Showing posts with label Insider. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insider. Show all posts

9/20/11

Investment Banking Internship Resume - 6 Insider Tips for Writing an A+ Banking Resume

If you have investment banking work experience or similar corporate experience then you are going to want to scrawl it on your investment banking resume in size 100 font, because it's not only impressive but it is perhaps the number one quality bankers look for in applicants.

But even a Morgan Stanley summer internship can end up sounding second-rate if it's not described in the optimal manner, i.e. in order to make your investment banking work experience stand out you need to know how to write about it on your resume. With limited space this is no easy feat.

Thankfully there are 6 ways to take your work section from good to great...
Real results - although bankers aren't expecting million dollar achievements from a 20-something student, they do want to see sizeable results so don't be afraid to stretch the truth a little here. To help you decide how far (i.e. whether bankers will believe you) we'll take a look at an extract from an investment banking resume example - you can access this tutorial at our website (see below).
Extremely specific - adding in details like numbers, dates, project names etc. will make your achievements look 10 times more believable than every other student who simply fills their dot points with Ben Stiller esque words like "a lot" or "for a project". But be sure to keep everything succinct per the '15-seconds to bin' rule. Getting this balance right is part of the riddle of the resume and something we will help you solve in the Inside Investment Banking System this fall (BETA version just launched).
Client or employer focused - banks are in the 'people as resources' / 'enrichment of stockholders' business and want to see what return they would get on you; what value you would add. So when you're writing about results you achieved in past jobs be sure to hammer on about how you increased profits, turnover, morale, insight, strategy, ideas, or how you saved time, money, made things easier, more convenient, innovated, increased efficiency, brought in more business, new customers, or otherwise rocked the joint. This way you are not simply telling them just what you did, but also why it mattered...i.e. it enriched your former employer's clients or the former employer themselves.
NOT 'you' focused - no banker wants to hear about how you learned lots of 'awesome lessons man', unless it's directly relevant to banking. I mean can you think of anything more contrary to the previous point than writing "I learned so much, me, me, me". So just like any good car salesman slinging busted up Dodges on some highway near San Diego make sure you talk about "them, them, them" (former employer / client), not you.
Laced with banker-friendly and business-y terms - littering your resume with terms like 'the space', 'competitive landscape', 'return on investment' and other financial dirty talk will endear you to bankers instantaneously. You will subtly showcase insider knowledge, and probably above all that you are a student who actually cares about business. But please avoid turning into a freaking management consultant who fires more BS lingo around than a CNBC talking head - ie don't let your resume get too BS-dense!
Supplemented with metrics - whether it's $, %, fold, units or amount, you have to use numbers to quantify your achievement, because they are the language of bankers and also add further authenticity to your achievements. To make the numbers 'pop' time frame them; i.e. how long they took to achieve. Numbers when used right will also hypnotically draw bankers eyes to your resume, which is crucial for gaining their attention and interest - and beating the '15 seconds to bin' rule. Also numbers will help a banker understand your achievements even when they are in an unfamiliar industry (e.g. reading about your part time engineering job!). PS It might be worth verifying ballpark numbers with your current or former employer in case the bank wants to ring your old boss as a reference.

For more advice on writing your investment banking internship resume check out our website.

Richard is the head writer for Inside Investment Banking - a one-stop shop of advice for students just like you who want to know how to get into investment banking without a 4.0 GPA from Harvard or nepotistic connections on Wall Street.

Created by a team of 5 young bankers, Inside Investment Banking contains all the real insider advice you need to write killer banking resumes, answer tough interview questions, network with bankers and much more.

You can read more Free Tutorials on Investment Banking Recruiting just like the one above by visiting http://insideinvestmentbanking.com/ now.

(c) Copyright - Inside Investment Banking. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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12/21/10

Insider Tips on How Resumes Are Reviewed

It is clear that one of the most important documents in your job search is your resume. Since we know of its importance why do most job seekers treat it as if it doesn't warrant priority status? There are many templates on line that will help you with the layout and design of your resume. The challenge is layout and design is not what's important when your resume is being reviewed by prospective employers. If job seekers knew what was important on their resume they would do a better job in the development. I will share with you the process company's use when they review resumes.

If you submit a resume to a prospective employer it will most likely go through an electronic scanning process. This process determines which resumes are a good fit for what the employer is looking for. Only these resumes will be reviewed by personnel and the others will go into their database. Your resume must have keywords, relevant skills, experience and an impactful value added statement clearly displayed. Our twenty five years of interviewing experience and the reviewing of literally thousands of resumes allows us to offer you these tips for your use. When developing your resume be mindful that if you are fortunate and your resume is selected it will be looked at for no longer than 30 seconds.

Our experience reveals that resumes are reviewed in quadrants. We know that when the eyes look at the document 25% of the time is focused on Q1, 50% on Q2, 10% on Q3 and 15% on Q4. Having this knowledge should tell you where the most emphasis should be placed when developing your resume. Seventy five percent of the reviewer's time is spent looking at content in Q1 and Q2. The first quadrant (Q1) typically has your contact information and value added statement. It is this value added statement that addresses what you can offer to the prospective employer. Keep in mind that it is critical that your resume speaks directly to the job you are applying for. The second quadrant (Q2) contains your relevant job experience and the skills you offer that match what the employer is seeking in an employee. Recruiters and Employers spend the most time in this quadrant which means you should spend the most time making sure Q2 is really impactful. Quad 4 typically has school and reference information and only serves to verify whether or not you have a degree. Quad 3 is viewed the least amount of time because it typically has work experience from earlier in your career.

I hope that knowing how resumes are read by recruiters and employers help you in developing a document that is both impactful and well constructed.

Greg Ikner is the President of The AGA Group a retained Executive Search and Consulting Firm. I have in excess of 25 years of Industry experience in Sales, Management and Marketing. The Articles I author are based on proven experience and I share my learnings with you. If you gain some level of insight after reading my articles then I have accomplished my goal. It is extremely challenging securing a great career opportunity and I want to help you be the best that you can be.

Several other ways to view my work is to visit my weekly Blog The Ikner Articles (http://www.iknerarticles.com/) and my website http://www.agaexecsearch.com/. I hope you enjoy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregory_Ikner

Gregory Ikner - EzineArticles Expert Author
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12/17/10

Insider Tips on How to Write Compelling Accounting Resume Objectives

Objective, summary, history and education are the four basic parts of an accounting resume. Each of these has its own weight and meaning, and accounting resume objectives are no exception. With an objective statement you can speak about who you are and what you want to do for the company. The resume objective is at the top of the resume, so most probably this is the first thing HR managers read.

Basically accounting resume objectives answer two questions: What you want to do and what you will do? What is your next move in your professional career? What are your skills that could benefit the company? How can you merge these two things? Writing something like "to obtain a position with 'X' company or in 'Y' field" is definitely not a good resume objective.

You should view your resume as a marketing tool. Basically you are selling yourself by showing your abilities, accomplishments, goals and the possibility of a partnership with the prospective employer. When HR managers review resumes, they are looking for the skills and accomplishments that fit the needs of the position, a proof of understanding of the company and the position, and a demonstration of thought backing career choices.

Accounting resume objectives can be viewed as slogans answering to all these questions. It is also very important to position your strengths and desires according to the company's advertised needs and goals. However, you should try to keep your resume objective brief and descriptive: Generalities say nothing about you. Below you can read a few objective statements so you can use them as a starting point for crafting your own objective.

"Mature professional with medium-business accounting knowledge seeking part-time employment with start-up firm or family-run establishment needing reliable, accurate and innovative financial management abilities.", "Expanding experience in child education and craft experiential learning techniques through tested methods and the new philosophies of KinderCare", "Media and communications professional experienced with coordinating writers, photographers and fluctuating advertising dollars desires to create and structure Web content for a progressive multi-topic information site."

If you are applying to more than one company at the same time, you should tailor your accounting resume objectives to fit the position you are applying to. HR specialists will observe immediately "assembly-line" resumes. It is also good to use the keywords and language found in the advertisement: You can show this way that you've paid attention to the needs of the employer.

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