How to Write an Investment Banking Resume When You Have No Real Work Experience
“Ok, I’ve followed your resume templates, but I don’t have any real work experience and I’m applying to internships… what do I do?
How do I compete with the guy who already has finance internships on his resume?“
This one is very common if you’re still in school and you’re going for internships or even full-time offers.
And it applies even if you’re more experienced – but you don’t have much in the way of finance experience.
So here’s how you spin your resume to win investment banking interviews – even if you don’t have much “real” work experience.
Wait, Resumes Still Matter?
You might be wondering why this matters at all: doesn’t networking trump polishing your resume?
Yes, any day of the week. And spending dozens of hours “perfecting” your resume is still a waste of time.
But you still need a solid – if not perfect – resume. That’s especially true if you’re not coming from a well-known school and you don’t have brand-name internships.
And if you use cold-calling or cold-emailing to contact banks, they will judge you heavily based on your resume – so it needs to be good.
The Tutorial
To make all of this more concrete, we’re going to do a “resume makeover” and show you exactly how to change this university student’s resume to make it far more effective.
You can watch the video tutorial and review the Before and After files below:
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- Download MP3 [7 MB | 15 Minutes]
The resume itself:
And here’s the text version:
Key Mistakes
This resume is certainly not “terrible” – but there is one big problem:
Nothing on here indicates any interest in finance or desire to do a finance internship.
What’s wrong specifically?
- He lists too much experience, and most of it isn’t relevant. 2-3 solid entries is far better than 6 thin experiences.
- He does not highlight what’s most relevant to finance here, and instead treats everything as equal.
- He fails to list a highly relevant entry that should be counted as “work experience” rather than an “activity” at the bottom.
- He’s not specific enough with the finance-related experience.
So how do we fix all that?
Magnify Tiny But Relevant Experiences
Repeat after me: relevance trumps time when it comes to work experience.
If you’ve spent 2-3 years working at the doctor’s office or student center part-time, that’s nice – but it’s also useless for investment banking.
This student should focus on just 2 experiences:
- JP Morgan Investment Banking Case Competition
- Investment Fund
And then he can briefly write about his retail job over the summer and the student newspaper.
Unlike the others, the retail job is “real” work experience, in an actual workplace – which shows banks that you’re capable of functioning in the real world.
Right now this student barely mentions #1 and #2 above, but he should expand on both and pretend they’re work experience.
Even if the case competition only lasted a week, you need to draw attention to it because of the brand-name and because it’s more relevant than anything else on there.
Turn Your Hobbies and Clubs Into “Work Experience”
Examples of hobbies, clubs, and activities you could turn into “work experience”:
- Day Trading / Your Personal Portfolio (works better for Sales & Trading)
- Professional Organizations (e.g. Society of Securities Analysts)
- Finance Website You Started
- Case or Investment Competitions
- Student-Run Investment Funds or Finance / Consulting Clubs
What if you’ve racked your brain and you really can’t think of anything that seems remotely related to finance?
Your best bet is to re-position some of your experience as “consulting,” emphasizing the recommendations you made and the results rather than the technical details.
Remember, anything could be called “consulting” – and if you never had a formal title, all the better. More on that one here.
Cut Out “Work Experience” If It Won’t Impress
Forget about telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: there’s no “law” that you have to list every last detail on your resume, and most of the time you shouldn’t.
What should you cut?
- Part-time experience at the library, student center, etc.
- Retail/restaurant work.
- Anything you’re listing just to make a “laundry list” of activities – move this to the bottom instead.
- Anything over a year old that’s not relevant.
One exception: you may want to leave on retail/restaurant-type work experience if that’s all you have aside from activities – don’t focus on it, but it’s good to keep at least 1 entry on there to show banks that you have some real world exposure.
Forget Chronological Order
While you should usually use reverse chronological order for your resume, there’s no “rule” that says you have to strictly follow it.
So if you have “JP Morgan Investment Banking Case Competition” please put that at the top of your Work Experience no matter what the date was.
If you’re no longer in school this gets harder to justify and you should stick more closely to chronological order.
Move Your School to the Bottom
In the case where you have brand-name companies on your resume and a non-brand-name school, you could move Work Experience to the top and put Education below it instead.
That may raise some questions if you’re still in school – but it is an option if you’ve recently graduated and you feel that your work experience looks more impressive than your school, GPA, or major.
We’re not using this strategy here because this student is applying for summer internships and because his university – while not a “target school” – is also far from unknown.
The End Result
You can see for yourself right here.
We’ve using the exact same experience, but we’re presenting it differently, focusing on different points, and excluding what doesn’t matter.
And this student now has a much better chance of getting interviews and landing offers.
What to Do When You’re Out of School
If you’ve already graduated or you’ve been working for a few years, you can still apply some of these strategies.
The main difference is that you can’t get away with turning all your activities into “work experience” as a student might be able to.
You can still list them on your resume, but you need to focus on “bankifying” your real work experience by focusing on the business results and the big picture.
Wait, Is All of This Legal?
You might also be wondering if everything I’ve suggested here is “legal.” Will you be flagged during background checks? Get your offer rescinded because you omitted something?
No.
While you shouldn’t omit major summer internships, leaving out part-time, unpaid, or informal experience is fine.
And spinning experience into sounding bigger than it really was is not lying – it’s just spinning.
All of This Helps, But…
Also note that while the strategies here will help you get interviews and will make your resume look more substantial, you’re still not going to “beat” the guy or girl with a Goldman Sachs internship and an Ivy League school on his/her resume.
So you won’t be able to level the playing field completely, but you can give yourself a boost and reduce the gap between yourself and everyone else applying.
What Now?
If you’re applying for internships or full-time positions and you don’t have much real work experience think about what you could spin into sounding relevant: Clubs? Activities? Your Own Portfolio?
What are the 2-3 most relevant experiences to focus on? What could be omitted to make room for more relevant entries?
Think about all that, and then re-write your resume and spin your way to success.
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Hi,
My last major work experience is working as a tutor and teacher in a challenging school. How would I bankify this? Is relationship management/ work ethic the best way of doing this?
Thank you kindly for your time,
Alphonse
Yes, talk about how you had to manage all the students and mentor everyone there despite the challenges.
Where on my resume would I show that I have been trading stocks through a website like sharebuilder and have made a 300% and 600% profit on two seperate stock picks over the course of a month?
Just create a separate listing for it under Work & Leadership experience and label it Independent Stock Trading
thank you for the help
I’ve done some trading on the JP morgan portfolio competition and i used technical analysis to trade. Shoud I still include the experience if i am applying for the M&A division as technical analysis is not that relevent is M&A?
If you have nothing else more relevant, then yes
i’ve also done some part time job as sales n captain of a football team. Should I put the portfolio competition at the top of the section?
Yes that’s fine
Hello, I’ve been following your site for a while, and I have to say it’s really great and helpful. I’m reworking my resume and was wondering about what I should do about these 3 bullet points on my resume. As a rising senior, I should be taking off high school activities, but what if they are related to finance and my story? I participated in stock marketing comeptitions and banks-in-action, both of which my friends and I have won as a team. also, if i have a portfolio in e-trade, do you think I should place it as a hobby? Thanks in advance.
Just include one bullet point or make them both into hobbies
Hello, many thanks for all the useful tips on how to write an investment banking CV, it will inevitably of great value.
I have two main questions I hope you can assist me with:
1) Is it OK to state on my CV that I am a regular trader on investment simulators such as Investopedia, etc? Or should that be omitted unless I manage a real portfolio or have entered a significant investment competition such as JPMorgan as listed above?
2) For my final year at university, I want to start a stock trading society to show my interest in the financial markets and also develop my leadership skills. My idea is to hold competitions where students trade on a simulator such as Investopedia, and whoever made the highest “returns” would be given a cash prize at the end of each competition. Is this a worthwhile endeavor and would it impress a potential employer from your experience?
I would be very grateful for your assistance with my questions, and thank you in advance.
Michael
1) Yes. 2) Sure but I wouldn’t spend too much time on it as internships always help more
Thanks a million for your advice.
Regarding internships, I have a quick question about that.
I am currently studying for a Master’s degree in Economics. Usually, the top-tier banks offer internships to penultimate year students, but I was studying for a year in Shanghai during the penultimate year, and this prevented me from getting an internship as I was in a country where I could not legally work.
Is it possible for a Master’s student to get an internship with an investment bank before commencing full-time work?
Yes it’s possible
Hey!! Your website is really helpful.
Currently, I am very much confused regarding what should I do. I have done BBA from a well reputed business school in Pakistan, and also gave CFA level 1 along tht. Just after a month of my graduation, I started working for a microfinance bank locally, which I left after two years of esperience.
I gave CFA level 2 this June and awaiting results. Now I want to do my masters or MBA in the field of finance and accounting. The problem I see is that even the postgraduates from top universities in the UK, USA and Australia are doing odd jobs, (firstly because they are international students and therefore have immigration concerns for employers, secondly, the recession ). Therefore, I am planning to do my MBA from a non target school (as business schools are really expensive), and continuing my CFA, then try to get into an international financial institution. Do you think is it the right approach? Some people are advising to do ACCA instead of MBA and get into Transaction Advisory services?
Your guidance shall be highly appreciated.
Regards,
Saad Sarmad
I meant MBA from a Non Target University in the UK**
I would skip the MBA unless you can get into a top school, otherwise it’s pointless (do a search here for MBA)
Hi Brian,
I actually have a bit of a resume dilemma…I’ve graduated a year ago from college, and my past internship experiences are all related to finance. However, I am still having trouble landing a full time job, which then I have resorted to working as a temp for various companies to keep cash coming in.
My question is, should I reference my various temporary positions, thus adding an additional non-relevant block on my resume to show I am keeping myself busy? Or should I leave it off, and keep my other relevant internships on there?
My main concern is that when employers see my “older” resume, they will think I didn’t do anything for the gap and will not take my resume seriously.
Thanks
Eh I would keep off the temp positions and say you were traveling or doing some kind of other project during that time
If you personally have an investment portfolio, how would you write about that in your work experience?
Summary sentence with overall strategy/performance and then write about specific investments you made
If you personally have an investment portfolio, how would you write about that in your work experience section?
Summary sentence with overall strategy/performance and then write about specific investments you made.
Hi there,
I really like your website. I just had a few queries about my CV and I was wondering if you could help.
I don’t have a formal Banking internship but I did a Spring Insight Week at a BB Bank. I also worked at the research dept of an international NGO doing Exce work, Data Sourcing on population data and misc. Admin work. Obviously, the NGO is NOT relevant to finance but I did for substantial work there which is why I gave it around 6 lines whereas I gave the Spring Week 2 lines, since we just did one presentation, some group activities (not too relevant to banking anyways) and attended a whole lot others. I also included 2 lines in my interests section about the relevant banking events I attended on campus. Is this okay if I want to apply for some second year summer internships?
I am from a UK target school and my first year grades and A Levels were all much above average.
Fazal
Bad move, focus more on spring week even if you have to heavily BS it. Interests really doesn’t matter but sure that is fine.
Thanks for the quick reply.
Would you happen to have a few words of wisdom as to how I can make attending presentations sound appealing to the recruiter?
Also, my work at the NGO involved working with a mathematical model for which I had to find data, and some excel work – both of which are required in IBD. It is a little relevant I would presume. What do you think?
Thanks again.
Just focus on what you learned, how many people you met, etc. NGO experience is OK but it seems much more distant on paper.
I did a case competition and got into the top 5 out of 25+ but wasn’t the team leader even though I did most of the work. Any way to write this in?
Sure just say you led certain aspects of the competition.
As in “equities leader”? What would be drawbacks of just saying leader even though on paper you weren’t at the time for the purposes of identification?
Just say “Led the work for the [X, Y, and Z] portions of the project” if you didnt have an official title no one can really check so it doesn’t matter
I see that your resume templates do not have it, but what are your thoughts on having a “Summary of Qualifications” section on the top part of your resume? Many thanks.
I don’t like it unless you have 10-15+ years of experience.
I am currently learning financial modeling and will be purchasing your program soon so I was wondering how can I spin this onto my resume? would I simply just put it in skills ? or are there any ways to demonstrate my knowledge of financial modeling?
There are several recommendations in the FAQ under Financial Modeling Programs #13: http://breakingintowallstreet.com/biws/faq/
Hi Brian,
What’s your take on academic research? I am a rising junior looking for a summer analyst position at a bulge bracket. I had a summer analyst position this past summer at a boutique investment bank, which will of course be the most important entry on the resume. I also have a paid research assistant position with an economics professor at my university. However, the research is not directly related to finance. How prominent should this position be on my resume? How can I bankify it? Many thanks.
This position should not be as “important” as your last summer analyst position. Not sure what you did in your RA position but perhaps you can focus on your research on the world economy and how it affects the stock market. Bank-ify it by showing your knowledge of the markets and passion in finance as well as your research and analytical skills..most importantly attention to details (ATD)
Interesting how inconsistent the banks demands are with what they are in fact hiring for (which your site abruptly reveals). I now see that when an IB is quoted as simply seeking “highly talented individuals who can bring something different to our organization… [whose] academic credentials… excellent communication skills, creativity, perseverance and tenacity [are sought after]“, translates rather to: ‘Someone who has demonstrated a fixation with making profits in finance, while successfully exerting power over other people, having attended the same school, got the same work experience and same superficial interests as fellow bankers’.
Is it the just one large trick question then, to misdirect those who are perhaps not yet fully in lust with the banking salary/lifestyle and whose real creativity, and experience threatens to evolve the ‘corporate culture’ into something broader (and therefore perhaps less profitable in the short term)?
I was attracted to IBs for their seeming ability to make use of more than one or two aspects of a person’s personality/experience, but it seems that is not a luxury to which they can truly concede… (With the bizarre exception of being a Tokyo Host – although in reality most are from Osaka, and almost exclusively entertain sex-industry workers for a living — or have I fallen for a joke?)
(of course I believe that there is a most time-efficient, or money-efficient way of operating, but to an outsider, at least, the evolutionary trends in these respects seem to be held-back by current practises…)
(please excuse typos)
No, I don’t think its a trick. The IBs just post what they’re looking for and choose from the pool of candidates who apply. It just happens that they are choosing from a large pool of qualified, ambitious candidates from top schools.
Thanks for the reply, Nicole… and I’m sorry to be so antagonistic, but according to elsewhere on the site:
75% of interviewees will be selected because one of the Analysts or Associates reviewing resumes knows them from school or elsewhere.
25% of the rest have impressive resumes or accomplishments and happen to catch someone’s attention.
So is it really not psuedo-nepotism that’s believed to breed success?
Can’t comment on your question. But the stats of the article were meant to show that candidates should go the extra mile of emailing and following up and not to underestimate the competition.
Oh, perhaps this is why:
You could argue that living with someone is different from working with [them], but in banking you basically live with your co-workers.
(Apologies for this stream of consciousness).
If I expanded my Education section – since I participated in school trading competitions and economics projects, won various relevant (and irrelevant) awards etc. etc. while having not a lot of work experience, though some personal trading – would you simply discard a CV like that if it came up?
??
Are you in a target school? Do you have a good GPA?
If you’re looking for jobs in the smaller funds, you would probably have a shot.
Otherwise, it might be difficult to pass through the resume cutting round. However, you can always eliminate that round by networking w bankers; hard but not impossible
Thanks for the quick and concise reply, Nicole. My University (UK) is no longer in the general/arbitrary “Top 5″, though it was when I applied, and is still ranked thus for the subjects I study. GPA doesn’t exist here until you’ve graduated, as far as I’m aware, but my school exam grades were spotless.
I’ll heed the advice, though – networks are paramount – thanks.
Yes, always network. Anytime!
Are there any online courses that i could undergo which would boost my internship chances ?
http://breakingintowallstreet.com/biws/
Will meet a MD in lev fin soon
I want to join lev fin because I want to work in PE in future And lev fin is the closest one among all chances I hv got now
But if I am asked by the Md what I want to do in long term
Should I say PE or I should lie I like to be in lev fin in long term?
Thxxxx
Say you’re interested in all aspects of debt and are open to different options within that area, including lev fin, possibly PE, mezz, etc.
Hi, I’m a software engineer fresh graduate with a Masters degree from a reputed university. But I have lost interest in my field and would like to foray into investment banking. I started writing my resume but I have pretty much nothing related to banking to boast of. How can I turn my resume around to make it more appropriate and relevant?
Hope this helps – http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/getting-a-finance-job-from-engineering/
Hi there,
I am a college senior at a target school. I recently became interested in I-banking and have no relevant work experience.
There are two internship paths available for the fall semester. I could work at an Investment bank for 40 weeks basically for free (for a small stipend) or work in a big name wealth management firm for decent pay. I would ideally like to become a i-banker, so which path should I pursue?
Thank you
If IB is your ultimate goal and you are not concerned about the pay difference b the two roles now, I wld work at the IB for the small stipend they offer. Adding to your working for free comment, you might find http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/unpaid-finance-internships-jobs/ useful
Thanks Nicole. Your tip & suggested web link was very helpful! Very glad to have consulted M&I before making big decisions.
Hey Brian,
I’m a fresh International Studies/Chinese graduate teaching English in Korea for fun. Here are the things I’d emphasize in my CV–would you recommend the same?
1) Near native fluency in Mandarin Chinese with strong economics-related vocabulary.
2) Substantial research experience for undergraduate thesis–included original premise, novel approach, and heavy quantitative analysis using SPSS (and also was the top thesis at my institute)
3) Teaching experience in Korea taught me to manage and mentor groups of students, learn their personal strengths and weaknesses, and to multitask heavily.
Thanks, and fascinating blog, by the way.
Agreed on those but try to find something a little more business-oriented if possible.
Thanks for the quick response.
The biggest business-related item I can think of at the moment would be:
Finance and Logistics Manager for freshman-year trip to interview tax evader. Responsibilities included planning activities, flights, and sundry details as well as managing our team’s budget. We ended up being able to complete the interview and more with funds to spare and no logistical snags.
Forgot to mention it in the original post, but I’m looking to work for a foreign firm in Mainland China. Do you have any China-specific advice or could you point me in the right direction?
Do you speak Mandarin? It would help if you do. Working in China is also very relationship-driven. Make sure you develop a good network there.
Yes, very fluently. I suppose I need to build up my network then. Thanks for the input.
Anytime!
I am a Phd student in Material science and maste in math, I passed CFA level 2. But I have no any work experience related to finance, could I write my research project in work experience, but my research projects are also not related to finance. What could I do? thanks
Just write about the research if you have no relevant work experience. But if you have anything even remotely related to business try to include that.
Thanks for your quick response. Right now I am hunting an investment banking job, But I haven’t get any interview yet. Do you think, based on my background, is that possible to work for IBs. Also what could I do now? Thanks
Honestly it would be tough unless you went to a really small boutique firm – maybe try cold-calling around to find one that matches your background.
Hey, website is great. I am currently a freshmen at a school that is top 50 but non target. Like most, my goal is to get the best internship i can after my sophmore year. My question is, what should i do to boost my resume for next year? I know an internship is ideal but is it realistic as a freshmen? Also,besides summer work what else can I do to make my resume standout to banks?
Yes. Network and try to land yourself an internship if that is what you really want. Try investing in the stock market and have something to show for it in your interviews
Should I put (fake) portfolio management for one of my class as a work experience?
don’t fake/make things up. but spin if you have any experience related to that
I meant, we had to manage a virtual portfolio for a hypothetical client. So, I meant, a non-real portfolio.
Hi I Have recently completed my CV and I have looked at the C.V format and structure you have suggested. My CV is one page long and I am little worried the format is different from yours, am I placing myself at a disadvantage?
Yes. Use our template and keep it to less than a page
Hello Brian,
Great site. It is more valuable than Jim Cramer’s “The Street” if you ask me.
Please allow me to ask few questions.
1. I have a gap in my resume from late 2007 to now. What should I do?
Here is my “real story”: I graduated late 2007 cum laude with honors from a California state university with a Finance major, my GPA is 3.78. I finished an internship with Merrill Lynch PWM working with high-net-worth clients. I am also the founder of Investment club, team captain to represent my university for a business case competition. The last four years has been really tough for me and my husband. We are dealing with issues relating to start a family. In the end, we had a huge medical loan to pay off, no success, but heartbroken.
How can I explain or tell my “story” to employers about my last 4 years of not working?
2. I have investment banking work experience (Business Development Manager)back in Shanghai, China before I relocted and studied Finance in a California state university. However, the experience was not good. We were working on bring Chinese companies IPO to Singapore stock market. One of the partners had sex with one of the my co-worker and promoted her for no reason (not work performance). I was not happy, so I was gone on bad terms. The company went down soon after I was gone. But I had my own consulting company in the end. Do you think I can put all the investment banking experiences with the bad firm under my own consulting company? Or should I leave this IB experiences out in my resume since it was not building financial models anyway?
3. If I want to get into a small investment bank here in California, I can. But, again, my husband and I need good health benefits to start a family. As you said, only 1% chance for a non-target to get into BB. Is it stii true? I think I can get into an investment banking analyst position in Hong Kong with BB due to my background. However, I am not sure Hong Kong employees will have the same health benefits as the employees working in US? Should I go for BB in Hong Kong or a small IB firm in California? How much will be the salary for an analyst there?
4. Should I go for “Financial Advisor” position like my internship instead with the BB?
I am so sorry for my long message. Thank you for your time and help.
Anna
1. While I empathize with you, you should just say personal issues w family. Don’t try to go into details. Also try to spin other productive pursuits you have been doing w your time i.e. learning a new language, traveling, etc. That will make you stand out. Just spin sth.
2. Yes, as long as you have good references (do you?) If not, I’d probably leave it out unless you have learned a lot in your previous finance experience. Again, no details required in interviews
3. Yes. HK employees have great health benefits are you kidding me. However, working for a BB in HK is harder than you think my friend. It is not exactly easy to find a job here either FYI
4. Depends on what you’re looking for. Your call. You should apply to both
Hi –
My career center advisor said students should NOT include SAT scores on their resumes, but your “after” resume lists SAT scores and I scored extremely well. I don’t want to look ‘tacky’ per se on my resume and include something that shouldn’t be there, but I think it is a good way to show mathematical and verbal/writing aptitude. In your experience, do IB recruiters mind (or even want) SAT scores on resumes? Thanks for your reply.
You know what? I think you should just “screw it”. Many people have shoulds or should nots. Really, who cares. Its your resume. If you have got a great SAT score and you want to put them on there, do so. I don’t see why your scores would hurt you
Hi Brian!
I want to work at Wetseal in a retail as Sales Floor? or what should I put in a complete position if I required? And I put Sales Floor, is it still unappropriate or appropriate position?
I did put my name/last name, address, cellphone and email address now.
Should I put…
1st page:
- Objective
- 4 list of history employments
- Education
1st page with 2nd list:
- Activities or skills?
What if they asked me, I should put an activities?
3nd page:
On my 4 or 5 list of references? How many references list do I required?
You have an awesome and advice in a tips! I’ve never seen like this before! I just start to come here and found you in a suddenly. Great tips!
Chai,
Our resume template should help. The template is for people who want to break into banking. Not sure if it is applicable to Wetseal but you can give it a shot
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-resume-university-student/
Thank you, Brian!
I couldn’t find the right websites, but again, Thank you!
Chai,
I had State AP scholar (one male and one female from each state) and I was the only junior with National AP scholar in my state ( most ppl get it in their senior years). Should I also put this on my resume? In of the articles on here I read that you should leave out your high school. But i think I did quite well, SAT, GPA…
Thanks alot.
You can put your SAT scores. Unless you are a freshman, no one really cares about your HS experience.
Hi Nicole,
Furthermore, how would you put trading simulator on Investopedia on the resume? Should it be in the SKills and Interest or be a single entry in Activities?
Thanks alot,
Interest. I don’t think this matters too much. Focus on your work & leadership experience
You’ve made a mistake in the CV, if you look at the final one, under languages after you put a semi colon you spelt conversational with a capital C, it shouldn’t be capital.
It’s after a semicolon, so it’s fine in this case. Normally you capitalize items in a list separated by semicolons.
Hi,
I’m just writing with a query regarding work experience. I’m currently a Master’s degree student in Economics and I’m undertaking a student banking survey project with two major bank branch competitors near my college.
Essentially, I lead a team which is currently surveying students at my university regarding student banking, what are the most important factors for them when choosing a bank account, what would they most like to see in their bank account, etc.
I am currently collaborating with the two branch managers to devise the questionnaire and then present a business report providing recommendations to the two banks based on our findings. They have agreed to provide funding for the purpose of promoting the project, e.g. iTunes vouchers, other prizes, etc.
I want to get your opinion as to how I can best present this on my CV in a way that sounds relevant to banks- so far, I am emphasising the collaboration with branch managers on the survey, regular client contact, and the fact that the branches are funding the project.
Any further suggestions as to how I can properly present this experience on my CV?
You need to emphasize the dollar value of what you’re doing. How much in additional revenue could it generate? How many new clients could it bring in? Focus on the results or potential results rather than just working with branch managers or clients.
Hi Brian,
Many thanks for your reply. So, what would you recommend in that instance? How could I leverage this project to gain new customers for the bank or raise revenue from the project?
Are you making an impact with your project? Are you helping your bank generate higher revenues given the results of your project? You should be able to answer these questions.
Hi,
After having done more work on my project since, I just have a quick question following on from what we discussed previously. Yes, you’ve provided enough pointers, but I just wish to ask if emphasising marketing of the bank to increase the number of customers is an effective way to focus on impact of the project.
i.e. I cannot actually sign students up to an account myself due to legal restrictions, so my only option for this project is to market the bank while conducting student surveys.
So, my question essentially: Is emphasising the marketing aspect in order to increase customers an effective way of focusing on potential results of the project?
Yes.
New to the site but I’ve wanted to be in investment banking since I graduated from university. I’ve been out of school since 2007 and doing other jobs since to pay the bills because I couldn’t land a job in the industry. How would I spin this 4 year gap into making me more marketable? Also I currently work in sales/finance but not the type that will get me to where I want to be. Thanks In advance.
At this stage the best approach is to go to a top MBA program to re-brand yourself – otherwise you probably can’t overcome that gap, at least if you want to IB.
I am a junior at a non target majoring in Mathematics. I am very interested in finance/IB and have taken some relevant courses (fin accounting, econ, entrepreneurship). I am applying for internships at some MM boutiques this summer, but I have no relevant work experience. All I have is a 6 month internship in a research lab (biophysics) and part-time retail job. I am not sure if I should include either of these on my resume. Any suggestions?
Yes unless you have other finance related experience you can put on your resume.
Hi,
thanks for all the useful information. I am in charge of the family stock portfolio for the last 2 years with good results. Due to the fact that I have limited work experience should I put it in work experience or not. Thanks for your time and attention.
Yes esp if you have achieved solid performance
Hi, I’ve been following your site and it is very informative. Keep up the good work!
One quick question regarding resume/experience.
I have two unique opportunities in place. One is for an internship for a private tax/accountant and the other is a bank teller position at BAC. I in no way intend to be an accountant, but this is all I could currently get (being a freshmen in college). Which of the two do you believe is the more favorable position for someone looking to get into IB in the coming years. Again, I am a freshmen so take this with a grain of salt. Thanks !
Accountant given the accounting skills you would gain from the role
Hi,
Just writing with a quick question re internships. Yes, banks seem to place a big value on them, but what does an intern actually do? e.g. If I was to go work as an intern for JPMorgan on a Monday morning, what tasks would I be assigned?
I ask this because I intend on applying for full-time opportunities and want to make my own experiences sound relevant and as valuable as internships.
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banking-summer-analyst-work/
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/prepare-for-investment-banking-summer-internship/
Great Article,
Should one put their ACT score if they did not take an SAT for college? I went to school at Belmont University and Middle Tennessee State University, both in TN, and most people do not take SAT here.
Thanks!
Sure.
Since I don’t see too much on graduates out of school already working in non-investment banking, I have a couple of questions. I’ve recently graduated from an Asian university, now working in Singapore/HK in a BB firm PWM- mainly products and investments, no client interaction so far.
1. Is it “safe” to aggresively network for an IBD role in a financial sector that’s quite close knit in these cities.
2. How useful are the resume/cover letter and coaching services for someone who’s in my situation? I just want to know if the breaking into IBD tactics here apply just as well to someone like me too?
1. Yes
2. Yes. Please email coaching@mergersandinquisitions.com if you have specific questions
Hi,
Is there any way you could provide an example of a way to turn a consulting club into an entry under “work experience?” This is all I currently have:
• Member of student-run consulting club which holds career fairs, case competitions, professional development workshops, mock interviews and resume critiques to prepare students for recruiting processes and future careers.
To be honest, I am a member but haven’t been to any of the events that the club holds – is there any way to expand on this anyway?
Thanks so much for all of your help!
Focus on the cases that you’ve done – have you done any IB related cases? Expand on those.
I haven’t at all.. so would it be better to delete that entry and instead use a marketing internship I had (in which I actually did things) that I can spin in a finance direction? Even though the consulting club is actually finance?
Sure
Hi, I just have a few questions regarding my resume. I’m a sophomore right now and my overall GPA isn’t the best, but my 1st semester 2nd year GPA is above a 3.0 so should I list that right now? When applying for internships, can I list classes that I’m in the process of taking as well?
Also, I have a very small portfolio, but my father created it for me in high school right before the recession began so it took a large hit then and in the last few years communication between us has been sparse, so I cannot access it on a computer since there’s a problem with the security question. Should I still mention that I have a portfolio even though it’s not doing too well right now? My parents refused to let me get a job in high school, during the summer, or while I’m in college so I don’t even have any relevant (or irrelevant) work experience I can list. I have some leadership roles from high school clubs, but that’s about it …
Hi mate, I just want to say thank you for all the resources you have here for us. It really makes a difference. Cheers, River. (From Australia).
I currently go to Harvard and am studying neurobiology. I was initially pre-med but after talking to people, attending fairs, and reading about finance, I got hooked. I am really interested in behavioral finance. SHOULD I SWITCH TO ECONOMICS/APPLIED MATH OR CAN I STICK WITH NEUROBIOLOGY? I am a sophomore and I have time to switch but it might hurt my GPA to load in all courses into my last 2 years. Thanks so much.
You should follow your heart and be prepared to deal with the consequences of your actions. I can’t answer the question for you. Either way, it wouldn’t hurt you too much though if you really want to do finance, having Economics/Applied Math will be more useful. However, it will be harder for you to go back to Neurobiology if you switch.
I’m currently doing a year of part-time work in retail (alongside an accounting course); next year its university for me.
So the rule of thumb is to mention all the finance related experience I’ll, assumingly, have by the time I make my CV; ensuring I mention this retail experience too?
So would it be like:
“Worked in XYZ retail… ” with a short/succinct outline of what I did there?
Yes
The premise of this article is that your are helping people with no work experience. The article’s example and focus is with a person listing too much experience, having 6 different points to discuss. What if someone doesn’t have 3 relevant financial positions to spin? What if they don’t even have one.
While the sample person had a few different entries to discuss, only one entry-Student Investment Fund-was related to Finance. The point is to highlight experience in your work that is related to Finance, or spin work experience to being “Finance-related”.