Finance resume chronological or highlighting top experiences?

Hi there,
I second what others said. Stick to the standard reverse chronological order for your investment banking/finance resume. Recruiters prioritize your most recent experiences to assess your current skills and career progression. While you might have older, impressive roles, listing them out of order can confuse recruiters and ATS. Instead of reordering, strategically highlight your most relevant accomplishments within each role's bullet points, placing the most impactful ones at the top. Consider a brief summary or objective statement to immediately emphasize your key qualifications and target roles. Avoid leading with older experiences, as it can diminish the perceived significance of your recent roles. Prioritize clarity and recruiter expectations by adhering to reverse chronological order while effectively showcasing your strengths within that structure.

Hi! ☺️

Typically, the most common format is reverse chronological order, where you list your experiences from most recent to oldest. This helps recruiters easily see your most recent roles and skills.

That said, if you have older, highly relevant experiences (like a standout internship or project), it can be effective to highlight those first, as long as the rest of your resume still flows logically. You can also consider creating a “Key Achievements” or “Relevant Experience” section at the top to give those experiences extra visibility.

Just make sure to keep the layout clean and easy to follow. I hope that helps!

Hey there!

I’d recommend going with a reverse chronological format. It’s the industry norm in finance and helps hiring managers/ATS quickly assess your current level and trajectory. Recruiters often skim resumes in seconds, so giving them the structure they expect works in your favor.

That said, you can bring older, standout experiences to the forefront without breaking format. One way is to include a brief “Selected Experience” or “Relevant Transactions” section near the top, where you highlight 1–2 key experiences that align strongly with the roles you’re targeting. Within each job, also make sure your most impressive or relevant achievements are listed first in the bullet points.

The goal is to make your resume easy to scan while subtly guiding the reader toward your most valuable experience. 

Hey!

For finance roles, especially in investment banking, the standard and most widely accepted format is reverse chronological order. Recruiters and interviewers are used to scanning resumes this way, and it helps them quickly understand your most recent experience and career progression. Deviating from that format can create confusion or make your resume look unconventional, which isn't ideal in a highly structured industry.

Even if one of your earlier experiences was more impressive, you can still highlight it effectively through strong bullet points or by adding a "Relevant Experience" section at the top if it fits naturally. 

The key is to keep the formatting clean and consistent, while using content and structure to draw attention to what matters most. Your most relevant and high-impact achievements should come across through how you describe your roles, not by rearranging the timeline.

Hey There!
That's a really common question when you're crafting your finance resume. For investment banking and finance roles, the reverse chronological order is generally the way to go. Recruiters are usually looking at your most recent stuff first to see what you're up to now.

That being said, you can totally make your most impressive experiences stand out within that reverse chronological format. Think about it like this: you still list everything from newest to oldest, but for those really key experiences – maybe a standout internship or a project that's super relevant – you use really strong bullet points to highlight what you did and the impact you had. Use action verbs and try to quantify your achievements whenever you can. 

So, stick to the reverse order overall, but make those top experiences shine! Good luck!

Pretty much what Rita said.

Most recent experiences first and maybe add a highlighted section with relevant experiences from the past.

I'd stick with reverse chronology - it's the standard and easiest to follow. If something older is particularly relevant, you might want to set up a “Relevant Experience” section to highlight it. Good luck!