Analyst Resume Critique

Let’s call the author of this resume Henry. Henry is currently an MD level analyst. Hence he doesn’t need to present his entry job in much detail. However if we are looking for an entry level research/analyst job, we need to describe our intern or other experience with great care.

Present yourself as an Analyst
Set this as your primary objective in writing your analyst resume. Ask a number of people to read your resume and see if they feel that your resume is written by an analyst. This first impression is very important.

I’ve done a resume critique that the candidate was looking for a banking job, but the resume was full of his engineering strength. Certainly people looking for engineers will be interested in him, but not bankers.

Make sure your resume presents a proper image of yourself.

Henry’s rating: Good. He is a 100% analyst on his resume.

Important Elements
Bankers work long hours, but unlike some other professions that are paid according to hours, bankers are paid by results. If your research results are of value to the banks and their customers, then you are a good candidate. Of course entry level candidates won’t have many results to present. Don’t ever try to say that you help increase the bank’s revenue by 25%. Everything has to be realistic.

The most important elements on an entry level analyst resume are:

* Can you analyse?
* Do you attend to detail?
* Can you count and manipulate numbers?

If the manager reviews your resume grants you three yeses, then you are on the right track.

Henry’s rating: Pass. Henry might need to include more numbers in his resume.

What and How
With the above in mind, it won’t be difficult to formulate a strategy in your writing an analyst resume. List these:

* What do you do
* How do you do
* What are the results

Investment banks won’t hire gurus to entry roles. You just prove that you are someone with the potential to become a successful banker. Therefore 'what you do’ and ‘how you do’ would weight higher than the ‘results’, which could be out of team effort and guidance of your superior.

Henry’s rating: Good. He described exactly what he did at each department at Lehman Brothers.

Use Intelligent/Effective Words
As I said previously, don’t just write responsible for… Use words that actually describe what you do. I have highlighted a number of Henry’s effective words. You might want to scroll down and review my previous post.

Henry’s rating: Good pass.

Anna Maria’s Thoughts on Analyst Resume
Henry’s resume answers one frequently asked question. Can I be an investment banker without any finance background? Yes, Henry was a biological analyst by education. He only had a bio chemistry degree, however his analytical skills impressed Lehman Brothers to hire him into an analyst role.

Analyst has to write research reports, hence it’s relatively demanding on English skills. If you don’t enjoy writing, you might consider sales or trading roles.

Resume Writing Skills
Amazing Resume Creator

Analyst Resume – Writing Skills

Star analysts in investment banks are paid well. While some people move faster than others, you will normally move up to associate level after being a third year analyst. In ten years time, even you are at MD level, you are still referred to be an analyst, if your focus is still in research.

Many graduates start their IB career as an analyst. Let’s go through an analyst resume sample before we discuss its writing skills.

Analyst Resume Sample

Here is a resume extraction from an analyst who is now at MD level. This is how he described his research role while he was at Lehman Brothers some years ago.

LEHMAN BROTHERS - Tokyo, Japan, 2001
Associate

Principal Transactions Group, Global Commercial Real Estate Group, Investment Banking Division
* Co-authored the Taiwan and China Investment Memo evaluating LB Asia-Pac strategies in the non-performing loans/real estate markets

Fixed Income Quantitative Research, Capital Markets Fixed Income Division
* Constructed Japanese swaption forward/underlying matrices. Analysed swaption volatility to formulate forecasts models
* Modeled 10-year JGB price/yield using Principal Component Analysis and other econometrics tools

Risk Arbitrage Group
* Analysed risks and identified arbitrage opportunities in M&A activities within the global mining industry

Rotations: Fixed Income Derivatives, Hedge Fund Sales, Program Trading, Equity Sales, Equity Finance, Pharmaceutical Equity Research

ZYX SCIENTIC HOSPITAL – New York, USA, 1998 – 2000
Research Scientist, HLA/DNA Department
* Created DNA database to facilitate DNA identification/isolation/purification
* Devised biomolecular experiments for in-house and contract clinical projects

Come back for my next post for the resume critique

Amazing Resume Creator

Resume Writing Skills