Resume Basics
What is a Resume?
A resume is essentially a marketing tool selling YOU – it summarises all the important information an employer would need to know about you when considering you as a potential hire and highlights your areas of strength. In most cases, especially in finance, your resume is very important as it will be what lands you an interview. A stellar resume is not enough to land you a job but having a poor resume can definitely cost you one! A successful resume is one that offers a snapshot of you and the value you can bring to the firm by capturing the experiences and skills that make you the ideal candidate for the job. That's why it is important to tailor your resume (no need for major changes, just small tweaks!) each time you apply for a different role.
General Guidelines
There are certain principles to follow when crafting your resume, here are a few of our favorites:
DOs
-
Be consistent with your formatting: Small things like indentations and punctuations can make the difference between a professional, easily readable resume and a sloppy one.
-
List information in chronological order: Always put the most recent items first – employers only want the most relevant information, so don’t highlight out of date information above your most recent experiences.
-
Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for: Different work experiences and skills may be relevant to different jobs, so put yourself in the shoes of the recruiter and ask yourself who you would want to fill the position.
-
Proofread: Small grammatical and spelling errors can have a huge impact. If your resume is riddled with mistakes, it gives the impression that you don’t care.
DON'Ts
-
Don't use photos, graphics, or “fun” fonts and colors: Always keep your resume professional – recruiters will often discard resumes that don’t follow commonly accepted conventions.
-
Don’t ever lie on a resume: Everything on your resume should be true. It may seem like a small thing to say you are fluent in a language when you aren’t or to fudge your GPA with a generous rounding but getting caught in a lie by a recruiter will only hurt your application.
-
Don’t waste space: Ideally, your resume should be only one page so make sure every word counts by avoiding redundancy and being concise.
-
Don’t let your resume get out of date: Keep track of all of your accomplishments – academic, work, or extracurricular-related – so that each time you apply for a job you can make sure your resume best reflects your experience and skills.
Resume Content
Sections of Your Resume
While every resume is different, most include the following key sections:
1. Name and Contact Information
-
Usually no more than 2 lines
-
Should include your cell and email so you are easily reachable
2. Education
-
Your most recent education experience should come first
-
Include your major, GPA (and any significant honors you received), relevant coursework
-
Include institutions through which you have studied abroad
3. Work Experience
-
List work experience by company name and make sure to include the location and dates of your employment
-
Include your position title
-
List between 2 - 4 bullet points about your accomplishments on the job to highlight the skills you gained through that experience
4. Leadership and Extracurricular Activities [Mainly for students]
-
Format your leadership and extracurricular activities the same way you would format your work experience, with the name of the organization and your position clearly identified
-
Clubs, non-profit organizations, sports, etc. are all great options to include in this section
5. Additional Information
-
Feel free to get creative with this section – just make sure you stay professional and keep the fact that you are applying for a job in mind.
-
Include any relevant skills (e.g., coding in Python) and languages
-
Include your hobbies and interests – your resume is a snapshot of you as a person so if there is something particularly meaningful about yourself that you would like to share, this is the place to include it
Name and Contact Information
Education
Work Experience
Leadership and Extracurricular Activities
Additional Information
Language Tips
-
Use interesting action verbs at the beginning of each bullet point
-
Focus on your individual contribution
-
Try to quantify your impact by making use of numbers
-
Be ready to discuss every bullet point on your resume during an interview
Resume Layout & Design
Formatting Principles
A resume is essentially a marketing tool selling YOU – it summarises all the important information an employer would need to know about you when considering you as a potential hire and highlights your areas of strength. In most cases, especially in finance, your resume is very important as it will be what lands you an interview. A stellar resume is not enough to land you a job but having a poor resume can definitely cost you one! A successful resume is one that offers a snapshot of you and the value you can bring to the firm by capturing the experiences and skills that make you the ideal candidate for the job. That's why it is important to tailor your resume (no need for major changes, just small tweaks!) each time you apply for a different role.
Sample & Template
While every resume is unique, here is a sample resume and a template to help you get started!