Career in car finance domain could be quite lucrative and promises high prospects and growth. Those who plan to become auto finance managers could achieve substantial amount of growth within a short span if the targets are fulfilled properly. Auto finance managers are also known as F-n-I Managers and they usually work at different automotive dealership stores to help the sales associates as well customers in finding the best finance options to make the purchasing of a vehicle easy and affordable. To excel in this field of work, the professional must have clear understanding about different business and sales practices associated with auto dealership firms while being perfectly versed with different aspects of the financing and loan procedures.
Working Hours for an Auto Finance Manager
In general, an auto finance manger would work for a minimum of 40 hours in a week. The majority of the working would be during the auto store’s business hours. However, often additional hours (overtime) are required beyond the business hours for processing certain financial applications. The finance managers would most likely work within an office set-up. They enjoy minimal risks and physical demands in order to achieve success in the career.
Education and Experience Matters
When looking for a managerial position in automobile finance, relevant years of experience do counts largely. Also, the right kind of educational qualification would definitely be an asset for the candidate. Anyone planning to make a career in car finance should keep in mind that the entry level positions would never offer higher salary packages. Suitable work experience plays a major role in fixing the job post and salary.
Steps to Become an Auto Finance Manager
There are different ways to qualify for auto finance manager. However, the process could be slightly lengthy for those with minimal level of experience in this field. A fresher or someone with minimal experience in this field should seek jobs concerning entry-level positions for the automotive industry. Most of the entry level jobs in automotive dealership businesses would require candidates having minimum educational qualification as High School Diploma. The candidates need not have to possess any type of experience to apply for the post. The job is mainly of an auto salesperson that allows the candidates to gain the right kind of experience in automotive financing and sales domain. This is the basic step that would ultimately bring out prospective managers. The fresh candidates would normally receive classroom training, on-job training, and mentoring from Ideal Auto USA.
Enroll for Post-secondary Educational Degree
This might well be an optional element, but still pursuing post-secondary degree programs in auto finance or related field could well be beneficial. Some of the courses covered would include dealership accounting, business law, automotive marketing, finance and insurance management. Some specimens of coursework enveloped in such programs consist of dealership accounting, insurance & finance management, automotive marketing and business law. There are also options to enroll for a couple of short-term courses or apply for a detailed degree program and then earn a bachelor’s degree or associate’s degree in automotive management and marketing.
Stepping Towards Success
The right degree along with proper experience in the work field would make it easier for a candidate to move towards managerial position in the automobile finance sector. Also, the career prospects could further improve and rise up for positions of finance director, general manager (sales), and general manager (dealership).
The managing director (sales and finance) for Ideal Auto USA. Presently, he is working as an independent consultant in finance in the automobile industry. This article highlights the prospects to take up career in car finance and ways to reach the top.
