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!
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
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!
Hi There!
To make your finance resume stand out, focus on demonstrating impact and relevance rather than just listing responsibilities. Highlight any quantitative achievements, such as analysis you performed, models you built, or improvements you contributed to, and quantify them where possible. Include relevant technical skills like Excel, financial modeling, or data analysis, and show how you applied them in projects or internships.
Tailor your resume for each role, using keywords from job descriptions, and make sure your bullet points are concise, results-oriented, and action-driven. Including finance-related coursework, competitions, or certifications can also help signal commitment and competence even if your work experience is limited.
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.
