The Investment Banking Cover Letter Template You’ve Been Waiting For
A long time ago I said that we would never post a cover letter template here:
“I was tempted to post a Word template, but I don’t want 5,000 daily visitors to copy it and to start using the same exact cover letter.”
But hey, we already have resume templates that everyone is using, so why not go a step further and give you a cover letter template as well?
Plus, “investment banking cover letter” is one of the top 10 search terms visitors use to find this site – so you must be looking for a template.
The Template & Tutorial
Let’s jump right in:
- Investment Banking Cover Letter Template (Word 2003)
- Investment Banking Cover Letter Template (Word 2007-2010+)
- Investment Banking Cover Letter Template – PDF
And here’s the video that explains everything:
- View Large Version
- Download Large Version
- Download iPad Version
- Download iPhone Version
- Download iPod Version
- Download the MP3
And if you’d rather read, here’s the text version:
Do Cover Letters Actually Matter?
At bulge bracket banks people barely read cover letters.
Cover letters matter 10x less than resumes and 100x less than networking.
But there are a few special cases where they’re more important:
- Boutiques and Local Banks – Sometimes they actually read cover letters.
- Unusual Backgrounds – If you’re NOT in university or business school at the moment, you may need to explain yourself in more detail.
- Outside the US – In Europe, for example, some banks claim they pay more attention to cover letters, online applications and so on.
Similar to grades and test scores, a great cover letter won’t set you apart but a poor one will hurt you – so let’s find out how to avoid that.
Overall
Keep your cover letter compact and avoid 0.1″ margins and size 8 font.
With resumes you can get away with shrinking the font sizes and margins if you really need to fit in extra information, but this is questionable with cover letters.
Go for 0.75″ or 1″ margins and at least size 10 font.
With resumes there were a couple different templates depending on your level – but with cover letters that’s not necessary and you can use the same template no matter your background.
1 Page Only
Ok, maybe they do things differently in Australia (just like with resumes) but aside from that there is no reason to write a multi-page cover letter.
If you actually have enough experience to warrant multiple pages, do it on your resume instead and keep the cover letter brief.
Contact Information
List your own information – name, address, phone number, and email address – right-aligned up at the top.
Then, below that you list the date and the name and contact information for the person you’re writing to, left-aligned on the page.
If you don’t have this information you can just list the company name and address and use a “Dear Sir or Madam” greeting.
That’s not ideal – especially if you’re applying to smaller firms where cover letters actually get read – but it’s all you can do if you can’t find a person’s name.
If you’re sending the cover letter via email as the body of the email, you can omit all this information and just include the greeting at the top.
Paragraph 1: Introduction
This is where you explain who you are, where you’re currently working or studying, and how you found the bank that you’re applying to.
Name-drop as much as possible:
- Impressive-sounding university or business school? Mention it. Even if it’s not well-known, you still need to mention it here.
- Your company name, especially if it’s recognizable, and the group you’re working in, especially if it’s something relevant to finance like business development.
- How you found them – specific peoples’ names, specific presentations or information sessions where you met them, and so on.
- The position you’re applying for (Analyst? Associate?) – especially for smaller places that are not well-organized.
This first paragraph is all about grabbing their attention.
Example 1st Paragraph:
“My name is John Smith and I am currently a 3rd year economics major at UCLA. I recently met Fred Jackson from the M&A group at Goldman Stanley during a presentation at our school last week, and was impressed with what I learned of your culture and recent deal flow. I am interested in pursuing an investment banking summer analyst position at your firm, and have enclosed my resume and background information below.”
Paragraph 2: Your Background
You go through your most relevant experience and how the skills you gained will make you a good banker right here.
Do not list all 12 internships or all 5 full-time jobs you’ve had – focus on the most relevant 1-2, once again name-dropping where appropriate (bulge bracket banks / large PE firms / Fortune 500 companies).
Highlight the usual skills that bankers want to see – teamwork, leadership, analytical ability, financial modeling and so on.
If you worked on a high-impact project / deal / client, you can point that out and list the results as well.
This may be your longest paragraph, but you still don’t want to write War and Peace – keep it to 3-4 sentences.
Example 2nd Paragraph:
“I have previously completed internships in accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers and in wealth management at UBS. Through this experience working directly with clients, analyzing financial statements, and making investment recommendations, I have developed leadership and analytical skills and honed my knowledge of accounting and finance. I also had the opportunity to work with a $20M net-worth client at UBS and completely revamped his portfolio, resulting in a 20% return last year.”
Paragraph 3: Why You’re a Good Fit
Now you turn around and link your experience and skills to the position more directly and explain that leadership + quantitative skills + accounting/finance knowledge = success.
There is not much to this part – just copy the template and fill in the blanks.
Example 3rd Paragraph:
“Given my background in accounting and wealth management and my leadership and analytical skills, I am a particularly good fit for the investment banking summer analyst position at your firm. I am impressed by your track record of clients and transactions at Goldman Stanley and the significant responsibilities given to analysts, and I look forward to joining and contributing to your firm.”
Paragraph 4: Conclusion
This part’s even easier: remind them that your resume is enclosed (or attached if sent via email), thank them for their time, and give your contact information once again so they don’t have to scroll to the top to get it.
Example 4th Paragraph:
“A copy of my resume is enclosed for your reference. I would welcome an opportunity to discuss my qualifications with you and learn more about Goldman Stanley at your earliest convenience. I can be reached at 310-555-1234 or via email at johnsmith@fake.com. Thank you very much for your time and consideration.”
Unusual Backgrounds
These examples cover how to apply to a bank if you’re in university, business school, or you’ve been working for several years.
If you have a more unusual background (e.g. you went to med school, graduated, started your residency, but then decided you wanted to be an investment banker), then you might need to add a few sentences to paragraph #2 or #3 explaining yourself.
Resist the urge to write your life story because no one will read it – interviews are a much better venue to prove how committed you are.
Email vs. Attachments
If you’re emailing your cover letter and resume do you create a separate cover letter attachment?
Or do you make the body of your email the cover letter?
I think it’s redundant to create a separate cover letter and attach it, so don’t bother unless they ask specifically for a separate cover letter.
If you’re making the body of your email the cover letter, make it even shorter (4-5 sentences total) and cut out the address bits at the top.
Optional Cover Letters?
If you’re applying online and it says “Optional Cover Letter” should you still upload one?
You might as well because it takes 2 minutes once you have a good template – it’s not the end of the world if you don’t include one, but you never know what everyone else is doing and it’s not terribly time-consuming.
Cover Letter Mistakes
Remember the role of cover letters: great ones don’t help much, but poor ones get you dinged.
The biggest mistakes with cover letters:
- Making outrageous claims (“I’m a math genius!”) or trying to be “creative” with colors, pictures, fonts, and so on.
- Going on for too long – 10 paragraphs or multiple pages.
- Listing irrelevant information like your favorite ice cream, your favorite quotes from Wall Street or Boiler Room, and so on.
If you think this sounds ridiculous, remember the golden rule: do not overestimate the competition.
For every person reading this site, there are dozens more asking, “What it’s like to be an investment banker?” at information sessions.
Sometimes you hear stories of people who write “impassioned” cover letters, win the attention of a boutique, and get in like that…
…And I’m sure that happens, but you do not want to do that at large banks.
If you do, your cover letter will be forwarded to the entire world and your “career” will be destroyed in 5 minutes.
More Examples
As with resumes, there are hardly any good examples of investment banking cover letters online.
Most of the templates are horribly formatted and are more appropriate for equities in Dallas than real investment banking.
Here are a few examples of slightly different but also good templates you could use:
- Workbloom – Investment Banking Intern Template
- Vanderbilt – Cover Letter Template
- Best Cover Letters – MBA Template
More questions? Ask away.
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A nicely put article! Anyway, I like the new template for the website too!
A question that is unrelated to the article:
How far does an interviewer expect you to know in a previous live deal that you were previously involved in as an INTERN?
I mean really, to be fair, often times, even if interns are being put into live deals, they are only doing menial works (including me), such as researching, data mining, presentation slides building, etc.
How far of financial analysis would the interviewer expect you to know?
Also, in terms of financial modeling, you’ve said it before that it is the kind of work that everyone should want to be exposed to. But what if the financial modeling is not for a live deal, but for a potential deal? Would it still look better than the menial works in live deals?
Thank you! You have no idea how helpful you have been.
They expect you to know what you indicate you know… so don’t set expectations very high. And yes any type of modeling work is better than menial tasks
Thank you for the cover letter template.
“If you’re making the body of your email the cover letter, make it even shorter (4-5 sentences total) and cut out the address bits at the top.”
Do you mean we should drastically cut down the entire 4 paragraph cover letter into 4-5 sentences?
Yes, make it so they don’t have to scroll much (if at all) when reading on a Blackberry. 1-2 sentence intro, 2 sentences on your work experience and how it makes you fit for the job and then 1 sentence conclusion.
nice template, it sure will be easier for internationals like me to write one now. thanks.
I’m currently a rising junior at a semi target looking to be a SA next summer. This past summer I interned at a discount brokerage firm but had significant responsibilities (they didn’t have to hire an additional broker because of me) and got a lot of experience and face time with clients.
I have an opportunity to apply for a PWM internship for the fall with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Should I continue with my current internship through the fall or would it look better to move to the more distinguished name? I imagine the work would be similar. thanks
Go to the better name
so do you expect the same stats as what you have written for the resume template? A given population, and a limited percentage will download it, and even a limited percentage will copy it word for word?
Cheers, thanks for all the great info!
In the grand scheme of things, yes – online a lot of people use these templates but most people who apply to banks do not use them.
I know this is supposed to be basic, but the first paragraph is pretty useless. Your name, university/job position and contact details will already be on your resume so what’s the point in wasting time and space repeating the details on your cover letter. Also, saying “I am interested in pursuing an [Investment Banking Analyst / Associate] position at your firm” is also somewhat redundant, since the recruiter knows what position you’re applying for.
The template is good as a starting point, but on the off chance someone actually does read your cover letter, I would try to do a lot more than just make redundant statements.
This template is for both email and traditional letters… and in email it’s certainly not redundant. Even with traditional letters you are introducing new information by giving the name of the person you met at their firm as well as your major / where you’re working more specifically.
Excellent!
I appreciate your template for its compactness, I understand I shouldnt overestimate the competition, but Im trying to sell myself to the recruiter, so simply mentioning my skills and experience will not differentiate me from the “competitor”…?
I personally dont have so much experience in the finance realm (although Im genuinely interested in it and have managed to get a ten day insight into a BB) so do you encourage mentioning transferable skills I acquired through extra curricular activities, ie football = teamwork, etc, etc…
Cover letters are not really the place to “sell” yourself, which is why this is short… much safer to keep it boring and then do the selling via networking / interviews.
What about for laterals?
Same template applies but talk about how your previous banking experience applies to the new position you’re applying for
I don’t have any inside experience about the recruiting process, but a friend/colleague of mine (BB) mentioned that while recruiting for regional european branches/off-cycle internships often look at the cover letter, they almost never do it for summer positions in London.
Everyone seems to have different stories re: cover letters, but they are certainly less important than resumes, networking, or interviews
Should I mention the fact that my company is in F500? It’s know in Europe, but I doubt it is known in North America.
You can add it in, yes
Hi Brian,
Thanks for the website, I have a quick question for you. I am in one of the new Masters in Finance/Management programs. I am at a target school for undergrad/MBA (think UNC/Duke/UVA). However, since the program is very new, banks don’t know much about it. Aditionally, although I have had some Wealth Management internship experience, I don’t have an I-Banking internship.
Given my situation, do you think it is better for me (in terms of B-school and exit opportunities) to go into a top ten consulting firm (excluding MBB) or try for mid-market/boutique investment banks (My school is very good in placing people in consulting), assuming I don’t get into a BB. I ultimately want to end up in PE or HF (preferably PE).
Thanks for your help.
I would still say banking because consulting –> PE is very tough unless you go for firms like Golden Gate Capital that hire a lot of ex-consultants… and even there they’re mostly from MBB. Much easier to go from smaller bank –> PE than to go from smaller consulting firm –> PE.
Dear M&I,
Thanks for the release of this article, much appreciated.
Curious on an unrelated question though, when you try to develop relationships with bankers and do the initial outreach to set up an information interview, how far ahead should you plan? I mean should you give them dates within the week you email, 2 weeks ahead, etc?
Also, for specific time slots you ask for, what time is it usually best for a banker to talk to someone about that? Like early morning, late night, right after lunch, etc?
Thanks again,
H
Give dates within the next 1.5 weeks so they have a few days to respond. Usually right after lunch is best for bankers, for traders you have to call after market hours are over
This post reminded me of the classic cover letter to Lehman that was on Leveraged Sellout. I tried to see it, but it appears LSO has shutdown. Is this the case? Are the days of re-reading the same, hilarious stories over?
I don’t know because it’s not my site, but yes it appears to be down. Maybe check the google cache.
off-topic question:
I often read though it’s June interviews are still taking place.
When do banks in America/Europe begin accepting applications for:
1) summer interns (analyst)
2) full-time (analyst/associate)
Is the end of a summer intern equivalent to the end of the full-time offer application period? Because ppl. might are offered a full-time offer after their summer intern.
To put it in a nutshell: When is recruting/application time generally?
Thanks
Summer interns are December/January, full-time is August-September.
And when do you start as summer intern, when u successfully applied in dec/jan or successfully applied for aug/sep?
Thx!
Summer interns usually start in June
Hey,
What’s a better part-time fall internship, BB PWM or no-name boutique (I mean no name.. say 3-7 employees)?
Thanks
Both are about the same, but the boutique is better for your resume because you can write “Investment Banking Analyst”
Hi Brian! Long time reader, first time poster. I’m currently a rising senior at a target school on the tale end of my internship at a strong boutique bank in New York. I only have one week left, and I’ve been given zero modeling opportunities. I’m very disappointed. I figure that I should ask for some modeling work. But I have some questions.
1) Does it reflect poorly in interviews for full-time that I didn’t do any modeling? Should I “stretch” the truth?
2) Do you have any other relevant comments about doing a junior year internship and not getting any modeling experience? I’m concerned with how this hurts my full-time credentials, how this might affect my resume, and how overall my standing will decrease relative to my peers because I didn’t get modeling experience.
It’s quite common not to have modeling experience… just say you did research and assisted with potential clients / potential buy-side deals but don’t say anything about modeling. Most people do no modeling in their internships so it doesn’t matter much anyway.
Dear M&I,
I would appreciate your advice on this.
I’m a senior at a target school in Far East Asia. It’s really tough to get into a BB here and I’m thinking of visiting each BB and handing them my resume and cover letter to ask for a junior equity research position. I doubt I’d be able to personally meet the head of research or a senior analyst without prior arrangement, so I’d be probably handing my resume and cover letter to HR. I need to stand out but I have no equity research internship experience. What I do have, is a equity S&T internship at a BB and a RA (intern) at a top-tier mgmt. consulting firm. Plus experience managing a personal portfolio and trading derivatives in notable amounts.
Now, my problem is this. I made it to the final round for a junior ER position at GS but unfortunately was not given the offer (the offer ended up going to someone with some full-time experience in ER; had I been competing against fresh-out-of-college candidates would the result have been different?). I would like to mention this in my resume or cover letter hoping that it would serve as evidence that I’m really interested in ER and that I have the potential. But I’m worried that this might send the wrong signal. Who would like to accept a candidate knowing that he was unsuccessful elsewhere? I’m worried that I might appear arrogant in their eyes. I’m thinking of visiting CS, UBS, Citi, MS, ML, JPM, etc. In ER here in Asia, they’re at least at par with GS if not better…
I realize that answer to this may depend on the culture here.
Please advise. Thanks.
I would not mention an unsuccessful interview with GS for the reasons you mentioned.
I can’t thank you enough for all these info Brian,
In all honesty, I did have a sudden family death last year for which I had to leave school in the middle of the semester and come back after about two weeks. I got in a lot of psychological stress and uncertainty and I ended up messing up my grades significantly for two semesters. However, I did improve last semester with a full workload (maximum number of credit hours allowed at my school + advanced level classes) and got near 4.0.
How should I mention this on my cover letter? Also, how would I do that on an electronic cover letter which should only be about 4-5 sentences?
Thanks again in advance.
I would just say you had a health issue and had trouble balancing everything, but quickly learned your lesson and received perfect grades right after that. Giving a family excuse sounds fake so I would probably not write that even if it’s true.
Thanks but the thing is that wasn’t my freshman year. It was my sophomore year. So I did well my freshman year than poorly as a sophomore and improved as a junior.
Also, what about the electronic cover letter? Would it be ok to take up some sentences to explain my situation?
Just say you did poorly “at first” and then improved and have perfect grades this past year. I would still keep your cover letter short as no one has time to read a lot.
Is the physical address at the top still necessary if you’re attaching the cover letter as a .PDF in an online form?
No.
Hi, I graduated from a target, went to medical school after graduation, but left after two years to pursue a career in investment banking. I now work at a small investment research firm, and I am applying for 2011 analyst class.
How much “explanation” do I need to do in cover letter? Or should I just focus on my job experience and modeling skills?
Thanks
I don’t think you need much explanation since you quit medicine after 2 years, so just focus on other aspects
Hi Brian, I was beginning to start writing coverletters–atleast get them going, but I’m confused on where to find the unique strength of each BB, which makes it diff from its competitions. One of the things which makes a good cover letter is that its specific to a firm, but I dont know how to find such information. For instance, I was looking at MS, Barclays website in the section ,’Why MS’ or ‘Why Barclays’, and it seems every firm had the same agenda. We are committed to diversity , team player etc. Obv I need to go into more depth than this. Brian where I can find information specific to each BB on their website? I would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
You should read the WSJ Deal Journal blog and look for recent mentions of the bank and what deals they have been advising on – then reference those in the cover letter.
Hi Brian,
I’m in a similar position as the above poster. For companies without a personal contact I want to talk about a specific deal they’ve advised on.
I’m just unsure how to formulate such a sentence without encouraging diffcult to answer questions.
E.g. I was thinking of something along the lines of “I was impressed with your company’s role as target advisor in the $X bn acquisition of companyX”
I’m afraid this would result in the question of ‘why were you impressed?’.
Any chance you could give a sample sentence of how you would talk about a deal in a cover letter?
Thanks
Ben
P.S.: Keep up the good work with BIWS, love the constant updates. Highly recommended, well worth the money!
You can say something like “I recently saw news of your role as an advisor in the $X bn acquisition of company X and was immediately interested, since I’ve followed the [X] industry for awhile.”
Hey guys,
First of all, great website! It’s really helpful and I think you guys are doing a great job.
I am visually impaired, however I have always followed regular education and have performed like anybody else (also in jobs, at associations, etc). Many banks stress their emphasis on diversity and now I am wondering if I should include this fact in my cover letter / online application?
On the one hand I feel it would fit great into the whole “what are you most proud of”-question, but I am also scared it might work against me?
Please note I’m applying London, not NY. (I think European regulations might differ from US-ones). I go to a European target school.
Thanks!
Personally I would not list it on your CV / cover letter / online application, but maybe bring it up in an interview if it fits in naturally.
Hi,
If the firm’s online application says “you can only attach one file: this should contain your CV, cover letter and any other materials relevant for the position”, does it mean in the word document file I upload, the 1st page is resume, the 2nd page is cover letter and the 3rd is transcript? It looks pretty strange because the document is gonna be 4-5 pages. But since they only allow me to upload one file, I’m not sure what to do with the cover letter and the transcript. Or can I just omit them and attach the resume document only? Thanks a ton.
I would not send the transcript unless they specifically ask for it, otherwise just create a 2-page file with your cover letter and CV
Hi,
i will be applying to merrill lynch. In the template, you stated many of the internship and job roles that provide the skills required to be a great investment analyst. However, i was just wondering, if i have a perfect gpa, perfect sats score, how can i use these to my advantage in my cover letter?
You can’t really, just list them and be done with it – no point in trying to emphasize those because there’s not much to say and they speak for themselves.
Hey M&I,
What’s your take on headlines (i.e.Application for IB Analyst) and postscripts? I’ve heard from many friends to add them on because they will grab attention. But then again, they aren’t going into banking.
Thanks,
Mack
Not applicable for banking
Hie ,i realy luv ur advice!.,Im doing a Bsc in Financial modelling with UNISA.is this a good start for a career in investment banking?.i finish next year, could u tell wat i can do to make myself marketable after graduation.
Honestly, I’m not sure on that one because I’m not familiar with the school. If a lot of banks recruit there, it’s fine; otherwise you should transfer elsewhere.
Its University of SouthAfrica ,im also staying in Africa.is there something i could do 2 giv me an added advantage over my coleagues?.
This article has some tips on South Africa: http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-south-africa/
Hi Brian,
I’m a US student currently at Oxford for my junior year. All the applications for the UK offices are online. I know you have already answered the question before, but I don’t want to make any mistakes. So just to clarify:
1. Omit the physical addresses, mine as well as theirs.
2. Omit the recruiters name leaving only the name of the bank
3. Omit the signature
4. Do not enclose resume since that is a separate attachment
Thanks so much in advance.
Yes
Do you recommend being creative in cover letters, ie varying sentence structure, using big/expressive words ?
No, creativity is for marketing or poetry – this is finance.
Hey guys, this letter just repeats what is inside the Resume anyway. What is the additional value for the potential employer to read this kind of resume? There are no additional information. Wouldnt it be better to wite about your motiviation, your personal (not work) background, and reasons to chose this department/bank ? Or would it harm to do this?
Furthermore, the letter includes the information about resume enclosure 3(!) times. I like this site but this template really does not look too promising for me!
So don’t use it? The point is that no one reads cover letters, but in case they do, you don’t want to screw up by saying anything controversial or anything that could be misinterpreted.
If you start writing your personal story, bankers might mistake it for a soap opera script rather than cover letter.
Cover letters have no value at all, but just like grades if you screw one up it could hurt you. This template is intentionally boring and gives very little information because otherwise people would download this and insert pictures of unicorns, write about their past relationships, and other nonsense.
Great comment, made me laugh
Hi,
I have completed my masters in Drug Discovery and Translational Biology. But currently I am planning to apply for any investment banking positions. As I don’t have any background or experience in the given field, i don’t what to write in the 2nd and 3rd paragraph.
Can you please help me,
Thanks in advance
Talk about the analytical skills you gained and how they apply, or the leadership / project management skills or anything else like that from previous internships or school.
Dear M&I,
I guess I’m the most complicated case here. I’m currently doing BA in Art History and Italian at UCL, London, now doing my Erasmus in Italy. However, last summer I worked as a M&A Summer Analyst in a small boutique bank specializing in cross-border M&As. There, I started from scratch, with no finance experience/knowledge, but learnt a lot and had lots of hands-on experience, since the company was really small and I was involved in literally everything.
I’m applying for summer internships in large investment banks and about to start writing my cover letters. I assume I must explain myself for studying Art History & Italian and my out-of-the-blue interest in I-Banking, plus use my last summer experience as a selling point. Any other specific hints?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Well, why did you work there? What made you interested in doing that? Reference a specific person or if nothing comes to mind use something from the news or your background e.g. I was always really interested in Italy and the UK and got interested in finance as a result of [xx] so I wanted to explore cross-border M&A and leverage my skills/interests like that.
Thank you for the template.
Quick questions:
Should we use the email format for a doostang message as well?
-mo
No keep it way shorter like 2-3 sentences maybe
Hi,
Firstly thanks for the website, it’s great.
My question is: in most summer IB internships, they ask several cover letter-like questions like “In 250 words max, describe your career aspirations” etc., however there’s usually an option to upload a cover letter as well. Would you advise keeping it concise or would you include examples of IB-related things, adapted to the question, despite the fact you’re effectively rewriting the cover letter?
This is in UK by the way.
Thanks in advance.
Just keep it concise – competency questions are not a big factor vs. CV/interviews.
Hi,
I realized I made a grammatical error in the last paragraph of my cover letter today. I never noticed it before and I’ve sent it to three places already, one BB and two boutiques. Big deal?
Thanks.
No, no one reads cover letters anyway
Hi,
In the 3rd paragraph you explained that we should say something along the lines of “I am impressed by your track record of clients and transactions at Goldman Stanley…”
This is obviously a great way to tailor your cover letter, but I was wondering where you find out information of transactions. I’ve found some doing a simple Google search, but is there an independent authority that tracks all of these? As well, how do you know which transactions to mention? The ones that the firm is particularly proud of or ground-breaking?
Thanks!
Use the WSJ Deal Journal or NYT Dealbook to find recent deals they’ve done, anything sizable or significant e.g. the Goldman / Facebook deal
is it okay to put stuff on your resume you don’t mention in your cover letter? or should your resume ONLY include stuff from your cover letter?
It’s fine, you can’t even mention everything in the cover letter anyway
Thanks Brian for putting up such a nice website and sharing valuable stuff with us aspirers. I might be using a wrong space to look for your suggestions anyways here I go. My challenge here is to make a successful transition from a business development/ strategy side (prior 3 yrs of exp. with a commercial bank) to IB. Being done an MBA recently from a decent B school in UK where I gained the required skill sets for IB, I was targeting at BB which doesnot seems to be working out my way so I m considering the small boutiques as well to start with.
I thought a good cover letter can win recruiters attention in my case. Any advice on the approach I should carry to enter into IB & put my prior experience into use to encash it is highly appreciated.
Thanks!!
If you do a search for “Networking” and “Cold-calling” you’ll see the most helpful advice – cover letters do not make a difference, focus on your cold-calling and networking skills and do not give up until you try hundreds of places.
A company was recruiting at my college, and all they asked for was for us to send them a 1-page motivational letter? Any idea what I can include in the letter? Eg, why me? Why should I get the offer? Why should I get the bursary? My strengths and weaknesses?
They don’t want a cv, they just want a motivational letter. I’m not too sure what to include in it. Any help would be appreciated.
Thank-you
I would just follow the cover letter template here and expand on it a bit… don’t go into strengths/weaknesses, just follow the outline above.
Thanks for the cover letter and resume templates, they’re really helpful. A friend of mine used your templates to score a summer internship in corporate finance advisory at a big four company in london and I was able to score a SA offer in the IBD of a BB firm in frankfurt, germany. we’re both germans btw.
depending on how fulltime recruiting develops we should set something up for a “breaking into IB in europe”-feature if you see the demand for this. So long, Nick
Congrats, interesting to hear that it works in other countries. There are a few articles on Europe (UK, Germany, Italy) already but could use more if you have a unique angle.
Hi, I recently switched to a major in economics from engineering. The engineering curriculum at my school is very challenging and had a negative impact on my GPA over my freshman/sophomore year (3.4 currently). Would it be appropriate to list that I was previously an engineering major on my resume to reflect the challenging curriculum I was previously engaged in?
Yes that’s a good idea or at least reflect coursework on there
Hi Brian,
I am beginning to write my cover letter for a number of boutique banks in the fall to apply for analyst positions. What do I if I don’t know anyone at the firm and can’t namedrop a presentation I attended (1st paragraph)? Can I just say
“My name is John Smith, and I am a recent graduate of Fordham University (Class of 2011). I am interested in applying for an analyst position at XYZ firm”
Is there anything else I can add to the first paragraph to flesh out my cover letter a bit? Thank you very much and keep up the good work!
That’s fine
Hi! For my motivation letter, which the company requires on their application website, shouldn’t I just say I like money and that I want to work for their company because I would like to earn a lot? Or should I go with the “It’s my passion… I like to be challenged… I’d like to contribute innovations for the growth of the business…” bits? Thank you!
applications for bulge brackets. thanks!
Um #2, always
Okay, thanks!
You do such a great service for idiots like me!Keep it up.
What is your opinion about listing client names. Obviously working in a deal situation it would not be acceptable to mention a client name and the transaction itself if this is not public but in my case I have done a lot of work which didn’t result in deals however I am quite keen on mentionning the clients as I have worked with many PE and large Corporate clients. Is it fine to write: “selected list of clients: A,B,C,D,E…
Why would you want to use names there? Just for more credibility when you discuss deals? I would still avoid using names if possible for dead deals. You can still mention that you’ve worked with some big PE names such as X but I wouldn’t go into details; pretend deal is still ongoing even if it died, and leave out the names.
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/why-investment-banking-deals-fail/
Do you think sending a cover letter with a CV directly to the Head of investment banking dpt is inappropriate? The bank is hiring (according to website). Sent my CV to HR a month ago, no responce.
Sure, just send him a brief email and your resume. No point in sending a cover letter – address what you need to say briefly on the email
Hi Brian,
Thanks for your work!
My question is that if I apply for some regions where original language is not English i.e. China, Japan, will it be ok I send a 2-page resume/cl with one in English and another Chinese/Japanese/whatever? or seperately in 2 .pdfs?
Thanks again
No. Not necessary. Just send a one-page resume in English
If bilingual required?
No still submit one pager unless they ask
Thanks Nicole.
Another not-related question, do you think that a 4-month full time internship in PE department of commercial banks, say, standard chartered, strong enough to pass the summer/FT online selection? prior to that i had internship in big-4. a senior in university and will pursue a finance master degree right after. thanks
Should do but again it depends on what position you are interviewing for and which division you are looking at. Also depends on who is screening you..However, I believe your experience should suffice
Hi,
I’m a first year university student in the UK, and looking to apply to a spring division internship at Goldman Sachs (and probably many others in the near future).
I have litte actual experience in terms of working for firms, but have competed in many stock market challenges/competitions, and I have come to university a year early, having been moved up a year.
Clearly with my lack of experience, I will need to slightly change the template you have provided above; how would you recommend I do this?
Many thanks.
+1
I nearly asked the same thing – but my question didn’t even appear.
You should elaborate on your stock market challenges/competitions
Is it okay to write under my asset mgmnt firm that I “increased producivity of checking several entries by about 60%”? It was an excelsheet with about 120 rows in which I had to find the entries which were more than once in these rows. (it was an excel formula I made for that).
Or does it sound ridiculous?
Oh, its in the CV, not the cover letter.
yes it does sounds a bit ridiculous and monotonous. Sorry.
So I’ll delete :) Thanks. Its very difficult to boost your CV.
btw: may I send you, Nicole, my CV that you could look over that? You see my email adress, i guess. I’d really appreciate it! Thinking, that it sounds “too” ridiculous…
We’re not offering resume editing at the moment but will be introducing it shortly, so you can watch for that announcement.
What does “shortly” mean? Within this month? And will it be free? If not, how much would it cost? If you’re launching in the very near future, please reserve one place for me :-).
Thanks
Haha yes but not free. Sure.
Hi, it’s me again. Does this template also apply for online applications where you have to upload the cover letter? Or can my personal adress, the banks adress and the date can be removed withous replacement?
Thanks!
Yes these templates apply to online apps too
No, I don’t think you should remove the details you mentioned
Hello,
Thanks very much for your helps. I have a few questions and I would greatly appreciate if you could help me. I am doing a double degree master in Complex Systems Science (A multidisciplinary field), so I have studied one year at Warwick, UK and now I am studying the second year at Ecole Polytechnique, France.
1) Should I mention anywhere that I have had a multidisciplinary approach since in my field I have to interact with people with completely diverse backgrounds, from Physics and math to economics and Philosophy?
2)I have got a full scholarship from European commission for my studies. How should I mention it?
3)I think many people are not very acquainted with the structure of such joint programs between two universities in two different countries. In my CV, shall I mention it as two masters and not saying that they are in fact joint?
4)My master thesis has been about financial contagion and I do not have ant job or internship opportunity, so how should I write the second paragraph?
Thanks in advance and sorry it becomes too long.
Mostafa
1. Not sure how you will be wording this one. Difficult to use this to stand out
2. Yes
3. No, put joint but you can separate the two in diff lines
4. Can’t help you on this one.
Hi,
I’ve shown my CL to the Head of HR in my firm and he adviced me to write something “catching” as a title between the date and “Dear Sir or Madam,..”. So do you think it would be okay to write there: “Why I am a good fit for taking part in your spring programme”? Or does this sound too arrogant?
Thanks a lot!
Jevira
This sounds generic.
Have you got another idea or just put there: Spring Programme at XYZ. :D
Thanks, and sorry for the time you lose with all my questions..
Come up w something original he said right? I don’t know if the above is original. You should just ask him what his suggestions are. I’d love to help but I need to think through it and have to look at your CL; wouldn’t be fair to other customers who are paying for our CL editing service.