everyone else hated me. Next, the top manager was replaced, and I was forced to resign.
Therefore, if you want to bring real benefits to the enterprise, you will not succeed. At least, I have never met such businesses where an economist would really save.
Mission NOT feasible - job description of an economist
But even if there are firms in which economists actually perform their duties, then in 90% of cases they have never seen their job description either. And this is great, although it violates the law! And this is good because if you see her at least once, you immediately want to quit. It is not realistic to perform all the functions that are listed in it. We can only hope for competent leadership, which will indicate the real responsibilities in it.
Let's see what functionality a true economist will have to perform according to the job description:
Goosebumps, right? I can already see how many who wanted to become an economist went to pick up their documents from the university. Better to be a janitor!
In fact, the devil is not so terrible as he is painted. First, it is general instruction for economists of all profiles: planning and economic department, department of labor and wages and others. It is also more suited to manufacturing economists. A marketing research economists do not do it at all, for this now there are marketers.
All duties are listed in encyclopedic words, therefore, difficult for the perception of "mere mortals" specialists. Therefore, it is important to look not so much the job description as the real functionality that the employer proposes to perform. Usually it is briefly listed in the vacancy. For example:
But this is closer to the topic. And it doesn't sound so intimidating. But you can find requirements for this profession even more remote from the economy:
This is, in fact, the functionality of a PC operator.
What is the economist doing? TOP 10 actual duties of an economist in a modern enterprise
What is the economist doing? Now I will tell you what duties are performed by economists at the enterprise in fact:
- Management accounting.
I think it’s no secret that many enterprises conduct shady activities. In this case, the indicators of accounting and management accounting are very different. So, management accounting, more often than not, is designed to take into account precisely the "dark side of the moon".
- Drawing up management reporting.
Based on the results of management accounting, reports and analytical notes for the management are periodically compiled. This view reporting is extremely important for the enterprise, because final and intermediate performance indicators enable management to make decisions about further development enterprises.
- Budgeting and planning.
Usually, if a specialist is engaged in budgeting at a large enterprise, then he deals only with it, because consolidating indicators for all types of activities and departments is not an easy task. You need attentiveness, perseverance and sociability, tk. constantly have to interact with the heads of these departments.
- Collection and processing of information.
Quite often, tasks come from management to collect certain data. For example, collect information about the costs of cellular communication for Last year for all divisions. Based on this data, decisions will be made to change tariffs or even a mobile operator. And also employees who exceed communication limits will be punished.
- Cost calculation.
This primarily concerns production. The essence of the work is to collect all the main costs, both direct and indirect, in order to determine the final cost of a unit of production.
And
- Loan portfolio management.
It has become very popular to instruct the economist to keep records and loans at the enterprise. For large firms, they amount to millions and even billions. It is necessary to track the timing of payments, prepare documents for the bank, provide them with the necessary reporting. Also, these specialists work with leasing and insurance companies.
- Control over the activities of departments.
If the company has many separate subdivisions in different regions countries, as well as abroad, it is impossible to do without control of their activities. I instruct the economist to analyze the main indicators of the activities of the departments and draw conclusions about the need to take certain measures.
- Analysis of the main financial indicators.
The employee calculates profitability, break-even and other-other indicators that characterize the activities of the enterprise in a certain time period.
- Development and feasibility study.
Most often, these documents are developed for third-party organizations - banks, investors, lessors, just like that, no lender will provide a loan.
- Performing other tasks of the management.
Of course, I indicated this list of responsibilities based on my personal experience work at enterprises different spheres activities. In fact, for each individual enterprise, the functions of an economist can be very different.
Why should an economist know accounting
My father never tired of repeating: "He can always become an economist, but an economist as an accountant is unlikely."
The fact is that an economist in his work very often has to deal with the analysis of information on accounting accounts and registers. Therefore, when you, conditionally, are told to collect revenue according to the accounting data, you should know that the revenue from the sale of goods is reflected on account 90.01.
For an accountant, do this work will not be difficult. But an economist, not knowing the basics of accounting, will not be able to complete this task.
Accordingly, an accountant will be able to do the job of an economist, because the analysis of activities is not a problem for him. Again, because he knows accounting and one way or another the accountant has to deal with the functions of an economist in his work.
How to Become a Highly Paid Economist - 5 Secrets
Of course, you can work as a specialist all your life for 20-30,000 rubles and not bother. But my advice to you is to invest in your training and development. Specialists who have completed additional courses receive much more.
It's hard for me to speak for all regions of our vast Motherland, but for Moscow and Moscow region I can say for sure, it will be easier for you to find Good work, If you know:
- English / Chinese.
- IFRS - international standards financial reporting.
- Financial modeling.
- Budgeting and planning.
- Excel on professional level: from the most complex formulas to pivot tables.
How much economists earn
The salary of an economist depends on the field of activity, his knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as on the region in which he works. On average in Russia, an economist receives about 40,000 rubles. But this is also the average temperature in the hospital. Here is the tablet in which I compared average earnings economist in different regions of Russia:
Average earnings of an economist in different regions of Russia in 2018
The regions with the highest salary for this profession are shown in the graph:
As we can see, the North and Moscow are in the lead.
Is it possible to become an economist without a specialized education
I know at least three people who did not graduate from a university as an economist, but now they are working in this area.
One of them is mine cousin... She studied in the evening department at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering as an engineer. The first few years she worked as a PC operator at her own university, then moved on as a PC operator in a rather large company... There she decided to try herself as an economist, the leadership went forward. Now she is the Head of the Planning and Economic Department in a very large corporation in the South Urals.
Another friend was generally a tram cleaner. Then I decided to take courses as an accountant. Several years of work as an accountant gave her the opportunity to get a job in the accounting department of a large retailer. I don't know how it happened, but at first she became an economist, and now she is a CFO Separate subdivision in your region. In general, if you want, you can fly into space!
The most important thing is not to be an economist like in this video:
I hope now you understand who an economist is: what he does and how much he earns. I can only add that you will not find a good economist in the daytime with fire. Therefore, learn and improve your skills. And then you will be appreciated, and, accordingly, you will be well paid. If you liked the article, do not forget to like and put stars! Thanks!
Don't forget to download my "Secrets of a Successful Start in Business", it will definitely come in handy!
Also subscribe to my group in contact:
Economists are in demand in companies where it is required to control costs, correctly calculate funds, where a constant analysis of the economic activity of an enterprise is required. Features of the profession, duties and limits of liability require from an economist a special set of personal qualities, professional skills and knowledge, the presence of which contributes to career success, and the absence, accordingly, harms.
What kind personal qualities need an economist?
Competence in the profession, of course, is more important than the psychological traits of the employee, however, the employer pays attention to them too. A person can know his profession quite well or even surpass it far. necessary minimum However, if he does not possess a number of necessary personal qualities, and, therefore, does not work for pleasure, his productivity is unlikely to be impressive. Even worse, it can negatively affect the rest of the team.
Let's try to draw up a generalized portrait of an economist, formulating it into a list of characteristic personal qualities. So a typical economist:
- assiduous, neat and attentive. The profession requires intense and painstaking work, most often related to work with papers and calculations;
- has an analytical mind and a scrupulous mathematical and logical thinking, knows how and loves to work with numbers;
- knows how to quickly concentrate in any situation;
- emotionally stable, because activities are often associated with stress, urgent preparation of reports, analysis of large amounts of information in short time;
- principled, honest and responsible. Otherwise, a professional economist, constantly tempted by his proximity to financial flows, can quickly turn into a good scammer.
What should an economist know?
If the listed personal qualities can be called necessary for any economist, then in terms of knowledge and skills, the common thing for all economists is, in fact, higher economic education, then the set of knowledge and skills depends on the corresponding directions... For financial management, one thing is needed, for analytics - another, for statistics - a third, for an accountant - a fourth, etc.
Nevertheless, let's try to outline the general minimum of knowledge for a typical economist. So, he should know:
- the procedure for the development of financial annual plans and various business plans;
- clearly know and follow the order and time of all financial statements;
- the procedure for the development of materials for financial, labor costs;
- market-based farming methods, all technologies used in production;
- all methods economic analysis and statistical accounting;
- an economist must determine the economic efficiency of new technologies introduced into production;
- all the rules for the design of materials when drawing up contracts;
- all methods and methods of carrying out computational work;
- accumulated foreign and domestic experience in the rational organization of the economy in market conditions;
- labor law norms.
What should an economist be able to do?
- The economist must own foreign languages, and knowledge of the English language is often, if not a prerequisite, then significantly influencing the level of salary.
- An economist must be fluent in a computer and all software necessary for work (more often these are 1C products). Due to the fact that all calculations in modern realities have long been carried out using a computer, and not a wooden account, computer science is one of the main and mandatory disciplines in economic universities.
- The economist must understand all the intricacies of planned economic work.
- The economist must be familiar with all the accounting records.
- An economist must understand all complex legal acts, orders and orders.
- An economist must be able to defend the interests of his company.
Before entering the economic specialty, you need to decide on what exactly attracts in economics and business, to choose a direction that corresponds to personal interests and qualities. The admissions offices of economic universities will help you make your choice. In addition, large economic universities, such as, for example, Financial University, often hold open days for applicants, where applicants can get all the information of interest and make the right decision. Contacts of the selection committee and announcement of events for applicants can be found in the relevant sections on the websites of educational institutions.