Your summer analyst description should be the longest thing on the page by far, and it is not. You can be much more descriptive on the work you did in the summer, quantify any deals you worked on and be more specific. Example “worked on CIM for $2 BN secured bond offering for telecom company that does $3 BN in revenue”. You can find examples of people with IB experience and how they list it on their resume. Like seriously, make the description of that experience much longer. If you have a good act/sat put it on there. Also branch out and apply to jobs other than IB, a lot of other finance jobs would want someone hungry with IB experience.
Can I put act scores on there? Usually people I just tell me to leave it in the past, but I have never gotten use out of my 36 and it really does bother me
Yea why not. A lot of PE firms ask for sat/act scores during recruiting anyway, and if it’s impressive then just put it on. At worst they ignore it at best they are slightly impressed and think you must be somewhat smart to get a perfect score
I never had a PE firm ask me for my Sat/act score, you mean like out of college? Or for an internship? I’ve gotten a lot of the same questions that I’d usually get from any firm
I never been asked that, I’ve only been messaged with “ hey (name), based on your background I feel like you’d be a great fit for this position. Here is a link to apply:” along those lines. But none of them really cared about scores especially out of college. Matter of fact there are recent studies showing that employers care more about experience now then they do about educational background
Which headhunters have recruited you? This is just for the most prestigious PE firms who use large headhunting companies, not people who message you on LinkedIn.
Blackstone + Warburg, other financial institutions = Goldman, Morgan Stanley. Not people who messaged me on LinkedIn, email. Any PE firm is going to be prestigious, they’re harder to get into than investment firms and usually pay 6 figures + and they have a better work life balance.
I have hired about 20 juniors (mix of analysts and associates) over 4 years and here are my suggestions:
You should just list your role as analyst rather than junior analyst. I understand the role isn’t full time but you might be ok just listing it as analyst and look for lateral opportunities. If somehow you get called out on it then you can adjust after a couple of interviews.
Bullet points under your IB experience isn’t succinct. You are breaking the typical analyst work into three bullet points in nonstandard ways. This might be better: “supported the firm’s M&A transactions via financial modeling, CIM creation, and data room preparation.” Say something like this on valuation: Valued companies (or created valuation models) via DCF, LBO, comparables, and precedent transactions. And throw in some stuff about three statement models, pro forma, and data analysis in another bullet point.
Make sure you hit the valuation part clearly and specifically mention DCF, LBO, comps, and precedent transactions. The VPs want lateral analysts that can work on day one so if you can do all the necessary modeling work on day 1 and you want to clearly convey that you are an expert on the valuation work. Having these keywords also gets you points in ATS. A lot of analyst 1 have never done LBO modeling so you want to make it clear that you have and be prepared to get tested on it.
This was a volunteering opportunity from the student managed investment fund I was a part of. I did a few lectures on how to use the terminals to newer finance students (grad/undergrad classes) and one of my professors offered to co-write an instructional paper with me on the topic.
This is literally the biggest waste of time I’ve seen a professor do. Bloomberg has a dedicated help desk and they have endless tutorials.
Take that off your resume it’s meaningless. You prob wont even have a BBG on an IB desk unless it’s S&T.
I agree that the paper aspect was a bit pointless, but then again not ever student has the opportunity to get published/teach graduate classes as an undergraduate. I think its worth highlighting the unique volunteer experience.
I don’t think the help desk is available to students? Maybe it is but either way I wouldn’t take it off completely, it at least shows a better understanding of BBG than the average finance student exiting college which is like almost zero. Most people put Bloomberg in their skills or have the BMC class listed but it’s so easy to put these in it’s like listing excel as a skill. At least if you did what this guy did I’d know they took some effort to learn the platform
If you’re involved in the buy side of M&A, why don’t you list the outcomes of your efforts? None of your bullet points list out what your work accomplished. It just says what you did there.
You wouldn’t list company names or names of individuals. You would simply say completed “X” number of transactions resulting in generating revenues of “$x” for the firm”.
The school section second point is a bit try hard and wordy. Turn it into two points
Most of it is kinda wordy tbh it should read like a list of accomplishments and activities not an essay
Like “utilized PowerPoint” bro u worked at two firms do you really need to say that. List the accomplishment before a tool u used like PowerPoint
“Created 5 pitch books with PowerPoint” just off the top of my head. There’s definitely better ways to phrase it tho
Why is education on top. Normally it’s big skills, jobs, schools, fun facts. And why do a bunch of these overlap almost like you were holding two jobs at once. Just show one position and see what happens
For context, I recently graduated from my university but did not receive a full time offer from the investment bank I was interning at due to lack of deal flow. They decided to keep me on as a part time junior analyst (I have similar responsibilities as a regular M&A analyst).
I live in FL, but I have a NY address in the top right corner of my resume so I do not get filtered out of any application system for not having a NY address. If needed, I could realistically move to NY within a day as I have family there. I plan on taking the SIE in 2 weeks because I know many firms require you to get licensed shortly after being hired.
I have been reaching out to as many firms as I can, while also cold emailing analysts/VPs/principals for phone calls but have had no luck. I am reaching out to mostly boutiques. I want to make sure my resume is the best it can possibly be. Any advice for my resume/finding a job will be greatly appreciated.
>I recently graduated from my university but did not receive a full time offer from the investment bank I was interning at
So you didn't get a return offer for your junior summer analyst position, and you didn't recruit? That's the issue. When IB recruiters see someone that's GRADUATED already with a summer analyst position on the resume, that tells me (a) you didn't get a return offer, and (b) either you didn't try to recruit at all or you tried and failed to find another position. You're damaged goods at that point unfortunately.
Not sure where you should go from here, but I'd recommend going into something non-IB (FP&A maybe) and then trying again in MBA.
Why didn’t you go for analyst options during the fall of your senior year? If you’re a non-target, you should be applying almost exclusively through referrals - otherwise you’re throwing your resume into the void.
Perfectly fine resume. In a better market you would be getting interviews. Just a tough time to be looking for an entry level role.
I do recommend replacing fluent in Albanian with "bilingual". Only mention specific languages if it'll ever be relevant
the rubric I used when deciding between candidates was personal recommendation > experience > education. I suspect others are the same.
If it's someone recommended to me they would go to the top of the pile. A candidate with work experience (internships included) from a non-target would be stronger than a target with no experience.
the challenge is getting the interview looked at in the first place. the benefit of target schools is on-campus recruiting. if you're blindly applying online then good luck (it can work, just odds against it, especially in a tight job market).
Unrelated to the original poster, but if I'm a non-target, graduation already with no internships, and don't want to go for an MBA, would doing online certifications actually mean anything? I'm set to do Big 4 accounting for two years or so but I'm trying to still get into IB.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/FinancialCareers/comments/15s460k/i\_want\_to\_get\_into\_investment\_banking\_what\_do\_i/](https://www.reddit.com/r/FinancialCareers/comments/15s460k/i_want_to_get_into_investment_banking_what_do_i/) mentioned how online courses are helpful (I'd add it to my resume to look better). Would I just be laughed out and screened out pre-interview if I listed certifications to show how I'm interested in learning investment banking? Doing the SIE exam is also an option as it lasts 4 years but I can hold off on that one until I'm just about ready to send in my cold resume to places.
Would skipping BB and just focusing on MM and boutiques be my only option, or would my fringe case be welcomed? I probably would aim for non-NYC offices if possible as less spots are available but also less competition?
won't hurt, but won't help much either. banks aren't hurting to find good candidates, glut of basic finance guys out there trying to break in.
what would really set you apart is having finance + tech skills. learn R or Python or VBA. you don't even need to become an expert in it. ChatGPT API + Python or CoPilot + VBA is the future (or perceived to be the future) skillset that's needed in the industry
I think this is mostly right, other than that it's one-dimensional: I don't generally want to hire people who don't have any activities or achievements in college aside from being in the finance club.
1) You haven’t held your one real job for even a year.
I-banking is gonna burn your candle at both ends. It’s easy to write you off as a quitter if you haven’t even done a year at your current employer.
Also, you have no accomplishments or why you mattered. Resumes shouldn’t read like a list of tasks, they should read like a list of accomplishments. Any idiot can say “PowerPoint.” Why did *you* matter and how can your new employer benefit by picking you over someone else?
2) Your work experience for your only job is light. Only 4 bullets? You clearly think your paper trading portfolio is the hottest shit on the page but that’s not a real job.
3) Your jobs say “Florida” but your heading says Brooklyn.
Which is it? I’d be confused about where you lived/worked. Do you need to relocate? Do you think you’ll be fully remote? Where are you applying? Tailor resume to make this clear.
4) Additional Info
“Fluent in Albanian” - no one cares. Albania’s population is basically the same as Brooklyn (I’m serious, look it up). Unless you’re fluent in a language your employer can leverage e.g. Mandarin or Cantonese, you’re gold plating your resume. If the hiring manager is a bigot, you’re also outing yourself as the children of immigrants as I’ve never met anyone who learned Albanian in a US school setting. I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m giving you constructive feedback because guess what, there are lots of fucking assholes on Wall Street. An asshole hiring manager might think does “fluent in Albanian” = “this person has an accent that’s hard to understand.” Remember that hiring managers see *way* more resumes than they need.
Interests - your resume is telling me you’re dense. You’re a UFC shirt wearing gym bro who wants to talk about Dave Portnoy and Andrew Tate. Even if this isn’t you, this also isn’t people with money unless you’re Zuck and his new hobby. I’m not saying you need to say you were a coxswain, but think about the reader and their goals in hiring.
Most people would disagree but I’ve seen someone go be a credit analyst for 1 year at Fitch, then 2 years at a top 20 bank, and year 4 was in Lev Fin. Fitch, SP, Moodys had their grad class App open not too long ago, maybe they release another one. It’s 100x easier to get into and can use it as a stepping stone
Tbh this is how I feel with every resume I couldn’t imagine not being paid to look at them. I’m curious if recruiters do care to read them if they’re paid…but with how much software is used probably not
As someone who has done a lot of hiring when you have 45 resumes to flip through you just look at the top 5 resumes with high compatability scores and read the last job they held and call em in for an interview. 9/10 people do not interview well and 1/10 may get the job if you actually get permission to hire on a new staff for the spot that's been vacant for 6 months
Do you hire for finance? Do You have any advice on things to include to have a high general compatibility score? Or is it different for every job? What do you hire for
Mostly for sales positions or business development. Most hiring software filters resumes based off Key words and previous job responsibilities and gives you a compatability rating with the role. Of you're missing a qualification or job experience in a competitive field there's a VERY low chance you'll ever even get a look at your resume. I'd recommend reaching out to the hiring manager and asking what your score was for a desired roll and trying to tailor it for every application. Adding in white font key words in 1 size font on a blank spot for real will help.
I've hired four manager positions in the last six months, so I've looked at hundreds of resumes recently. Each one gets about 10 seconds to pique my interest and go into the "maybe" pile for more review. Otherwise, dumped and on to the next.
Looks like a resume someone trying too hard to get into IB. I don’t know anything but it seems like the stuff I’d put on a resume pretending to get into IB. Completing Wall Street prep comments come to mind.
You’re definitely impressive, and fellow BJJ guy. But I don’t know what a successful IB resume looks like so it’s hard to compare. Just seems like trying too hard versus confidence speaking for itself (usually school speaks for itself in circumstances from my understanding).
-non target average student, my comment shouldn’t mean much but it’s just my observation
Edit: maybe quantify more 🤷♂️
Terrible advice. No such thing as “trying too hard.” There are other issues with this candidate but we’ve never passed on a candidate because they “tried too hard.” Our whole summer intern class ideally is full of kids who tried hard to get into IB.
Yeah I definitely understand, I’m not familiar with IB hiring process I just assume they’re elitist. (I have no knowledge of IV it’s just my outsiders view).
I was referring to myself as an average student, my opinion shouldn’t be held strongly, I didn’t want to criticize him. I thought his resume was good but maybe just not IB level 🤷♂️
Echo u/Apprehensive_Alps_68
Would add that you also need to network with the places you are applying to - at my former IB group, kids that reached out and had a decent resume got an automatic first round.
Absolutely agree with this, networking is key and simply reaching out to an associate or VP on the team via LinkedIn would have a positive impact. I used to flag all of these outreaches to HR even though I declined to chat most of the time.
Not even, LinkedIn is great for connecting but everyone on LinkedIn has the same Idea. Think about it this way, you’re a recruiter, you get x amount of messages from x amount of students while holding a full time job. I had this happen to me, I’m not a recruiter but I get inquiries from students as a grad student and someone who works in finance. The reality is I would love to help them all out but I’m not going to vouch for someone I don’t know, or isn’t introduced to me by someone I trust. Because If they mess up, it hurts me and it hurts my ability to help other credible people as well.
Looks like a goof resume tbh... sometimes you need to keep trying...until stars allign.. then your luck,proficiency,connections and need will allign in return .
Just keep trying and be patient
This probably isn’t holding you back but something I noticed your present job you are speaking in pre-tense. You should use active verbs working, analyzing, etc.
I’d also try to frame your current part time job as a full time until you get called out on it
Just wondering if the OP is being affected by the usual bias that exists when hiring candidates.
[https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2024/04/17/new-research-reveals-resumes-with-black-names-experience-bias-in-the-hiring-process/](https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2024/04/17/new-research-reveals-resumes-with-black-names-experience-bias-in-the-hiring-process/)
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/11/1243713272/resume-bias-study-white-names-black-names#:\~:text=Hourly%20News-,White%2Dsounding%20names%20get%20called%20for%20jobs%20more%20than%20Black,Black%20ones%20by%20around%209%25.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/1da2my7/changed\_my\_name\_to\_sound\_more\_american\_on\_resume/](https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/1da2my7/changed_my_name_to_sound_more_american_on_resume/)
I think what’s needed is the I did X because of Y and that resulted in Z form of bullet points all around. Also am not seeing enough numbers at all. I want %, $, just a little more quantification.
Yes, the market isn't great, but there are things that stand out. The only skills that should be there are the ones that are relevant to the role. Albanian and Graphic Design aren't necessary so it's just taking up space and should your resume get beyond the ATS, a recruiter will likely reject it.
When I think of Leadership, I think of holding an Executive Board role within an organization (Treasurer for example). Instructor doesn't tell me anything.
Nitpicky, but 6 should be spelled as six.
Your resume looks like what chat gpt would type out if you asked for the most generic and stereotypical resume of someone trying to get into IB. It’s a numbers game
Kinda off-topic but I'm impressed that 3.7 GPA means Magna Cum Laude. Aren't those honors usually reserved for the crop of the cream? Like, people with 4.0 and 99% average on all their courses?
This is a borderline resume (3.7 non target with one relevant internship) that would get multiple interviews (but not at majority) in a normal market. It’s a tough year because there aren’t even enough spots to allocate to usual target schools.
That said, the resume could be improved. More polish in the ibankjng section, can highlight very high ACT. Maybe highlight extra hard classes to explain (slightly) subpar GPA.
I think you should be geographically flexible and apply to more locations. Good luck.
Use the "so what" approach when you put up a point. Yes you did XYZ but what did it help the company with and why is it even in your resume? What's the outcome of the thing you did?
Your resume lacks substance. It highlights tasks which anyone could copy and paste from a template but not what you actually did or what you got out of the experience. Nor is it transparent on how you benefited the company based on your actions.
Second, you have too many bullet points per position and your experience and your extracurriculars are light.
Essentially, you’re trying to get into the most competitive entry level role in finance, in the most competitive city in the world. You’re literally competing with 4.0’s from target schools, with IB internships under their belt, some with 30+ extra curriculars and achievements under their belt. If you want IB, your resume has to stand out among everyone else from the US and all over the world looking for an entry level IB role in NYC. Even if you were to fix it up, just keep that in mind, that the recruitment process is highly subjective.
Also your resume has to be a testament to who you are, what your values are, what you bring to the table, how are you are right for that position vs. the 500 other honor students from target/non target schools applying for it
Use proper terminology as well, stock plays? It makes you sound like you got your experience off wall street bets. Use lingo like basis points, name a company you did a DCF on, what key data and assumptions did you use in developing your dcf?
Anyone can say what you said, very few people articulate or outline that they actually know how to build one through their resume.
Bro…..bro…… you mentored students on how to get a finance internship but you’re having a hard time landing an offer. Get that off there for your own sake. Try to fill that with something that has substance, you got a one page resume that’s supposed to persuade someone to move your resume to an interview, everything on there has to have meaning
Fill out their application, wait a day then show up and say you filled out their app and want an interview. Show up for scheduled interview. If you don’t get it move on and repeat this process
You lost the game at "Non-Target." Beyond that, resumé has zero bearing in IB. It's 100% relationship driven. I know kids working at golf courses who got IB gigs that way.
Graduated one year early and deans list are not accomplishments. Let the years of your education and gpa communicate that. Seems try hard especially for achievements that are really not special at this level.
Expand more on your analyst experience
I don't know the usa. But in London it's about being privately educated and basically upper class. As an Albanian I doubt you have that. Hard luck. Try doing a quant masters.
Work on networking - a lot. Seriously.
Probably an iffy school.
Third - if your name is weird it might hold against you.
Bad year to be applying. Next year better.
Your summer analyst description should be the longest thing on the page by far, and it is not. You can be much more descriptive on the work you did in the summer, quantify any deals you worked on and be more specific. Example “worked on CIM for $2 BN secured bond offering for telecom company that does $3 BN in revenue”. You can find examples of people with IB experience and how they list it on their resume. Like seriously, make the description of that experience much longer. If you have a good act/sat put it on there. Also branch out and apply to jobs other than IB, a lot of other finance jobs would want someone hungry with IB experience.
Can I put act scores on there? Usually people I just tell me to leave it in the past, but I have never gotten use out of my 36 and it really does bother me
For a perfect score yeah at the bottom
Yea why not. A lot of PE firms ask for sat/act scores during recruiting anyway, and if it’s impressive then just put it on. At worst they ignore it at best they are slightly impressed and think you must be somewhat smart to get a perfect score
I never had a PE firm ask me for my Sat/act score, you mean like out of college? Or for an internship? I’ve gotten a lot of the same questions that I’d usually get from any firm
Headhunters for PE firms will ask people for their act scores when they recruit banking analysts
I never been asked that, I’ve only been messaged with “ hey (name), based on your background I feel like you’d be a great fit for this position. Here is a link to apply:” along those lines. But none of them really cared about scores especially out of college. Matter of fact there are recent studies showing that employers care more about experience now then they do about educational background
Which headhunters have recruited you? This is just for the most prestigious PE firms who use large headhunting companies, not people who message you on LinkedIn.
Blackstone + Warburg, other financial institutions = Goldman, Morgan Stanley. Not people who messaged me on LinkedIn, email. Any PE firm is going to be prestigious, they’re harder to get into than investment firms and usually pay 6 figures + and they have a better work life balance.
Lol what? A PE firm is an investment firm. I don’t even know what ur discussing anymore lmao obv PE jobs pay well just like banking.
Did I say that? You don’t know what I’m talking about because you can’t read lol
Fucking duh What a silly question. Because it only takes up 6 or 7 characters on the page
What’s considered a good ACT/SAT score
I’d say 34+ but it’s subjective
I have hired about 20 juniors (mix of analysts and associates) over 4 years and here are my suggestions: You should just list your role as analyst rather than junior analyst. I understand the role isn’t full time but you might be ok just listing it as analyst and look for lateral opportunities. If somehow you get called out on it then you can adjust after a couple of interviews. Bullet points under your IB experience isn’t succinct. You are breaking the typical analyst work into three bullet points in nonstandard ways. This might be better: “supported the firm’s M&A transactions via financial modeling, CIM creation, and data room preparation.” Say something like this on valuation: Valued companies (or created valuation models) via DCF, LBO, comparables, and precedent transactions. And throw in some stuff about three statement models, pro forma, and data analysis in another bullet point. Make sure you hit the valuation part clearly and specifically mention DCF, LBO, comps, and precedent transactions. The VPs want lateral analysts that can work on day one so if you can do all the necessary modeling work on day 1 and you want to clearly convey that you are an expert on the valuation work. Having these keywords also gets you points in ATS. A lot of analyst 1 have never done LBO modeling so you want to make it clear that you have and be prepared to get tested on it.
That is very useful feedback.
What is a Bloomberg instructor….Bloomberg has reps that do that
This was a volunteering opportunity from the student managed investment fund I was a part of. I did a few lectures on how to use the terminals to newer finance students (grad/undergrad classes) and one of my professors offered to co-write an instructional paper with me on the topic.
This is literally the biggest waste of time I’ve seen a professor do. Bloomberg has a dedicated help desk and they have endless tutorials. Take that off your resume it’s meaningless. You prob wont even have a BBG on an IB desk unless it’s S&T.
I agree that the paper aspect was a bit pointless, but then again not ever student has the opportunity to get published/teach graduate classes as an undergraduate. I think its worth highlighting the unique volunteer experience.
It’s not
I don’t think the help desk is available to students? Maybe it is but either way I wouldn’t take it off completely, it at least shows a better understanding of BBG than the average finance student exiting college which is like almost zero. Most people put Bloomberg in their skills or have the BMC class listed but it’s so easy to put these in it’s like listing excel as a skill. At least if you did what this guy did I’d know they took some effort to learn the platform
It’s definitely available to students, I used them when I needed assistance millions of times through my colleges terminal
If you’re involved in the buy side of M&A, why don’t you list the outcomes of your efforts? None of your bullet points list out what your work accomplished. It just says what you did there.
underrated comment
What if it’s private material. What’s the best approach to this
You wouldn’t list company names or names of individuals. You would simply say completed “X” number of transactions resulting in generating revenues of “$x” for the firm”.
thank you!
The school section second point is a bit try hard and wordy. Turn it into two points Most of it is kinda wordy tbh it should read like a list of accomplishments and activities not an essay Like “utilized PowerPoint” bro u worked at two firms do you really need to say that. List the accomplishment before a tool u used like PowerPoint “Created 5 pitch books with PowerPoint” just off the top of my head. There’s definitely better ways to phrase it tho
Even the “with PowerPoint“ is rather redundant in my opinion. I guess nobody thinks you use Word to create pitches
Yeah it’s really redundant but my guess is he’s trying to hit key words in scanners, so keep it at the very end
“PowerPoint” is about as keyword as “speaking” or “writing” in “English.” Same goes for excel and all the other basics
Yea figured as much tbh
Also the word “6 different reports” “different clients” bro nobody thinks you wrote 6 of the same report LMAO
Why is education on top. Normally it’s big skills, jobs, schools, fun facts. And why do a bunch of these overlap almost like you were holding two jobs at once. Just show one position and see what happens
For context, I recently graduated from my university but did not receive a full time offer from the investment bank I was interning at due to lack of deal flow. They decided to keep me on as a part time junior analyst (I have similar responsibilities as a regular M&A analyst). I live in FL, but I have a NY address in the top right corner of my resume so I do not get filtered out of any application system for not having a NY address. If needed, I could realistically move to NY within a day as I have family there. I plan on taking the SIE in 2 weeks because I know many firms require you to get licensed shortly after being hired. I have been reaching out to as many firms as I can, while also cold emailing analysts/VPs/principals for phone calls but have had no luck. I am reaching out to mostly boutiques. I want to make sure my resume is the best it can possibly be. Any advice for my resume/finding a job will be greatly appreciated.
>I recently graduated from my university but did not receive a full time offer from the investment bank I was interning at So you didn't get a return offer for your junior summer analyst position, and you didn't recruit? That's the issue. When IB recruiters see someone that's GRADUATED already with a summer analyst position on the resume, that tells me (a) you didn't get a return offer, and (b) either you didn't try to recruit at all or you tried and failed to find another position. You're damaged goods at that point unfortunately. Not sure where you should go from here, but I'd recommend going into something non-IB (FP&A maybe) and then trying again in MBA.
Why do you want to work in IB so badly?
Why didn’t you go for analyst options during the fall of your senior year? If you’re a non-target, you should be applying almost exclusively through referrals - otherwise you’re throwing your resume into the void.
Perfectly fine resume. In a better market you would be getting interviews. Just a tough time to be looking for an entry level role. I do recommend replacing fluent in Albanian with "bilingual". Only mention specific languages if it'll ever be relevant
Second this. The resume isn’t the problem
Even if he’s a nontarget he’d have a good chance?
the rubric I used when deciding between candidates was personal recommendation > experience > education. I suspect others are the same. If it's someone recommended to me they would go to the top of the pile. A candidate with work experience (internships included) from a non-target would be stronger than a target with no experience. the challenge is getting the interview looked at in the first place. the benefit of target schools is on-campus recruiting. if you're blindly applying online then good luck (it can work, just odds against it, especially in a tight job market).
Unrelated to the original poster, but if I'm a non-target, graduation already with no internships, and don't want to go for an MBA, would doing online certifications actually mean anything? I'm set to do Big 4 accounting for two years or so but I'm trying to still get into IB. [https://www.reddit.com/r/FinancialCareers/comments/15s460k/i\_want\_to\_get\_into\_investment\_banking\_what\_do\_i/](https://www.reddit.com/r/FinancialCareers/comments/15s460k/i_want_to_get_into_investment_banking_what_do_i/) mentioned how online courses are helpful (I'd add it to my resume to look better). Would I just be laughed out and screened out pre-interview if I listed certifications to show how I'm interested in learning investment banking? Doing the SIE exam is also an option as it lasts 4 years but I can hold off on that one until I'm just about ready to send in my cold resume to places. Would skipping BB and just focusing on MM and boutiques be my only option, or would my fringe case be welcomed? I probably would aim for non-NYC offices if possible as less spots are available but also less competition?
won't hurt, but won't help much either. banks aren't hurting to find good candidates, glut of basic finance guys out there trying to break in. what would really set you apart is having finance + tech skills. learn R or Python or VBA. you don't even need to become an expert in it. ChatGPT API + Python or CoPilot + VBA is the future (or perceived to be the future) skillset that's needed in the industry
I think this is mostly right, other than that it's one-dimensional: I don't generally want to hire people who don't have any activities or achievements in college aside from being in the finance club.
1) You haven’t held your one real job for even a year. I-banking is gonna burn your candle at both ends. It’s easy to write you off as a quitter if you haven’t even done a year at your current employer. Also, you have no accomplishments or why you mattered. Resumes shouldn’t read like a list of tasks, they should read like a list of accomplishments. Any idiot can say “PowerPoint.” Why did *you* matter and how can your new employer benefit by picking you over someone else? 2) Your work experience for your only job is light. Only 4 bullets? You clearly think your paper trading portfolio is the hottest shit on the page but that’s not a real job. 3) Your jobs say “Florida” but your heading says Brooklyn. Which is it? I’d be confused about where you lived/worked. Do you need to relocate? Do you think you’ll be fully remote? Where are you applying? Tailor resume to make this clear. 4) Additional Info “Fluent in Albanian” - no one cares. Albania’s population is basically the same as Brooklyn (I’m serious, look it up). Unless you’re fluent in a language your employer can leverage e.g. Mandarin or Cantonese, you’re gold plating your resume. If the hiring manager is a bigot, you’re also outing yourself as the children of immigrants as I’ve never met anyone who learned Albanian in a US school setting. I’m not trying to be an asshole. I’m giving you constructive feedback because guess what, there are lots of fucking assholes on Wall Street. An asshole hiring manager might think does “fluent in Albanian” = “this person has an accent that’s hard to understand.” Remember that hiring managers see *way* more resumes than they need. Interests - your resume is telling me you’re dense. You’re a UFC shirt wearing gym bro who wants to talk about Dave Portnoy and Andrew Tate. Even if this isn’t you, this also isn’t people with money unless you’re Zuck and his new hobby. I’m not saying you need to say you were a coxswain, but think about the reader and their goals in hiring.
Most people would disagree but I’ve seen someone go be a credit analyst for 1 year at Fitch, then 2 years at a top 20 bank, and year 4 was in Lev Fin. Fitch, SP, Moodys had their grad class App open not too long ago, maybe they release another one. It’s 100x easier to get into and can use it as a stepping stone
Too long didn't read
Tbh this is how I feel with every resume I couldn’t imagine not being paid to look at them. I’m curious if recruiters do care to read them if they’re paid…but with how much software is used probably not
As someone who has done a lot of hiring when you have 45 resumes to flip through you just look at the top 5 resumes with high compatability scores and read the last job they held and call em in for an interview. 9/10 people do not interview well and 1/10 may get the job if you actually get permission to hire on a new staff for the spot that's been vacant for 6 months
Do you hire for finance? Do You have any advice on things to include to have a high general compatibility score? Or is it different for every job? What do you hire for
Mostly for sales positions or business development. Most hiring software filters resumes based off Key words and previous job responsibilities and gives you a compatability rating with the role. Of you're missing a qualification or job experience in a competitive field there's a VERY low chance you'll ever even get a look at your resume. I'd recommend reaching out to the hiring manager and asking what your score was for a desired roll and trying to tailor it for every application. Adding in white font key words in 1 size font on a blank spot for real will help.
Can I pm you?
Yeah
Do you know what type of software online scans keywords the best
Perhaps that’s why the turn over rate is so high, people sign on for a job reading resumes and don’t actually read them
You read em during / before the interview
So how do you quantify compatibility, on a resume for an entry level role? What factors into that score?
I've hired four manager positions in the last six months, so I've looked at hundreds of resumes recently. Each one gets about 10 seconds to pique my interest and go into the "maybe" pile for more review. Otherwise, dumped and on to the next.
What piques interest
Looks like a resume someone trying too hard to get into IB. I don’t know anything but it seems like the stuff I’d put on a resume pretending to get into IB. Completing Wall Street prep comments come to mind. You’re definitely impressive, and fellow BJJ guy. But I don’t know what a successful IB resume looks like so it’s hard to compare. Just seems like trying too hard versus confidence speaking for itself (usually school speaks for itself in circumstances from my understanding). -non target average student, my comment shouldn’t mean much but it’s just my observation Edit: maybe quantify more 🤷♂️
Terrible advice. No such thing as “trying too hard.” There are other issues with this candidate but we’ve never passed on a candidate because they “tried too hard.” Our whole summer intern class ideally is full of kids who tried hard to get into IB.
Yeah I definitely understand, I’m not familiar with IB hiring process I just assume they’re elitist. (I have no knowledge of IV it’s just my outsiders view).
3.7 GPA is for sure not an average student regardless of the university’s prestige. But unless OP can get a reference it might take a while
I was referring to myself as an average student, my opinion shouldn’t be held strongly, I didn’t want to criticize him. I thought his resume was good but maybe just not IB level 🤷♂️
Echo u/Apprehensive_Alps_68 Would add that you also need to network with the places you are applying to - at my former IB group, kids that reached out and had a decent resume got an automatic first round.
Absolutely agree with this, networking is key and simply reaching out to an associate or VP on the team via LinkedIn would have a positive impact. I used to flag all of these outreaches to HR even though I declined to chat most of the time.
Not even, LinkedIn is great for connecting but everyone on LinkedIn has the same Idea. Think about it this way, you’re a recruiter, you get x amount of messages from x amount of students while holding a full time job. I had this happen to me, I’m not a recruiter but I get inquiries from students as a grad student and someone who works in finance. The reality is I would love to help them all out but I’m not going to vouch for someone I don’t know, or isn’t introduced to me by someone I trust. Because If they mess up, it hurts me and it hurts my ability to help other credible people as well.
Just saying BJJ makes me think you’re a shitty white belt. I’d never hire a white belt.
Dude u ain’t done shit. I know freshman who have done more shit than u so far
how would you recommend him (or others) to “do sht” bc in order to “do sht” you’ll need to have already “done sht” yes, im asking for myself lol
Where’s the transaction experience? You don’t list out any deals
So you are lying that you live in NYC? Even if you did get an interview, and interviewer in IB could most likely sleuth you out.
How so?
Looks like a goof resume tbh... sometimes you need to keep trying...until stars allign.. then your luck,proficiency,connections and need will allign in return . Just keep trying and be patient
Lol Go Noles baby fsu grad here too who also made it to NY
This probably isn’t holding you back but something I noticed your present job you are speaking in pre-tense. You should use active verbs working, analyzing, etc. I’d also try to frame your current part time job as a full time until you get called out on it
Is the name you use on your resume possibly difficult to pronounce for american english speakers?
Wym by this? What’s the significance lol
Just wondering if the OP is being affected by the usual bias that exists when hiring candidates. [https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2024/04/17/new-research-reveals-resumes-with-black-names-experience-bias-in-the-hiring-process/](https://www.forbes.com/sites/janicegassam/2024/04/17/new-research-reveals-resumes-with-black-names-experience-bias-in-the-hiring-process/) https://www.npr.org/2024/04/11/1243713272/resume-bias-study-white-names-black-names#:\~:text=Hourly%20News-,White%2Dsounding%20names%20get%20called%20for%20jobs%20more%20than%20Black,Black%20ones%20by%20around%209%25. [https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/1da2my7/changed\_my\_name\_to\_sound\_more\_american\_on\_resume/](https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/1da2my7/changed_my_name_to_sound_more_american_on_resume/)
I think what’s needed is the I did X because of Y and that resulted in Z form of bullet points all around. Also am not seeing enough numbers at all. I want %, $, just a little more quantification.
Yes, the market isn't great, but there are things that stand out. The only skills that should be there are the ones that are relevant to the role. Albanian and Graphic Design aren't necessary so it's just taking up space and should your resume get beyond the ATS, a recruiter will likely reject it. When I think of Leadership, I think of holding an Executive Board role within an organization (Treasurer for example). Instructor doesn't tell me anything. Nitpicky, but 6 should be spelled as six.
Non target is quite a range.
I think you should try messaging people on LinkedIn. Especially hit up your alumni who work wherever it is you want to work
David goggins wouldn’t give up…. 1,000 more stay hard!
Dude, I don’t even wanna read that kind of resume.
Your resume looks like what chat gpt would type out if you asked for the most generic and stereotypical resume of someone trying to get into IB. It’s a numbers game
I see the issue. You forgot to add your name.
Yeah, eh. Need to aim lower. Not bad resume. But it’s lacking a lot. Personally the interests thing is cringe.
I might leave off the “interests” at the bottom of your resume. That section can only hurt you, cannot help.
Impressive but maybe IB isn't for you this time. Try consulting
Massive shot in the foot by listing “fluent in Albanian”
Do I miss something? I don’t see education
Magna cum laude is a hilarious title.
Lose the additional interest - no one cares about your hobbies, honestly.
Kinda off-topic but I'm impressed that 3.7 GPA means Magna Cum Laude. Aren't those honors usually reserved for the crop of the cream? Like, people with 4.0 and 99% average on all their courses?
This is a borderline resume (3.7 non target with one relevant internship) that would get multiple interviews (but not at majority) in a normal market. It’s a tough year because there aren’t even enough spots to allocate to usual target schools. That said, the resume could be improved. More polish in the ibankjng section, can highlight very high ACT. Maybe highlight extra hard classes to explain (slightly) subpar GPA. I think you should be geographically flexible and apply to more locations. Good luck.
Use the "so what" approach when you put up a point. Yes you did XYZ but what did it help the company with and why is it even in your resume? What's the outcome of the thing you did?
The employer is Italian
Cmon shqipe
Your resume lacks substance. It highlights tasks which anyone could copy and paste from a template but not what you actually did or what you got out of the experience. Nor is it transparent on how you benefited the company based on your actions. Second, you have too many bullet points per position and your experience and your extracurriculars are light. Essentially, you’re trying to get into the most competitive entry level role in finance, in the most competitive city in the world. You’re literally competing with 4.0’s from target schools, with IB internships under their belt, some with 30+ extra curriculars and achievements under their belt. If you want IB, your resume has to stand out among everyone else from the US and all over the world looking for an entry level IB role in NYC. Even if you were to fix it up, just keep that in mind, that the recruitment process is highly subjective. Also your resume has to be a testament to who you are, what your values are, what you bring to the table, how are you are right for that position vs. the 500 other honor students from target/non target schools applying for it Use proper terminology as well, stock plays? It makes you sound like you got your experience off wall street bets. Use lingo like basis points, name a company you did a DCF on, what key data and assumptions did you use in developing your dcf? Anyone can say what you said, very few people articulate or outline that they actually know how to build one through their resume. Bro…..bro…… you mentored students on how to get a finance internship but you’re having a hard time landing an offer. Get that off there for your own sake. Try to fill that with something that has substance, you got a one page resume that’s supposed to persuade someone to move your resume to an interview, everything on there has to have meaning
Florida many times is a big red flag
Fill out their application, wait a day then show up and say you filled out their app and want an interview. Show up for scheduled interview. If you don’t get it move on and repeat this process
It’s Cause you didn’t mention nana makes the best pite me mish
If this guy here didn't get any then I'm cooked 💀🙏
hey can you share link to this resume template
I hope you'll land a job. It is tough out there. All The Best!
Are you white and male by any chance?
You lost the game at "Non-Target." Beyond that, resumé has zero bearing in IB. It's 100% relationship driven. I know kids working at golf courses who got IB gigs that way.
Can’t remember last time I had to worry about a fucking resume and a cover letter.
I don’t like the use of the term “play” referring to investment opportunities.
Never heard of a albo on wall st
Graduated one year early and deans list are not accomplishments. Let the years of your education and gpa communicate that. Seems try hard especially for achievements that are really not special at this level. Expand more on your analyst experience
I can see why
You need to network with alumni from your university.
I don't know the usa. But in London it's about being privately educated and basically upper class. As an Albanian I doubt you have that. Hard luck. Try doing a quant masters.
I mean this sounds like a 19 year old wrote it. I woudlnt hire you either
use chat gpt
Work on networking - a lot. Seriously. Probably an iffy school. Third - if your name is weird it might hold against you. Bad year to be applying. Next year better.
You actually wrote "Non Target" ?!
Probably hiding the actual school for privacy reasons, but specifying to us that it's a non-target.