How To Write An Investment Banking Resume
Note: For more detailed and up-to-date information on investment banking resumes please see the following articles:
- University Student Investment Banking Resume Template
- Investment Banker Applying to Buyside Resume Template
- MBA/Experienced Investment Banking Resume Template
99% of investment banking resumes I’ve seen fall into 1 of 2 categories:
- They are already impressive and don’t need much work aside from minor formatting issues.
- They are OK but suffer from common problems.
Most fall into category #2 – but the good news is that it’s not hard to fix these common problems.
Common Problems
The two most common problems:
- Not being specific enough.
- Not focusing on results.
Two of the pre-requisites for investment banking are attention to detail and being able to count.
So if one bullet on your resume reads, “Compiled information on acquisitions,” bankers reviewing it might think that you can neither count nor remember any detail about what you did.
And one way investment bankers distinguish themselves from lawyers and other professionals is getting paid for results rather than hours.
So you need to focus on the results.
Attention To Detail / Are You Sure You Can Count?
Here’s an example of what NOT to write on your resume:
- “Researched acquisition targets in the construction and home-building industries”
It’s an improvement over what I wrote above – but we could still add a lot more detail here.
What criteria did you use for selecting the acquisition targets? Was it based on their revenue/market cap/profitability/valuation? How did you narrow down the list from hundreds to tens?
Beyond just the detail, there’s also the problem of counting. How many targets did you research? How many interested the buyers you pitched them to?
Here’s an improved version of the same bullet point:
- “Researched over 100 acquisition targets in the construction and home-building industries and narrowed list down to 10 companies using financial criteria such as revenue growth and EBITDA margins”
This is still not the best it could be, but it’s an improvement over the first attempt.
Results Oriented
We’re still missing one key ingredient: the results of whatever you did.
Sometimes you just don’t have results: you don’t know what happened, or you left the company before anything took place.
If that’s the case and you really don’t know, it’s fine to leave them out.
But I would suggest “stretching” here and trying to come up with something to write about, even if it’s not 100% concrete or did not save or earn the company millions of dollars.
Here’s how we might add a result to the example of acquisition target research above:
- “Researched over 100 acquisition targets in the construction and home-building industries and narrowed list down to 10 companies using financial criteria such as revenue growth and EBITDA margins; resulted in private equity firm conducting additional due diligence on 3 companies“
Often there’s no real way to know how many companies they were really interested in – but conjecture is fine, especially if you’re not making any bold claims.
Again, it’s fine not to have results for every single entry, but try to use this structure wherever possible.
Usually if you “stretch” and think about the potential impact of your work – even if it’s small – you can come up with something.
Formatting Issues
I also see quite a few formatting issues with resumes. But if recruiters only spend around 30 seconds reading your resume, what’s the big deal?
Simple: the Analysts and Associates who review your resume can find formatting errors very quickly. Practically half the job of an investment banking analyst is to locate formatting mistakes in PowerPoint and fix them.
So when your dates are not aligned or you italicize text incorrectly or make a blatant spelling mistake, we can see it in 10 seconds or less.
If you want to fix formatting problems on your resume, do the following:
- Use one of the resume templates listed below to fix 90% of the basic problems.
- Once you’re done, let your resume “sit” for a day or two before editing it.
- Print it out, give a copy to a friend, and have your friend review it while you’re also looking at it in detail for mistakes.
Resume Templates
To get 90% of your questions on resumes answered, check out and use the resume templates and tutorials below:
- University Student Investment Banking Resume Template
- Investment Banker Applying to Buyside Resume Template
- MBA/Experienced Investment Banking Resume Template
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Tags: attention to detail, investment banker, investment banking, investment banking analyst, investment banking resume
Other readers who liked this article also liked these:- Copy This Experienced Investment Banker Resume Template to Break In As an Associate
- Copy This Investment Banker Resume Template to Get Into KKR (Or At Least, Something Almost as Good)
- Copy This Investment Banking Resume Template to Get In (If You’re a University Student)
- Attention To Detail: A True Story
I’m a little bit aways from applying for IB jobs but thanks for the info!
Thanks – checked out your blog too. Great material! Included a link on my blogroll now as well.
[...] An IB analyst blog: Mergers and Inquisitions – see How to Write an Investment Banking Resume and How Investment Bankers Read Your Resume. Also this entertaining but entirely plausible day in [...]
Hi,
I find this article a little confusing given what Anna Maria D’Souza advises on her investment banking resume blog, particularly this article:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5361687071199346525&postID=9077473639833061196&pli=1
The takeaway I get from your article is to be detailed while the takeaway from her article is to not be so detailed as to not have a reason for the recruiter to see you.
Appreciate the help you guys provide but I’m just a little confused atm!!
Her advice is mostly geared toward senior-level hires. Sure, if you have 20-30 years of experience it’s not realistic to list every single little detail on your resume.
Most of my advice is geared toward people with less experience who are breaking into the industry, either from undergrad or MBA programs or from other fields.
She has some good articles but keep in mind she’s a recruiter for senior-level hires so our advice is inevitably going to differ.
Hi ,
if you don’t mind, could you please critique my resume? I’ll be graduating in fall and will be applying for job soon.
Thanks
First of all thanks for such a nice blog.
I have one quick question, I am doing my graduation in engineering and have no prior internship experience in finance. Out of interest i have read books like JC hull. Should i mention it on my resume? How much trouble could i land up with this?
Thanks
Sure, but reading books doesn’t make much of a difference at all so it won’t do much either way.
I’m curious as to how many other bankers follow a similar style in writing what is an effective resume. I know everyone has their own opinion, but from my experiences I would say maybe half the people in this world would tell you (from your examples) that your resumes are too cramped and long. You explained your reasoning earlier, but would your methods get our resume thrown out immediately just from being on the lengthier side?
I mean, you have to balance it and can’t go overboard but my customers have had a long track record of success with their resumes in terms of getting interviews/offers… so I’d say it’s not an issue.
Great site here.
I sent you an e-mail asking if you’re still reviewing resumes. Please let me know if I can send, looking forward to some interviews next month!
Hi there – I just replied.
Hi, I’m an MBA with a low GPA. How can I present this on my CV and not have it ruin my chances of landing a position at a BB or a boutique? I thought of not mentioning the scale on which the GPA is computed, simply mentioning the GPA as an absolute number- do u think thats a good idea? or is brutal honesty the only way to go?
At the MBA level I would not list any kind of GPA – undergrad or (if your school computes it) business school.
If you will be writing like this:
“Researched over 100 acquisition targets in the construction and home-building industries using Capital IQ and internal databases and narrowed list down to 10 best companies. Used financial screening criteria such as revenue growth and EBITDA margins. Also used qualitative criteria such as market dynamics in construction sub-segments, strength of management teams and exposure to subprime mortgage.”
…your CV will be 2-3 pages i.e. too long
a. That was just an example sentence giving a lot of detail.
b. A lot of the people reading this are interns / students and therefore don’t have much else to write about… so this level of detail may not be a bad thing.
c. Read the “Resume” section below and see all the templates, because you say that I directly state 1057 times to keep it to 1-page.
I think my biggest weakness is lack of attention to detail, particularly, when I’m working on either boring or repetitive assignments.
When the axe is hanging over my head I do tend to perform better.
Anyhow, is the life of an Associate filled with repetitive mundane tasks.
In general can you offer any suggestions for increasing my attention to detail skills.
I really want to improve in this area. I have a good personality and I can count too. I just need to conquer this lack of attention to details issue.
Thanks!
Try working on something where you need to present to a large number of people… in-person presentations, writing for a newspaper or journal, anything where making mistakes would embarrass you is always good motivation.
Hi Brian,
I am a recent undergrad from one of the top b-schools in Canada and I interned with a leading Chinese i-bank last summer.
The office I worked was a small office so most time I only did research or admin works. I joined a deal team the last week before I finished my internship. The team were underwriting perferred stock for a textile company, , and I’ve heard the company droped the ideal since it was too small for them ($160 MM). So how can i turn this in my resume?
Thanks
See the latest article on investment banking resume templates… turn what you did into a “Potential” deal:
http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/investment-banker-resume-template-buy-side-jobs/
hi i would like to request a resume review
but the link seem not to be working
please tell me how to
thanks
Hey it’s not being offered at the moment but you can ask Kevin:
http://managementconsulted.com/management-consulting-resumes/
Sorry for an annoying GPA rounding question, but would you round a 3.97 to a 4.0? It strikes me as almost dishonest …
just leave as 3.97, makes 0 difference
Thanks for great blog!
).
I`ve got a question about bankifying my CV. Currently I`m working at corporate finance dept in the Moscow office of a Big4 company (Valuation group) and I`m planning to move to an IBD analyst position. You suggest describing the work experience using details/result framework for chosen projects.
My problem is that due to my job nature all my projects will have similar description: “performed valuation using DCF/comps, prepared valuation report/presentation”. And as our work is usually not deal-driven it`s difficult to link the stuff we do to certain results (clients often don`t give a shit about the figures we provide – it`s Russia
So I wonder whether I still should stick to the details/results framework or whether it will be better to just describe my areas of expertise in more general way (like performed DCF analysis in industries, comps, made presentations/reports – something like that) without specifying certain projects?
I would pick maybe 2 projects then and try to make them sound slightly different from each other. It’s always better to highlight specific deals, even if they are very similar.
Great site. Do you recommend putting SAT and GMAT scores on the resume? What if the scores were on the low side. I have a high GPA. So, i will put that score on the resume. Bu,t i am wondering about test scores. Also, are you asked about scores in the interview? Thanks.
SAT and GPA should be included. GMAT is not necessary. Maybe exclude SAT if it’s low but you definitely need GPA. You may be asked about your scores in an interview if they’re on the low side, but otherwise no.
Hi, I am a 1st year MBA student from engineering background but want to find an investment banking intern next summer. Would you please help me by reviewing my resume? Thank you!
I’m not offering resume reviews at the moment but you can speak with Kevin/Jerry on Management Consulted for this service.
Hi,
Just wondering, under the ’skills’ tab in our resume, if we are fluent in more than one language, is it okay to separate them with commas?
E.g.
Fluent in Spanish, German & French. Conversational Proficiency in Mandarin & Cantonese.
many thanks!
Yes
same question, although i took the PSATs and got 750 on math, should i put that as my math SAT score even though it’s not the official SAT score?
Sure
for 2nd/3rd year GPA I have 3.5 but cumulative 3.3. is it worth putting 2nd/3rd year?
Doesn’t matter too much but sure
Hi,
Would like to thank you for your articles – really does provide a valuable insight into the industry! Im currently on a Masters programme and on the hunt to secure my first job in the industry. I was wondering whether it is possible to have you review my CV? Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated!
You can go through the MC finance resume service here:
http://managementconsulted.com/finance-and-consulting-resumes/