Once you’ve started a full time role, we recommend updating your resume to emphasizing your current banking role and transaction experience, while shortening old experience from internships and college. Notably, with limited real estate after incorporating new deal experience, you should move your education section to the bottom of your resume and make sure the experiences you include relate to the next job you are looking for.

Get the Word version of the experienced investment banking analyst resume template here!

Here are a few additional recommendations and guidelines:

1. Put yourself in the shoes of the reader – i.e., your future boss, a recruiter, a future teammate, etc.

This helps you shape how you want to think about your career progression on paper. Ask yourself questions such as: Do I show how I’m a good team player? Do I show growth over the past roles I’ve had? Can I demonstrate clear impact for the projects I’ve been on? Would this person want me on their team?

2. Think about how your resume reads from top to bottom

Do you have the appropriate amount of space dedicated to each role? To each promotion, if applicable? If your internships were 3+ years ago, consolidate to just one line with your company and title and use the space to build out your more recent roles.
Your resume should read with more advanced positions on top and your bullets should show that too. If you went from Analyst to Associate, think about how you can show your progression in bullet form. Did you start out as supporting and then started managing, etc.?

3. Look at the format of your resume

A reader takes on average 30 seconds to go through a resume so you want to make sure their eyes are attracted to the right parts! Check to make sure there isn’t a massive block of text in the middle—a mistake people make when they put too much in their first full-time role without breaking it up into projects, promotions, etc.
Try and keep your font 11-point or above and a serif font. Once you get to 10-point font, it’s hard to scan without zooming in. Additionally, a serif font helps guide the readers’ eyes so they can follow along more easily.

4. Three bullets per section and no more than two lines per bullet

In order to keep the reader focused on what is most important, keep each section to three bullets and each bullet shouldn’t go over two lines. For example, for a banking or consulting project, try and keep your explanation to no more than three bullets total. (Not your entire banking role – that will be more than three bullets given it’ll be broken down into sections by project.)

5. In each of your bullets, make sure you have a “so what” element at the end. Each bullet should have a purpose for being there – if it doesn’t add or give the reader something knew to learn about you, remove or adjust it

When you go through each bullet, ask yourself what the bullet is trying to accomplish. What are you really trying to say with the bullet and what was the impact you had? Each bullet should further explain a specific skillset – is it your quantitative abilities, your communication abilities with senior management, etc.? If you aren’t clearly getting a “so what” from the bullet, rephrase it or remove it to replace it with something else.

6. Consolidate what you need to for your undergraduate section

Once you’re 2-3 years out of undergraduate, you don’t need to keep too much there besides your school name, GPA, honors / awards, and key leadership roles. If you’ve been working in IB and are making a lateral switch or are trying to get into PE, you don’t need two lines dedicated to your relevant coursework because they will know you understand valuing businesses, financial statements, etc.

7. Your additional information shouldn’t reiterate what your bullets already told the reader. Make it fun, different, and unique to your certifications / hobbies!

You don’t need to reiterate that you know Microsoft Office – that is a given most likely from your roles. But it is cool to know you’re fluent in XYZ languages, you love to scuba dive, you’re Series & Bloomberg certified, etc. This should be a fun way to differentiate yourself and give you something to discuss during the interview!