
What to Write in an Email when Sending a Resume in 2023
Learn how to email a resume the right way and start getting more job offers. See a proven resume email sample and learn how to write one yourself.
You’re trying to break into the most competitive industry on the planet. Help investment bankers understand how valuable you are with this investment banking resume template.
You have cancelled all other commitments and family meetings for the next 10 years.
You have summarized and memorized the key points of every issue of the Financial Times since 2001.
You’re going to be an investment banker, so help you God.
All that’s missing is an investment banking resume as polished as your brogues.
In this guide, you will find:
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Thomas May
1 Central Ave, Brunswick, ME
270-733-9543
ThomasMay@gmail.com
Qualifications Summary
Education
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
Economics, BA: 3.8 GPA
Expected Graduation Date: July 2020
Honors: Sarah and James Bowdoin Scholar
Relevant Coursework: Financial Economics A, Macroeconomics A, Microeconomics A
Work & Leadership Experience
Summer Intern
Goldman Sachs, June 2019–August 2019, New York, NY
President
Finance Society, October 2018–Current, Bowdoin College
Lacrosse Team Captain
March 2019–Current, Bowdoin College
Customer Assistant
Tom’s General Store, October 2017–June 2019, Brunswick, ME
Certifications, Key Skills & Additional Information
Now here’s how to write an investment banking resume like this:
Let’s face the reality here: everyone wants this job.
Hundreds of candidates spend hours writing their investment banking resumes. Yet nobody calls them. So they’ll have to take their suits back to the store, and cancel their FT subscription.
This won’t happen to you—
As long as you pick the right resume format for your investment banking resume. Here’s how to do it:
What you prioritize next will be dictated by the kind of candidate you are.
An average recruiter looks at your resume for 7 seconds. A sleep deprived investment associate will not gaze that long.
Utilise the very few seconds of attention you have to the best of your advantage by prioritising the most important information.
Most resumes will benefit from having a skillfully written resume profile.
Usually, a qualifications summary or resume objective allows you to tell the whole story right away, in seconds.
Your investment banking resume might too—but not in all cases.
Many people in the industry will tell you to skip writing your profile entirely. Reason?
Time savings.
Too afraid to skip it?
Go for bullet points and use your investment banking resume profile section as an opportunity to convey fast and accurate facts. Just like bankers like it.
Here’s an example:
Expert Hint: Prioritise your best assets. An investment banking analyst resume will differ from an investment banking associate’s resume. If you have full time experience, start your resume with your investment banking job description. If you are a graduate applying for an analyst position, start your with your education section.
If you are a fresh graduate, your job is the hardest of all.
You are going to be swimming in a sea full of sharks. All wearing Harvard, MIT, and Stanford ties.
But fret not. There’s a way around them.
Put your resume education section on top, making sure to list all honors you have received. Most banks simply expect their employees to be A-players.
Did you finish with an average GPA, but achieved top grades in Financial Accounting and Introduction to Economics? Those should be listed right under your GPA as “Relevant Coursework”—along with your grade.
Also, certain college names will get you further ahead. If you are from a “target” school, it is likely that an alumni from your school already working at the bank will review your resume.
And remember—
Never underestimate the power of networking at college.
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
Economics, BA: 3.8 GPA
Expected Graduation Date: July 2020
Honors: Sarah and James Bowdoin Scholar
Relevant Coursework: Financial Economics A, Macroeconomics A, Microeconomics A
If you already have full-time investment banking experience and are building an experienced investment banking resume, you should relegate your education to a secondary mention.
Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
Economics, BA: 3.8 GPA
September 2012–July 2015
You have actual experience to talk about now.
Your college is now something you will reminisce about over dinner with other bankers—not something your job will depend on.
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If you’re preparing an investment banking resume with little or no experience, the work experience resume section will be your best bet.
List anything that shows your enthusiasm and interest in Finance: relevant college clubs and societies, summer internships, and conferences. If the position involves any kind of leadership, make sure to point this out, too.
Were you on the lacrosse team? Depending on who ends up reading your application, something like this could tip the scales. Why?
Often when recruiting, people look for themselves.
Even if the person reviewing the application was not the lacrosse captain, a candidate that plays varsity sports and is involved in running college societies on top of keeping a 3.8 GPA is a hard worker—exactly what they’re looking for.
If you’re struggling to fill the empty space, relevant volunteering experience is something you can opt for.
Make sure you prioritise the most important points. If you had a summer internship at J.P. Morgan, you should devote the majority of your section to this.
Summer Intern
Goldman Sachs, June 2019–August 2019, New York, NY
President
Finance Society, October 2018–Current, Bowdoin College
Summer Intern
Goldman Sachs, June 2019-August 2019, New York, NY
President
Finance Society, October 2018 - Current, Bowdoin College
It’s easy to see the difference. Instead of using empty statements describing actions and responsibilities, the good example focused on quantifiable achievements.
An experienced investment banking resume needs to have a different focus.
Let’s face it—
The experiences and investment banking skills you have are similar to those of other candidates So you really need to nail your investment banking job description to stand out from this crowd.
How to do it?
Most of candidates will write about what they did.
You will write about what you achieved.
Selling and buying is the meat of the investment banking world. Everything else is supplementary.
That’s why in your investment banking resume work experience section you’ll list your transaction history.
Look at the examples below:
Investment Analyst
UBS, October 2013–August 2019, New York, NY
Investment Analyst
UBS, October 2013 - August 2019, New York, NY
By quantifying what you have already achieved, you are allowing your prospective employer to see clearly what you can do for them. That’s why the good example is so powerful.
Expert Hint: Look through the projects you have collaborated on in the past and find the numbers and figures. Any numbers you can take even partial credit for are good. If you’re going to use them, you can be sure to be grilled on them, so tread lightly!
The last section of your investment banker resume should contain your certifications, skills, and RELEVANT interests.
The amount and specificity of these will of course depend on your seniority level.
Combining the Skills, Certifications and Hobbies & Interests sections will allow you to save space on headings and spacing, since we know how important staying on one page is.
Languages are always useful, but there is a specific group of languages that is worth its weight in gold.
Programming languages.
If you have done little projects in Python, C++, R; if you have worked with specialist software like MATLAB and STATA, make sure to list this on your investment banking resume.
If you are going to list your interests, make sure they display you as hard working, dedicated, and disciplined.
Here’s a list of investment banking skills to use as a reference:
And here’s how to put your skills in your investment banking resume:
Certifications, Skills & Additional Information
Expert Hint: For investment banking analyst resumes, try to avoid empty statements and generic skills. Everyone here is detail-oriented.
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It is not easy to get your investment banking resume picked out of the pile.
Use these tips to write a perfect investment banking resume:
Got questions on how to write a great resume for investment banking jobs? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to help.
Learn how to email a resume the right way and start getting more job offers. See a proven resume email sample and learn how to write one yourself.
You can stop searching—this is the ultimate collection of best resume tips that can help you succeed in 2023. These resume writing tips will help to impress hiring managers.
Are candidates more qualified than their boss? We surveyed 1,000 employees to see if they would subvert their manager and what they would do differently if they were in charge.