Optimise or fade away: Why Financial Services careers demand relentless innovation

In today’s financial services industry—whether in Wealth Management, Capital Markets, Asset Management, or Investment Banking—standing still isn’t an option. Career success now depends on mastering 8 interconnected areas of optimisation, each requiring constant work.

Among the most critical is value enhancement: the ability to expand your skills, experiences, and impact so that you remain indispensable. With the arrival of AI reshaping how deals are made, portfolios managed, and clients served, professionals who embrace this change will lead the future. Those who don’t risk being left behind.

Career Optimisation

At Career Mentor, we believe there are seven pillars—or forces—of career optimisation. They are: having an effective plan; value enhancement and innovation; marketing; sales; finance and legal; production; and finally, network. Do any of those sound like the elements of an effective business? They should, because our ethos is that these categories must all be worked on constantly to ensure the health and progress of any career.

Value Enhancement

There’s nothing new about the idea that any professional needs to add to his or her skills. As long ago as 1989, Stephen R. Covey published The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. One of those habits was ‘Sharpen the Saw’. He argued that one must continuously renew oneself through learning, growth, and self-care.

From our point of view, this remains entirely valid—perhaps even more so given the accelerating pace of change driven by technological advancement.

The arrival of AI

With that context in mind, you may see the arrival of AI—and the changes and disruptions to roles and responsibilities it will bring—as a huge opportunity for your career. Embracing AI, learning how to use it, and pivoting the way you’ve operated so far may well give you a significant career advantage.

Mindset

This brings us to the importance of a career optimisation mindset: one that allows you to adjust your plan to match new realities, or those just over the horizon, and pivot accordingly. Many entrepreneurs found that their businesses flourished during Covid—or, more accurately, because of the new reality Covid created. That mindset can and should be applied to the way you drive your career forward.

The human edge – Mastering EQ, influence, and client relationships

As powerful as AI undoubtedly is, it simply cannot replace person-to-person contact. It may streamline client relationship processes and even generate sales scripts, but nothing can replace genuine human interaction. I suspect this aspect of commerce will become even more important.

Skills in sales, influence, emotional intelligence, and ‘reading the room’ will become increasingly critical. These should be prioritised within your Value Enhancement category of improvement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are several areas that must be worked on to optimise your career. Value enhancement is one of them. Combined with a mindset that allows you to adapt to changing circumstances, it will take you a long way. AI can be seen as a catalyst for change—one you can choose to embrace.

What do you think? Have I missed anything? Please let me know in the comments. If you’re thinking about how you can drive your career forward, let’s talk. You can use this link to book a call.