Investment banking is a challenging profession. Typical work weeks demand far more hours than most jobs, and high-stress and tight deadlines are the norms, not the exception.
Despite this, investment banking jobs can be very lucrative and rewarding. If you’re looking to take your career to the next level, writing a cover letter for a job and building a resume are necessary steps you gotta take.
Your time is precious, which is why we’ve researched the best resumes and what employers are looking for in 2024. We’ve created ten investment banking resume samples, plus a guide to making this as painless as possible. Check out our tips and see what skills you’ll need to land that high-paying position
Why this resume works
- Did you know that over 300 applicants often apply to a single investment banking job posting?
- A good investment banking resume starts with a professional resume format.
- The reverse-chronological format is an excellent way to go, as it lists your most relevant and current experience toward the top of the page; if your information’s buried, there’s little chance a busy hiring manager will have the time or desire to dig for it.
- Keep your resume short and to the point.
- Sometimes, there’s a tendency for people to want to include every internship or job they’ve held since they were 10. But, the lemonade stand you operated with your neighbor isn’t really relevant here. Limit your work experience to the most relevant and recent two to four jobs you’ve held, and make sure you keep your resume at exactly one page.
Why this resume works
- Are you one of those people who’ve been naturally good with numbers? If so, for your investment banking intern resume, you can mention a past work experience as simple as a cashier!
- What would make this experience go from simple to great are the results you discuss in your investment banking cover letter and resume. Show the employer why you’re above the average with any past relevant project highlighting your knowledge on how to spot market trends and analyze a firm’s potential.
Why this resume works
- It’s difficult to get your foot in the door with an entry-level investment banking resume.
- When you don’t have much job experience in the field, make sure to include relevant internships, school projects, hobbies, or even volunteer work.
- If you lack internships or volunteer work, don’t worry! Any experience can be written to highlight skills on your resume that are especially relevant to investment banking.
- For example, restaurant jobs also require high-pressure, high-stress work where you must work quickly with a team.
- We recommend including a resume career objective when you’re light on job experience.
- However, career objectives need to be made highly specific to each job you apply to!
- You’ll make an impact when you include the name of the company you’re applying to while also briefly discussing transferrable skills you can bring to the job.
Why this resume works
- Your investment banking associate resume might be brimming with impressive work experience, but one small detail on your resume could keep hiring managers from reading it—your resume skills section.
- It’s a small part; nonetheless, a skills section is a critical part of your resume.
- That’s because investment banking jobs are incredibly competitive. It’s common for 300-400 applicants to apply to a single job posting! So, hiring managers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), which filters and discards resumes that are lacking or light on keywords, to quickly eliminate applicants who may not be a good fit.
- Another way to increase your chances of securing an interview is to choose a resume template that’s both professional and stylish.
- While content is king, employers are likely to miss your content if the resume itself is dull and underwhelming.
Why this resume works
- Trying to sell yourself with a two or 3-page resume is one way to torpedo your interview chances. And failing to tailor it to the job? Now, that could be the final nail in your job hunt—recruiters hate generic pitches more than we all despise Monday mornings.
- A job-winning, experienced investment banking resume must match the open role’s requirements, so adding the right keywords to see to it that it does that is on you. Do all your resume sections indicate your suitability for the role, whether showing off transferable skills or a relevant educational background? Yes? You’re right on course!
Why this resume works
- If calling the shot is right up your alley, recruiters are combing the market to find you. Think of sharing your greatest professional accomplishments (quantified) in your investment banking vice president resume as putting up a beacon to help them single you out.
- With a phrase such as “oversaw a $452 million cross-border M&A transaction, using Eikon to assess financial market conditions and identifying cost-savings worth $18 million” in Rhys’ resume, you get the picture.
Why this resume works
- Now, Goldman Sachs isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But if you’re determined enough and have a broad financial background to showcase, then it might be yours!
- Qualifications such as a master’s degree and various financial roles that show your expertise with tools like Bloomberg Terminal and Aladdin are an added advantage for your Goldman Sachs investment banking resume.
Why this resume works
- It’s important to get your investment banking analyst resume right. According to hiring managers, only 10 percent of aspiring investment bankers with a college degree will get a job in the field.
- Aside from earning stellar grades and gaining applicable experience, you need a resume that will reflect those details while visually attracting the eye.
- If, say, you apply to Barclays with impressive work experience, it’s a great start; but how you demonstrate your impressive work history will determine whether your resume makes the cut…or ends up in the garbage.
- Make sure you’re including quantifiable metrics throughout your entire resume.
- Metrics are an efficient way to demonstrate your abilities, as numbers show (rather than tell) employers the results you’ve achieved.
- Examples of quantifiable metrics relevant for investment bankers include the number of clients you’ve worked with, client satisfaction ratings, your average rate of returns, how data you’ve compiled and analyzed financially benefited the company, etc.
Why this resume works
- When you’re writing your real estate investment banking resume, make sure it’s flawless by double-checking your resume for thoughtful word choices, sentence structure, and formatting.
- One of the most difficult aspects of writing resumes is learning how to sell yourself. This is the time to own it!
- Avoid diminishing or devaluing language when writing about your experience.
- A great place to start “owning it” is your resume summary.
- Hey, if you’ve got 10 or more years under your belt in the same industry, say so! And take the time to dazzle employers with any specializations you’ve honed in two to three power-packed summary sentences while you’re at it.
- Unlike the resume objective, a summary is exclusive to candidates with extensive experience.
- Did you know that 80 percent of investment banking hiring managers surveyed said they wouldn’t hire a candidate who didn’t present themselves confidently?
- Use action words to start each sentence and active voice to strengthen the flow.
Why this resume works
- You have a thing for digging deeper to learn more about market trends. Recruiters are cut from the same cloth, too, which makes adding the link to your LinkedIn profile to your investment banking research analyst resume an absolute must.
- A hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile is worth the real estate in your resume’s header. And how do you ensure that works to your advantage? Customize the profile so it paints a pretty picture of an experienced and heavily recommended investment banking research analyst. It’s about adding depth to your professional persona.
