If you are looking for a job or internship at an investment bank, the most important document to sell you as a potential employee is a CV. You could write a cover letter just to express yourself, but you can rest assured that the hiring team will dwell on your CV more than any other document.
While a CV contains your professional qualifications, educational background, and your interests, how it is formatted makes a lot of difference. So, you should know the best format to use and how to organize the information in it to convince investment banking firms that you are the right candidate to interview and hire.
What Bankers Look for in Banking CVs
Before you choose a format to use and actually write a CV for investment banking, it is curial to understand what these bankers look for. The best banking CVs should have the following information.
- Work or intern experience – This is always the top information that you share on your banking CV. Most of the time, it is the most recent professional accomplishment you have in your life. The bankers want to know where else you worked and the experience you gained.
- Education – Most banks in the UK, the USA, and many other countries around the world prefer university and college graduates with a bachelor’s degree or higher education. They always specify the academic qualification, so by the time you are writing your banking CV, you already know that you are qualified.
- Your interests – Some interests can make you stand out, and the hiring manager will be interested in them. They are curious to know whether you have a hobby and some strong interests in things that will add value to you as a potential part of their team.
Well, bankers may look for many other things in your CV, but the above are their main focuses. Now that you know this, it is good to know how to write a compelling CV that will grab the attention of a hiring manager.
How to Write Your Investment Banking CV
Writing a compelling CV is not easy. In fact, the reason that many banking CVs end up in trash cans or folders is that they are poorly done. As surprising as it is, many hiring teams have to peruse hundreds of CVs during the recruitment process, so you must make your CV stand out to gain their interest. Here is how to write an amazing banking CV.
Get the format right
There are dozens of good banking CV formats on the web. But you should not download and edit a template before ensuring that it will perfectly highlight your relevant details. The easiest thing is to format your CV simply and clearly.
Some great formats highlight work experience and academic qualifications well so that they can strike the interest of the investment banking hiring manager easily. Sometimes, you may need to hire a professional with a banking background to help you write a great CV.
Include your personal details
All investment banking CVs should contain personal information such as your name and contact information. You can add it as a header or a section of your CV, depending on the format. This important information is used to contact you for an interview when you are shortlisted. Many recruiting teams avoid replying to emails used to send the CV. After all, some CVs might be delivered physically. So, make it a habit to start your CV with this personal information.
Write an objective summary
Some people call this section the professional summary. Regardless, it should contain a professional qualification summary that is relevant to what investment banking firms are looking for. If you have done various jobs in the past, focus on the experience you gained in a job or position that is related to the advertised position.
It is highly recommended that you use terms related to your current position to entice the recruiting manager to read your CV. Lastly, keep the paragraph short by highlighting your objectives briefly.
List your achievements
What are your major achievements in your past work or education experience? This is the right section to include them. Writing them in brief bullet points will compel the investment banking recruiting team to read your CV. It is also a way to show your strengths and the value you will bring onboard when hired.
Add work experience
This section lists all the places you have worked or had internships from the most distant to the last. It shows the start and end date, the position, and the roles held. Again, everything should be clear and easy to read if the hiring team has to go through it quickly. The more places you have worked, the longer the section will be.
Add education experience
This is a very important section as well. All banking recruiters want to know the university or college you attended and your area of study to confirm that you are qualified. In fact, many of them could focus on this section when shortlisting applicants. If you have several degrees, list them from the highest to the lowest.
Add certifications
Well, many people have various certificates and awards that could give them an edge when applying for an investment banking job. If so, list the relevant ones here. They may not be so important, but it is good to add them if space allows.
Referees
Do people still give referees openly? Well, this is still a debatable issue and depends on a case per case basis. If your investment banking position requires referees, you should provide their names and contacts. However, you can indicate that they are available on request when sending your investment banking CV.
Conclusion
Investment banking CVs are just like any other CVs. But they require extra effort to make them look perfect and compelling. Avoid all possible mistakes, such as having a CV that is longer than two pages, adding irrelevant information, and using the wrong format.
Now that you know how to write an investment banking CV, it is essential that you do it correctly or help someone else with theirs. As you can see, what is important is making it as compelling as possible.
