The Resume

Alright. So here are a few thoughts about resumes. As any person can quickly find out through some Google searches, there are plenty of sites with tons of advice about how to write a great resume for investment banking. I'm debating about posting various versions of my own resume up here (with the names taken off of course) so people can see how my resume has evolved over the past year and a half.

I think the important thing with resumes is that you spend the time NOW to get it into shape. No matter if you're a senior or a junior, this is VITAL to getting interviews and jobs. In addition, when you go to visit people already in banking, they will almost always ask to see your resume at some point. If your resume isn't already "bankified" then you're in trouble. On the other hand, if you're a junior and you can send somebody a resume that looks ready and it's only September - you are in a great position.

I know that for juniors especially it seems almost unnecessary to spend so much time on your resume when you won't even have to turn it in for a few more months, but it is well worth it. Plus, you'll constantly be updating your resume as you gain new experience or think of better ways to describe what you've already done. I'm still changing mine all the time to better reflect who I am and what I've done. The key is that your resume, no matter how little experience or leadership you have, meets the basic banker standard.

Last June I thought that my resume was solid. I had spent a while working it over and I was sure it was awesome. I had read all of those sites on the internet and really tried to follow the advice there. Then the President of the Investment Banking Club sent me his resume as an example, and I was embarrassed that he had ever seen my resume. Just the format of his resume made mine look very basic. I totally remade my resume based off of his format, and my resume continues to resemble that format today.

A quick word about using other people's resumes to make your own. Obviously it's a STUPID idea to just copy what other people have written. Think about it - when you get into an interview anything on there is fair game. If you've embellished or exaggerated or even just flat out put down stuff that you haven't done, the interviewer will be able to tell right away and you immediately lose any chance you might have had. It's also just dishonest. That said, I don't see any problem with getting ideas from other resumes. Like I said - the current format of my resume is based on a resume I saw over a year ago. There are certain styles of describing things that I have imitated from other resumes. You have to make it your own, but there's nothing wrong with getting ideas from other people. Just NEVER copy and be totally honest, and you'll be fine.

I took a class when I first got into the business school about writing and we did a section on resumes. The teacher talked about the importance of having lots of white space and even drew a "golden triangle" on a resume to show the concept. This could not be farther from the truth on a banking resume. You basically have only one sheet of paper to define your entire life. You should use every possible bit of space you can. Of course, it has to be clean and aesthetically pleasing, but you really have to pack things in from top to bottom.

Here are some key ideas when you write a resume. Like I said, you can find this stuff all over the place, but it's worth another mention.

First of all, Bankers like results. One of the big mistakes that I've seen on a lot of resumes is that people just list bullet points of what they did (I've definitely been guilty of this as well). Not only do you need to list what you've done, but you need to tell what the result of your work is. You need to show that because of you, things got better. Banks want to hire people that add value and make a difference, so be sure that as much as you can you talk about results, not just experiences. When you spread those comps this summer, what was the point? When you built that DCF, was it used in the presentation? Did the client go through with the deal? Results matter.

Another thing is that bankers love to quantify things. As often as you can, add numbers to your experiences. This relates to the results part. Talk about how much more efficient your company is now that you're there. Talk about how many security systems you sold last summer, and how much more that was above the average. List what percentile your ACT score was. Just do whatever you can to quantify and add context to the words you put on the paper.

Unless you have a really great and relevant experience, I wouldn't put anything more than 4-5 bullets for any one job/experience. The exception to this would be under your "Personal" or "Interests" or whatever kind of section at the bottom of the resume. Here you just kind of list all of the random accomplishments and interests that you have, including languages you speak, awards/certifications/skills you have attained, and (if you want) interests you have. I tend not to put my interests on the resume. I figure putting down what sports team I like or what I do in my spare time isn't what's going to get me a job. I've heard stories about how interviewers see something on the resume that they totally relate with, but in the end I believe that they will take somebody with solid experience and great qualifications over someone who likes the same TV show as they do. It can be a good way to start conversations though, and pretty much all of my friends have an "Interests" bullet on their resume.

When I was really trying to get my resume up to snuff, I read all of the suggestions online and tried to do everything they said. But, like I wrote above, this still wasn't enough. It took me actually seeing and talking to somebody who had already gone through the process of getting an internship and full-time job for me to realize what my resume needed to look like. I'm still changing and updating things on my resume, but I feel confident that whenever I send someone my resume, they will give it a good look. It's important that you don't just turn in your resume for a job without getting some outside feedback. The best thing is to get somebody that knows about banking to look at your resume. If the person don't know what it means to do a sum-of-the-parts valuation, then they might not give you the best feedback.

So here's the deal. I've been getting some requests from people to look at their resume. I've seen tons of resumes (including reviewing resumes this summer for full-time candidates) and can give solid advice on what bankers are looking for. There are various online resume review services that are all very expensive. Mergers and Inquisitions has a good one but it's $200. If anybody wants an independent, line-by-line look at their resume, send it my way. I can make suggestions, give you some ideas, and help you get your resume looking great. And instead of charging $200 or more, it'll only cost $30.

The reason I'm charging for it is obvious - time is precious and we all have to support ourselves! That said, I want to offer a high-quality review for much less than what is available today. Here's how it would work:

You get your resume prepared. You can take your personal info off if you want. A lot more important than your address is what your resume actually says!

When you're ready, you pay the $30 through PayPal and then send me your resume. I'll go through it line-by-line and return specific comments, suggestions, and ideas that will help your resume get noticed. If you have questions, need clarification, or want me to help you change anything, just send it back and we'll do that as many times as you want until the resume is pristine and ready to be sent to any bank on the street. Often you might not know anyone at a bank, so your resume is the only chance you have of getting an interview.

If you have further questions or are ready to send me your resume, email me here.

Regardless of whether you have me look at your resume or not, make sure that before you send it to a bank, you feel totally confident that they would want to interview after they have seen your resume.

I will continue to write posts about interview questions, networking, lifestyle, a little about my current job at the US Treasury, and anything else I feel is relevant. As always, keep commenting and let me know what you'd like to hear more about. The next post will be more about interview questions I've had and some ideas on how to go about answering them.