Short answer: an investment banking resume is one page, a single column and reverse chronological, with education first if you are a student or recent graduate, and every bullet showing what you did, the size of the deal or analysis, and the result. It is conservative by design: reviewers scan hundreds, so a clear, predictable layout and strong numbers win.
If you want a ready layout, start from our investment banking resume template.
What does an investment banking resume look like?
A standard layout:
- Header: name, email, phone and city
- Education: school, degree, graduation date, GPA, relevant coursework or honors
- Experience: reverse chronological, 3 to 5 bullets per role
- Leadership and activities: finance clubs, case competitions, student funds
- Skills and interests: technical skills and a few specific, real interests
Keep one font, no photo, no colors beyond black, and margins that keep it on a single page.
How do I write investment banking bullets?
The shape is: action verb + what you did + size or scale + result. The more it reads like deal work, the better.
Weak bullet:
- Helped with financial analysis for the team.
Stronger bullet (illustrative):
- Built a three-statement model and DCF for a $450M-revenue software company, supporting a valuation range used in the client pitch.
More patterns to adapt (examples of structure, not real results):
- Prepared comparable-company and precedent-transaction analyses across 12 peers for a sell-side mandate.
- Managed a $150K student investment fund position, presenting a 6-stock pitch to a 20-person committee.
- Reduced month-end reporting time from 6 days to 4 by automating reconciliations in Excel.
If you have no finance role yet, show the same skills through projects, a student fund or a startup. Stronger verbs help: see synonyms for "developed" and synonyms for "assisted".
What technical skills should an investment banking resume include?
List tools and skills you can defend in an interview:
- Excel and financial modeling (DCF, LBO basics, three-statement models)
- PowerPoint for presentations
- Data and market tools such as Bloomberg or Capital IQ, only if you have used them
- Languages with a level (native, fluent, professional)
Skip generic items like "Microsoft Office" and any tool you could not discuss.
What mistakes get an investment banking resume rejected?
- More than one page. It is read as a lack of editing.
- Inconsistent formatting. Dates, fonts and bullet styles that vary look careless in a role that values precision.
- No numbers. "Analyzed financial statements" says nothing; the size and outcome do.
- Columns, tables, icons. They make the file harder for ATS to read.
- Typos. One is enough to hurt you.
How do I get an investment banking resume past ATS?
Large banks often run applications through an applicant tracking system first. According to HAIRED's analysis of 10,000 resumes, 73% had at least one critical ATS error, 61% had formatting errors such as tables, columns or graphics, and finance resumes matched on average only 38% of the job description's keywords, with 62% below the 40% line (see the full study).
To avoid that:
- Use a single column with standard headings.
- Reuse the language of the job post (for example, "financial modeling", "valuation", "pitch books") where it is true.
- Export as a text-based PDF or .docx.
- Check the extracted text before you submit.
Check Your Banking Resume Before You Apply
Upload it and get a score out of 100, formatting issues and the keywords you are missing. Free.
What template should I use?
Use a plain, single-column layout. HAIRED's Resume Builder has a Harvard-style template that follows this format, and you can import your existing resume so you do not retype it. Related guides: how to make an ATS-friendly CV and consulting resume guide.
Sources:
- HAIRED, We Analyzed 10,000 CVs: ATS error rates, formatting errors, keyword match by industry
- Example bullets are illustrative and show structure only
