Investment Banking CV— Template and 25+ Writing Tips

You have cancelled all other commitments and family meetings for the next 10 years.

You have summarised and memorised 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 banker CV as polished as your brogues.

In this guide, you will find:

• An investment banking CV template that gets jobs.
• How to ace your investment banker job description on a CV.
• How to write a CV for senior and entry-level investment banking jobs that get the interviews.
• Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing a bank job.

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If you’re looking for other CV examples for finance and accounting, see our guides:

• Accounting Manager CV Examples
• Business Analyst CV Examples
• Data Analyst CV Examples
• Entry-Level Business Analyst CV Examples
• Financial Advisor CV Examples
• Accounting CV Examples
• Accounts Receivable CV Examples
• Manager CV Examples
• Financial Analyst CV Examples
• Accounting Assistant CV Examples

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our CV Examples for Any Job.

Investment Banking Analyst CV Template You Can Copy and Use

Now here’s how to write an investment banking CV like this:

1. Select the Right Investment Banking CV Format

Let’s face the reality here: everyone wants this job. 

Hundreds of candidates spend hours writing their investment banker CVs. 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 CV format for your investment banking CV. Here’s how to do it:

Investment Banking CV Format

• Use a common CV font in at least a size 9 and neat CV margins, such as 0.75”, or 1”. 
• Try to stick to a 1-page CV. In this profession, anything longer won’t be accepted. 
• Use the reverse-chronological CV format, as it’s easily scannable and read. 
• Make sure to save your CV in PDF. This way the formatting will stay intact. 

What you prioritise next will be dictated by the kind of candidate you are.

2. Add a Qualifications Summary or Objective to Your Investment Banking CV—Or Know When to Skip It

An average recruiter looks at your CV 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 CVs will benefit from having a skillfully written CV profile.

Usually, a qualifications summary or CV objective allows you to tell the whole story right away, in seconds.

Your investment banking CV 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 CV profile section as an opportunity to convey fast and accurate facts. Just like bankers like it.

Here’s an example:

Investment Banking CV Sample: Qualifications Summary

Expert Hint: Prioritise your best assets. An investment banking analyst CV will differ from an investment banking associate’s CV. If you have full time experience, start your CV with your investment banking job description. If you are a graduate applying for an analyst position, start your with your education section. 

3. Make Your Education Stand Out In The Pile

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 CV education section on top, making sure to list all honours 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 university 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 CV. 

And remember—

Never underestimate the power of networking at university. 

Investment Banker CV Example: Education

If you already have full-time investment banking experience and are building an experienced investment banking CV, you should relegate your education to a secondary mention. 

Experienced Investment Banker’s CV Example: Education 

You have actual experience to talk about now.

Your university is now something you will reminisce about over dinner with other bankers—not something your job will depend on.

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4. Write An Investment Banker Job Description That Makes People Invest in You

If you’re preparing an investment analyst CV with little or no experience, the work experience CV section will be your best bet. 

List anything that shows your enthusiasm and interest in Finance: relevant university 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 university 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. 

Investment Banking Analyst Job Description

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 CV 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 CV work experience section you’ll list your transaction history. 

Look at the examples below:

Experienced Investment Banking CV Job Description

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!

5. Finish Your Investment Banking CV with a Powerful Skills Section

The last section of your investment banker CV 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 CV. 

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:

Key Skills for an Investment Banking CV:

• Advanced Excel
• Any programming language, especially R, Python, Java, C++
• Data Analysis Software such as MATLAB, STATA
• Analytical Thinking
• Teamwork and Team Leadership
• Communication & Interpersonal Skills
• Language Skills
• Resilience

And here’s how to put your skills in your investment banking CV:

Investment Banking CV Skills Section

Expert Hint: For investment banking analyst CVs, try to avoid empty statements and generic skills. Everyone here is detail-oriented.

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Key Points

It is not easy to get your investment banking CV picked out of the pile.

Use these tips to write a perfect investment banking CV:

• Prioritise your best assets. If you are a graduate applying for an analyst position, start your investment banking CV the education section. If you already have full time experience, start with a work experience section.
• If you decide to use aCV summary, keep it concise and factual.
• For investment banking jobs, submit a1-pageCV. Anything longer goes in the trash.
• Write about your workachievements, not tasks
• Sprinkle it with numbers: GPA, assets under management, transaction history. 
• Save space to save their time: combine Certifications and Hobbies into one CV section.
• Write a matching investment banking cover letter. 

Got questions on how to write a great CV for investment banking jobs? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to help.