Investment Banking Resume Guide: Template, Format & Examples (2026)

Your resume is the single document that determines whether you get a first-round interview. At top banks like Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Evercore, recruiters spend an average of 15-30 seconds scanning each resume. A one-page, clean, quantified resume with 3 bullet points per experience and strong action verbs is the standard format that gets callbacks.

What Format Do Investment Banks Expect?

Every IB resume must follow these rules:

| Element | Standard | |---|---| | Length | 1 page, no exceptions | | Font | Times New Roman or Garamond, 10-11pt | | Margins | 0.5" to 0.75" | | Bullets per role | 2-3 max | | Sections | Education, Experience, Leadership/Activities, Skills | | GPA | Include if 3.5+ (on a 4.0 scale) |

How Should You Write Resume Bullets?

Use the Action Verb + What + Quantified Impact formula:

• Weak: "Helped with financial models"
• Strong: "Built 3-statement financial models for 2 M&A transactions totaling $450M in enterprise value"

Top action verbs: Analyzed, Built, Created, Executed, Led, Modeled, Presented, Restructured, Valued.

What Do Banks Look for in Each Section?

Education

• University name, degree, GPA (if 3.5+), expected graduation
• Relevant coursework: Accounting, Corporate Finance, Valuation, Statistics
• Honors: Dean's List, scholarships, CFA Level I candidate

Experience

• Prioritize finance-related experience (internships, student funds, research)
• Non-finance experience is fine — quantify your impact and show transferable skills
• Include 2-3 bullets per role, each with a number

Skills & Activities

• Excel (advanced — VLOOKUP, pivot tables, macros), PowerPoint, Bloomberg Terminal
• Leadership roles, athletics, community involvement

What Are the Most Common Resume Mistakes?

1. Going over one page — automatic rejection at most banks
2. No quantification — every bullet should have a number ($, %, #)
3. Passive language — "Responsible for" vs. "Led" or "Executed"
4. Typos and formatting inconsistency — signals lack of attention to detail
5. Including a photo or objective statement — not standard in U.S. banking

How Do You Tailor Your Resume for Specific Banks?

For bulge brackets (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan), emphasize deal experience and large transaction sizes. For elite boutiques (Evercore, Centerview, Moelis), emphasize analytical rigor, modeling skills, and high-caliber academics. Customize 1-2 bullets to mirror language from the job description.

Should You Use a Template?

Yes — start with a proven template and adapt it. The standard "investment banking resume template" is widely available and follows the exact format recruiters expect. Avoid creative designs, colors, or non-standard layouts.

IB Flash includes resume-related behavioral questions like "Walk me through your resume" so you can practice connecting your experience to a compelling narrative. See our behavioral interview questions guide for more, and try our Readiness Check to gauge your overall preparation.