Obtaining a highly lucrative and rewarding career in private equity and investment banking is still possible in this competitive marketplace. However, if your employment history doesn't point directly to a bulge bracket internship or top business school, your resume could easily be overlooked by recruiters. We recommend three simple and proven techniques to transform you resume into job success.
Step 1) Tell Your Story
Take a moment to think about your goals. Where would you like to be professionally five years from now? Success depends upon developing a story to explain how each step represented in your resume has brought you closer to your investment banking or private equity goals.
John is about to graduate with a Math degree and is currently interning in the back office at J.P. Morgan. His resume follows:
Having not studied in a business school, and currently working in a position that is not really related to Investment Banking, could easily place him out of contention. John can adjust his resume to better reflect how his experience relates to his goals.
Looking at John's experience, we read in the first bullet that his role running pricing analyses was for a very large equity offering. John should reword that bullet to explain that he worked on processes that helped build his understanding of equity offerings, thus building a concrete working knowledge of I-Bank operations. In the second resume below, his skills can clearly be interpreted as an asset to any I-Banking team. What we have done was to extract the understanding of how his tiny role affects the process within the firm.
Let's look at John's education. By explaining how his math degree and prior experience can apply to his investment banking pursuit, John will improve his candidacy. John can explain that he chose math over business school because he believed that a math degree would help him to understand logic, patterns, and to break down and identify problems in complex situations. These are all skills absolutely necessary for any analyst. For John, he has proven that his Math degree can be a competitive asset.
Through "telling his story", John has successfully shifted the focus of his resume towards his investment banking pursuit.
Step 2) Lay Out an Objective
Some people say having a two line "objective" is worthless. Actually, it depends. If the experience and educational background in your resume clearly states your goals, and objective may be redundant. For example, if you're involved in an I-Banking internship and looking to continue on full time, there's no need to state an objective. However, if you're in a transitional phase, as John is, an objective would clearly lay out your goals and clarify your candidacy to the recruiter. For example, as we see in the second resume that follows, "My goal is to apply my analytical ability proven from my mathematics degree, with my working knowledge of an investment bank's operations, into an investment banking position".
A recruiter routinely filtering out resumes that do not list a business school or an I-Banking internship may now see how John could qualify for the available position. Essentially, you have directed a potential recruiter to read your resume.
Step 3) Build Up Your Skill Sets
Demonstrating that you have a complete understanding of financial statements, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, and valuation, will not only strengthen your resume, but your interview performance as well. Note the changes in John's objective that now includes, "M&A and LBO modeling skills" and an addition to the Education section, strengthening your proven interest in the field.
If your resume lacks financial modeling or valuation experience, you may want to consider taking professional courses taught by Wall Street experts. Remember, your resume needs to clearly express that your professional experience and background qualifies you for a position in investment banking. Speak the financial language in both your resume and interview, and you strike a chord with investment banks.
Open the doors to a highly lucrative career by telling your unique story, laying out a clear objective, and building up your skill sets. This will easily translate into an analyst or associate role with the firm of your choice.
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