How can I make my finance resume stand out to top employers?

Question

I’ve been applying to finance jobs for a while, but I haven’t had much luck getting interviews. My resume lists my coursework and a couple of internships, but I’m worried it’s not grabbing anyone’s attention. What can I do to make my resume stand out, especially when I don’t have much work experience yet? Should I be doing something different with how I present my skills or experience?

Thanks for your tips!

Answer 1

Hi,

I'm not quite sure exactly which finance jobs you are applying for, but I recently successfully applied for a job in IB and used tips from this article for my resume.

Also: little work experience is not an exclusion criterion in my experience, but it is important that you then highlight 2-3 relevant activities in the jobs you have had. It helped me to go through my activities again (whether daily, weekly or monthly) and then select the most relevant ones for the position I was applying for.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Hey thee, It’s tough to land interviews without strong work experience, but you can still make your resume stand out by focusing on what you do have. Highlight your skills (especially technical skills like financial modeling, Excel, or data analysis), achievements during your internships, and any relevant coursework. Try to quantify your impact wherever possible—for example, "improved financial model accuracy by 15%" or "analyzed market trends leading to a new investment strategy."

Also, many coaches offer CV reviews, which can be super helpful. It’s a good idea to put together the best possible version of your CV first, and then send it to a coach before your session. They can give you targeted feedback and make sure your resume is hitting all the right points.

PreLounge also has some great CV templates and guides, although they tend to focus more on cover letters. But it might be worth checking out—could be useful in perfecting your overall application. Here's the link if you're interested: PreLounge CV Guides.

Best of luck with your applications!

Rita

Answer 3

I’m in the same boat and found a few things that helped. First, try to highlight specific skills you’ve picked up, like financial modeling or data analysis, rather than just listing coursework. Also, quantify your achievements wherever you can (banks love numbers). I added a section for relevant projects (like case studies I did in class) to show I’m gaining practical experience. Lastly, tailor your resume for each job. It’s more work, but it made a difference for me.

Answer 4

Having worked in both consulting and finance, I’d say the main difference is the focus. In consulting, it’s about big... (read entire answer)

Having worked in both consulting and finance, I’d say the main difference is the focus. In consulting, it’s about big-picture problem-solving, like helping a client expand into... (read entire answer)