The investment banking resume template matches the screening reality of IB analyst and associate recruiting, where an analyst sorts on fit signals first, an associate reads next, and a VP makes the call, often in under a minute on the first pass. The two-column layout pairs an academic and credentials column with a full work experience column, which matches how those reviewers read. It is intended for candidates applying to bulge bracket, middle market, and boutique investment banks across product and coverage groups, plus laterals coming in from consulting, audit, corporate development, or private equity.
A few IB-specific conventions shape the investment banking resume template. There is no photo header, which is the US and UK norm for banking applications and what boutique firms in those markets also follow. The typography uses a classic serif treatment that reads as banking-appropriate. The one-page length is fixed, since hiring teams at analyst and associate level expect the resume to hold to one page regardless of how many years a candidate has worked. Education often carries the decision past first screen for entry-level analysts and recent MBA associates, which is why the two-column format separates academic and credential information from the work history.
The Template’s Credential Sections
The template’s credential sections cover About Me, Education, Certifications, and Skills. These are what an IB reviewer reads first, since deal experience gets cross-referenced against the credentials backing it. Each section is written tightly, with the four together taking up less total length than the work experience entries. Here is how to write each one for an IB audience.
The About Me Block
This section is short. Three to four lines at most. Use it to name the candidate’s current or most recent role, target product or coverage group, deal types if any, and one or two technical strengths such as financial modeling, valuation, or M&A advisory. Soft phrases like “team player” or “strong communicator” do not earn space here, since IB readers discount that language and the summary is read for credential signals first.
A workable About Me for an analyst applicant might read this way.
“Investment banking analyst with two summers in M&A coverage across consumer and retail, deal exposure across $200M to $1.4B transactions, and full-cycle modeling experience in DCF, LBO, and comparable company analysis. CFA Level I candidate.”
For a lateral coming out of Big Four audit or consulting, the About Me should connect current functional skill to the IB skill set the candidate is moving into. Something along these lines works.
“Senior consultant moving into investment banking, with four years of M&A advisory work, due diligence engagements across healthcare and TMT, and financial modeling exposure on twelve client engagements. CFA Level II candidate, Series 79 in progress.”
Both examples lead with a quantified credential, not a personality trait. That is the lens IB readers use on the About Me.
Education
Education does heavy work on an IB resume. The template has space for four entries, which is the right number for an MBA associate candidate with prior degrees, or an undergrad analyst candidate listing high school if attending a known prep institution. Undergrad analyst candidates typically have only one entry. That is fine. Use the remaining room inside the entry to list GPA if 3.4 or above (out of 4.0 in the US, out of 5.0 or first-class equivalent in the UK), relevant honors such as Dean’s List, Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Beta Kappa, or summa and magna cum laude, the major and minor, and finance club leadership including Investment Banking Club, Wall Street Club, or Investment Management Society.
For non-finance majors, list two or three banking-relevant courses such as Corporate Finance, Financial Statement Analysis, or M&A. Study abroad at a known finance hub like LSE, HKUST, or INSEAD is worth including when applicable. For MBA associate candidates, the MBA entry should appear first in the section, followed by undergrad. Some MBA programs do not publish GPA, in which case GPA can be omitted from the MBA entry and kept on undergrad.
Certifications
The template carries three certification entries, which covers most candidates. Common certifications IB hiring teams recognize include the CFA at all levels (listing “CFA Level I, II, or III Candidate” while in progress is acceptable and even encouraged), financial modeling certifications from Wall Street Prep, CFI’s FMVA, Breaking Into Wall Street, or Training The Street, and Series 79 and Series 63, which are typically obtained after the analyst program begins.
For laterals out of audit or accounting, the ACA, ACCA, or CPA carries weight at the screening stage. For credit-focused roles in DCM or leveraged finance, the FRM (Financial Risk Manager) is worth listing if completed.
Skills
IB resumes split skills into Technical and Soft, though most banking resumes leave soft skills off entirely. The Skills section in the template carries eight bullets, which is the right count for a technical-only listing.
The list shown in the template (Financial Analysis, Investment Planning, Market Research, Financial Modeling, Risk Assessment, Client Relationship Management, Portfolio Management, Strategic Financial Planning) leans general. A stronger version replaces those entries with the actual software, modeling types, and languages the candidate uses. Something along these lines.
- Financial Modeling (DCF, LBO, M&A, Comparable Company, Precedent Transactions)
- Valuation
- Excel (Advanced, including VBA)
- PowerPoint (Pitch Book Preparation)
- Bloomberg Terminal
- FactSet
- CapIQ and PitchBook
- Mandarin (Fluent) or Spanish (Fluent)
“Financial Modeling (DCF, LBO)” reads more credibly than “Financial Analysis” because the former is verifiable in a technical interview and the latter is generic. If the candidate speaks a second language relevant to a target group, that is worth a skill slot, particularly Mandarin, Spanish, German, French, Arabic, or Portuguese for the right coverage team.
Work Experience and Deal Highlights
This is the section IB readers spend the most time on once a resume gets past first screen. The template carries six work experience entries, which covers multiple candidate paths. An analyst candidate may use the entries for one or two banking internships plus finance-adjacent internships and a research or tutoring role. A lateral analyst may use them for the current full-time analyst role plus earlier internships. An MBA associate may use them for full-time work before the MBA, the MBA summer internship, and earlier roles.
Each entry has space for a short paragraph and bullet points. For IB readers, the bullets are where deal exposure lives. Each bullet should follow Action plus Deal plus Outcome format, naming the deal size, sector, role in the deal, and work product. For an M&A coverage internship, the bullets typically read this way.
- Prepared three operating models and a merger model for an $850M consumer products acquisition, working with the senior associate and VP on the buy-side mandate
- Drafted three sections of a 60-page pitch book for a healthcare divestiture, including comparable company analysis and football field valuation summary
- Worked on CIM redlines and management presentations for a $230M sell-side mandate in industrial logistics
For a leveraged finance internship, the deal exposure looks different.
- Prepared leveraged buyout models with five operating cases on a $1.2B sponsor-backed acquisition in business services
- Updated credit memos for two repricing transactions totaling $640M in committed debt
- Sourced and screened comparable LBO transactions across the past five years for two portfolio companies in restructuring conversations
The pattern that lands across coverage and product groups is naming the deal size, the sector, the work product (model, memo, pitch book, comp set), and the position in deal flow such as sell-side, buy-side, sponsor-backed, refinancing, recapitalization, or IPO. For laterals coming out of non-banking roles, the bullets should bridge to banking terminology. A consulting engagement that included a financial model for a client should be phrased to show the modeling work and the strategic context, since IB readers want modeling exposure even when the role was not formally banking.
One last thing on the work experience entries. Deal sizes mentioned on a resume are read at face value during screening, but they get verified in detail during interviews. Be ready to walk through any deal listed, including the buyer, the target, the rationale, the valuation methodology, and the candidate’s specific contribution. Listing a deal that cannot be discussed in detail damages the conversation more than leaving it off would.
Although the template is made for IB analyst and associate hiring, adjacent finance paths such as sales and trading, equity research, private equity recruiting, and corporate development follow the same formatting conventions, and the investment banking resume template covers those applications too with adjusted bullets and skills.
Page Length, ATS, and Format Options
The investment banking resume template is one page in length, which is the format banks expect for analyst and associate applications regardless of experience level. Even VPs and Directors maintain one-page resumes in banking, though that is uncommon outside the industry. For candidates with light experience, the work experience entries can carry a slightly longer paragraph; for candidates with heavy experience, older roles should be tightened or removed entirely once five to seven years of more recent banking work fills the available space.
The two-column format reads cleanly to a human reviewer but is worth thinking about for ATS submissions through firm career portals (ATS being applicant tracking software that scans resumes for matching keywords before a human reviewer sees them). The major banks largely run Workday or Taleo for their ATS, and both handle two-column layouts inconsistently. The text content of the template parses through most ATS, though parsing accuracy varies between platforms. For applications submitted directly through a career portal, also keep a one-column version of the same content ready. For applications submitted through a banker referral, networking event, or campus recruiter, the two-column format reads better to a human eye and is the version to send.
The template is available in Word and Google Docs. Word is the editing environment for users already inside Microsoft Office and familiar with banking’s standard editing workflow. Google Docs is the choice for users who prefer browser-based editing and want to share the draft with an alum, mentor, or recruiter for a quick review. Whichever editor is used, export the final resume to PDF before submitting, since PDF preserves the formatting on whatever device the reviewer opens it on. A printed PDF copy is also worth keeping for in-person superdays, networking coffees, and on-campus recruiting events, where bankers commonly ask for a paper version during the conversation.
