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How to Prepare Your Investment Banking Resume : Examples and Templates

  • Nov 29, 2025
  • Resume

Breaking into Investment Banking (IB) is fiercely competitive. Recruiters at top firms like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, BofA, and Indian IBs such as Kotak, ICICI, Avendus skim through thousands of resumes every year—sometimes spending less than 10 seconds per resume on the first screen. Your resume is your primary marketing tool, often the only barrier between you and the interview room.

So how do you ensure your resume survives the first cut? How do you tailor your past experiences—even if they are from a non-finance role—to sound relevant to investment banking? And how do you showcase real IB-relevant skills when you’ve never worked in IB?

This article, with deep insights from our thousands of mentoring sessions, walks you through crafting a standout IB resume, starting with what recruiters look for, transforming non-IB experience, and integrating impactful self-initiated projects.

What Investment Banking Recruiters Look for in a Resume?

1. Your investment banking resume  should be a single page resume —no exceptions. Regardless of how many internships you’ve completed or how many clubs you participate in, you need to condense everything into one page. Recruiters are extremely busy, and many will automatically reject resumes that exceed this limit.

2. Highlight your academic excellence clearly. Banks prefer candidates who demonstrate strong intellectual ability—high GPA, Dean’s List recognition, academic awards, or similar achievements.

3. Showcase relevant finance exposure. Ideally, this comes from internships, but if you haven’t secured one, do projects and include them in your resume. You need to have the following in your resume.

  • Built Financial models
  • Valuation  projects – Discounted cash flow (DCF), Multiples and Relatives
  • M&A exposure along with deals analysis or even M&A teardowns
  • Financial Analysis skills – statements and ratios
  • Forecasting, budgeting, FP&A
  • Equity research or market analysis
  • Strong Excel skills
  • Comfort with large datasets

4. Demonstrate that you’re a hard worker. Investment bankers value candidates who manage demanding commitments alongside academics. Participation in varsity sports, leadership positions, and significant extracurricular responsibilities all signal strong work ethic and discipline.

 

5. Quantified Impact – Investment bankers think in terms of value, numbers, and ROI. Your resume should reflect measurable outcomes. Use the “Achieved X by doing Y” format or Situation Action result format.

 

6. Brand Names – Whether fair or not, brand names matter. Experience at Big 4, consulting, audit, top corporates, fintechs, VCs/PEs, and education or even certification from  Ivy/IIM/NIT/SRCC helps. If you don’t have brand names highlight prestigious competitions, certifications (CFA, CA, FMVA, Wall Street Prep, CFI), Self-initiated IB projects on great brand companies, deals (more on this later). 

Resume Sections and Formatting Essentials and Content: Maximizing Readability

Before the content, the structure is paramount. An IB resume must be:

  • One Page Only: Non-negotiable for undergraduates and recent graduates.
  • Font: Professional and clean (e.g., Times New Roman, Calibri, or Garamond), 10-12 point.
  • Margins: Narrow, typically 0.5 inches all around.
  • Reverse Chronological Order: List your most recent and most relevant experience first.

Essential Sections:

  1. Contact Information: Name, Phone, Email, and LinkedIn URL.
  2. Education: University, Major(s), GPA (if 3.5 or higher), relevant coursework
  3. Work Experience: Full-time roles, relevant internships (IB and non-IB).
  4. Extracurricular Activities/Leadership: Campus involvement, community service.
  5. Skills: Technical skills (Excel, PowerPoint, Bloomberg, Python), Languages.

Below table outlines different resume sections and great examples of resume points.

Resume Section

Examples of Investment Banking Resume Points

Education

– Graduated with 8.8/10 GPA; received Dean’s List honor for 3 consecutive terms

– Completed courses in Corporate Finance, Valuations, and M&A with top-tier grades (A/A+)

– Awarded merit scholarship for ranking in top 5% of the class

Work Experience

– Built a 3-statement financial model and conducted DCF valuation for a potential $50M acquisition target, influencing leadership decision-making

– Conducted benchmarking and comparable company analysis across 8 peers to identify valuation gaps

– Prepared investment pitch materials and assisted in due diligence for a live sell-side mandate

Internships

– Supported senior analysts in preparing client presentations, industry overviews, and transaction pitchbooks

– Performed financial statement analysis and assisted in creating sensitivities for equity valuation 

– Evaluated sector trends and prepared a research report covering revenue drivers and margin outlook

Projects (Self-Initiated)

– Developed a complete DCF model for Infosys with 3 scenario analyses (base, bull, bear); published insights on LinkedIn 

– Created an M&A teardown of the HUL–GSK merger analyzing synergy realization and deal structure 

– Conducted trading comps for the Indian banking sector using EV/EBITDA and P/E multiples

Leadership & Extracurriculars

– Led a 15-member finance club; organized valuation workshops attended by 200+ students

– Captained university basketball team while maintaining top 10% academic performance 

– Coordinated a multi-event business fest managing budgets, sponsors, and 30+ volunteers

Skills & Certifications

– Certified FMVA; proficient in DCF, LBO, Comps, and sensitivity modeling. 

– Advanced Excel (Index-Match, XLOOKUP, pivot tables), PowerPoint, and basic Python. 

– Expertise in using Bloomberg, Capital IQ, and PitchBook databases

Achievements

– Secured 1st place in equity research competition evaluating the EV sector 

– Recognized by company leadership for delivering a critical financial analysis under a 48-hour turnaround 

– Published 5+ equity research reports on large-cap Indian companies

 

Transforming Non-Investment Banking Experience

Many strong candidates do not have prior IB internships. This is not a disqualifier, but it requires strategic translation of past roles (e.g., consulting, tech, accounting, sales, or even non-professional roles) into skills relevant to investment banking. Recruiters look for transferable skills: rigorous analysis, client management, attention to detail, and high-pressure execution.

Here are examples of how to convert seemingly irrelevant experience using the SAR framework:

Role

How to Make It Relevant for Investment Banking

IB Resume Bullets (Examples)

Audit / Accounting

– Emphasize financial statement analysis. 

– Highlight revenue/cost insights, adjustments, working capital analysis. 

– Showcase due diligence exposure.

– Analyzed revenue streams and working capital cycles for clients with ₹300–500 Cr turnover; identified adjustments impacting EBITDA by 4%. 

– Evaluated 4 years of financial statements to assess cash flow sustainability for due diligence

Consulting (Strategy/Operations)

– Highlight market sizing, financial impact, benchmarking. 

– Link projects to profitability or valuation.

– Conducted TAM/SAM/SOM analysis for a $200M market and built 3-scenario revenue model for client’s M&A screening 

– Benchmarked 12 competitors to identify consolidation opportunities impacting client valuation assumptions

Corporate Finance / FP&A

– Emphasize forecasts, budgeting, capital allocation. 

– Highlight valuation and board-level analysis.

– Built 5-year financial forecast (P&L, BS, CF) and analyzed impact of ₹40 Cr capex on ROIC 

– Prepared internal DCF valuation for potential divestiture worth ₹85 Cr

Equity Research / Finance Clubs

– Showcase valuation models, investment theses, sector research. 

– Publish/submit reports or memos.

– Built DCF and comparable analysis for Infosys; derived 15% upside and published a 10-page equity report 

– Produced sector analysis for banking and FMCG industries used in club competitions

Start-up / Entrepreneurship

– Show financial planning, budgeting, pricing, fundraising materials. 

– Highlight cost savings and revenue modeling.

– Built month-on-month revenue model improving cash burn visibility by 20% 

– Negotiated vendor contracts reducing annual operating costs by ₹12 lakh

Operations / Supply Chain

– Highlight cost analysis, process improvement, cycle time, efficiency 

– Convert improvements into financial impact

– Conducted cost-driver analysis identifying ₹3 Cr in annual cost reduction potential 

– Improved cycle time by 15% through process optimization, enhancing asset utilization

Sales / Business Development

– Focus on revenue growth, pricing analytics, customer segmentation insights. 

– Link work to margins and financial metrics.

– Analyzed customer mix leading to pricing changes that increased quarterly margins by 8% 

– Built forecasting model predicting sales pipeline conversion with 92% accuracy

Marketing / Product Management

– Highlight data-driven decisions, customer analytics, pricing, market sizing. 

– Convert insights to financial outcomes.

– Conducted market sizing for ₹1,200 Cr opportunity; recommendations supported expansion into 3 new regions 

– Optimized pricing strategy increasing customer LTV by 18%

Tech / Engineering

– Emphasize analytics, automation, efficiency, project impact. 

– Quantify cost/time savings in business terms.

– Automated reporting workflows reducing processing time by 40% and saving ₹35 lakh annually 

– Analyzed system performance and recommended upgrades improving operational efficiency by 22%

Human Resources

– Showcase compensation analytics, productivity metrics, cost structures. 

– Relate workforce planning to financial impact.

– Conducted compensation benchmarking for 600+ employees, optimizing cost structure by 5% – Built manpower forecast model aligned with business growth strategy

Research / Academic Projects

– Highlight quantitative and analytical work. 

– Use financial models, datasets, industry insights.

– Built regression model analyzing ROE drivers across 50 listed firms; identified statistical significance of leverage ratio 

– Performed sector analysis of renewable energy market to estimate 5-year revenue trends

No Experience / Career Switcher

– Create self-initiated IB projects (DCF, comps, M&A teardown). 

– Add certifications (FMVA, CFA L1). – Join finance clubs or competitions.

– Built DCF and trading comps for Reliance Industries; derived target price with 3 valuation scenarios 

– Prepared M&A teardown of HUL–GSK merger analyzing synergy realization and deal multiples

Generating Relevant Experience: Self-Initiated Projects

The most proactive way to signal genuine interest and technical competence is through self-initiated projects. If you lack direct IB experience, these projects act as simulated experience, proving you can handle the core tasks of an IB Analyst. Recruiters view these as a sign of dedication and hustle.

Your self-initiated projects should focus on the three pillars of an Analyst’s work: Company Analysis, Valuation, and Deal/Industry Research. Examples are given below :

Project

Examples

Step-By-Step Process

Resume Point (IB-Ready)

DCF Valuation of a Listed Company

• Infosys DCF 

• Reliance DCF • Asian Paints DCF

1. Download last 5–10 years of financials (P&L, BS, CF). 

2. Forecast revenue drivers, margins, capex, working capital. 

3. Build unlevered FCF projections for 5–10 years. 4. Calculate WACC and terminal value. 

5. Run Base/Bull/Bear cases. 6. Compare valuation to market price.

Built a full DCF model for Infosys with 10-year projections and 3-scenario sensitivity; derived 15% valuation upside vs. market price.

Comparable Company Analysis (Trading Comps)

• Indian banking sector comps 

• FMCG comps • IT services comps

1. Identify peer group (use sector/size filters). 

2. Collect valuation multiples: EV/EBITDA, P/E, P/BV, EV/Sales. 

3. Normalize metrics (adjust one-offs, outliers). 4. Create valuation range using median/mean. 

5. Apply multiples to target company’s metrics.

Conducted trading comps for the Indian banking sector across 12 peers using EV/EBITDA and P/E; derived valuation band for HDFC Bank.

M&A Teardown (Deal Analysis)

• HUL–GSK Consumer merger 

• Zomato–Blinkit acquisition 

• Tata–Air India acquisition

1. Read deal announcement, investor presentations, filings. 

2. Identify deal structure (cash/stock), valuation multiples. 

3. Estimate revenue/cost synergies. 

4. Analyze rationale and market reaction. 

5. Summarize industry impact.

Prepared M&A teardown of the HUL–GSK merger analyzing deal rationale, synergy realization, and implied EV/EBITDA multiples.

Equity Research Report (10–15 Pages)

• IT sector report 

• EV sector report 

• Pharma sector report

1. Choose a company/sector. 

2. Analyze industry drivers + competitive landscape. 3. Forecast key metrics. 

4. Build valuation (DCF, Comps). 

5. Write investment thesis (Buy/Hold/Sell). 

6. Publish report on LinkedIn.

Published 12-page equity research report on the EV sector including valuation, growth drivers, and investment recommendations.

Precedent Transaction Analysis

• FMCG M&A deals in India 

• Indian banking acquisitions 

• Tech/start-up acquisitions

1. Collect a list of similar past deals. 

2. Extract deal multiples: EV/EBITDA, EV/Sales. 

3. Compare size, geography, business models. 

4. Build valuation range based on precedents.

Conducted precedent transaction analysis for FMCG sector using 15 historical deals to derive valuation multiples for a potential acquisition.

3-Statement Financial Model (Build from Scratch)

• Build model for any public company 

• Build model for a hypothetical LBO candidate

1. Project revenue + costs. 2. Build P&L, BS, and CF with interlinkages. 

3. Add working capital, capex, and interest schedules. 

4. Validate balance sheet balancing.

Built fully linked 3-statement model for Reliance Retail projecting 5-year P&L, balance sheet, and cash flows.

Industry Market Sizing (TAM/SAM/SOM)

• Airline industry in India • Mutual fund market sizing 

• EV charging market sizing

1. Choose industry. 

2. Estimate total demand (TAM). 

3. Narrow down to reachable market (SAM). 4. Estimate realistic share capture (SOM).

Conducted TAM/SAM/SOM market sizing for the Indian airline industry estimating $18B TAM and 3-year demand outlook.

LBO Model (Beginner-Friendly)

• LBO for a consumer goods company • LBO for a manufacturing company

1. Download financials. 

2. Make revenue & cost projections. 

3. Build debt schedule (interest, amortization). 

4. Estimate IRR using exit multiples.

Built simplified LBO model for a consumer goods company evaluating returns under multiple leverage structures; output IRR range of 18–27%.

Pitchbook Sample Slides

• Sell-side M&A pitchbook 

• Industry overview deck 

• Equity fundraising deck

1. Create a company overview slide. 

2. Build industry landscape & comps. 

3. Add valuation output. 

4. Write strategic rationale.

Developed 18-slide mock pitchbook including company profile, industry outlook, comps, and valuation summary.

Sector Profitability Analysis

• Indian telecom margins 

• Banking NIM analysis 

• FMCG gross margin split

1. Pick a sector and companies. 

2. Analyze revenue drivers and cost structure. 

3. Compare margins. 

4. Present insights visually (charts/tables).

Performed profitability analysis across 10 FMCG companies identifying drivers of margin variance and cost efficiencies.

Final Polish: Attention to Detail

The ultimate filter for any IB resume is the absolute absence of errors. A single typo or formatting inconsistency suggests a lack of attention to detail, which is unforgivable in a profession where zero errors are expected.

 

  • Proofread Relentlessly: Read it backwards, use a text-to-speech reader, and have several trusted peers review it.
  • Consistency: Ensure consistent date formats, and consistent formatting (bolding, italics) across all sections.
  • Action Verbs: Start every bullet point with a powerful, descriptive action verb (e.g., spearheaded, executed, analyzed, modeled, streamlined, generated).

 

By adopting a recruiter-first perspective, using the SAR framework to articulate impact, and proactively generating relevant experience through deep-dive projects, you can transform your resume from a mere document into a powerful statement of competence and commitment.

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