How to Answer 'Walk Me Through Your Resume' for Banking Interviews

"Walk me through your resume" is asked in roughly 85% of investment banking interviews and is often the very first question. The ideal answer is a 90-120 second narrative that connects your experiences into a logical story ending with why you want to be in investment banking — it is not a chronological reading of your resume bullets.

What Structure Should Your Answer Follow?

Use the Past, Present, Future framework:

1. Past (20-30 seconds): Where you started, what sparked your interest in finance or analytical work
2. Present (40-50 seconds): Your most relevant 1-2 experiences, with specific accomplishments and numbers
3. Future (20-30 seconds): Why investment banking is the logical next step, and why this specific bank

What Should You Emphasize in Each Transition?

The transitions between experiences are where most candidates fail. Each transition should answer "why did you make this move?" naturally:

| Transition | Example Language | |---|---| | School to First internship | "That interest led me to pursue an internship at..." | | Internship to Second experience | "Building on that experience, I wanted deeper deal exposure, so..." | | Current to Why IB | "All of these experiences have led me to investment banking because..." |

Example Walkthrough #1: Traditional Finance Path

"I'm at NYU Stern studying finance, where I first got interested in deals through a valuation course where we modeled the Disney-Fox acquisition. That sparked my interest, so I joined the student investment fund and became a portfolio manager — I pitched 4 stocks using DCF and comparable analysis, and our fund returned 18% that year.

Last summer, I interned at Lazard in their restructuring group, where I worked on 3 active engagements with a combined $6 billion in debt. I built recovery analysis models and helped draft a board presentation for a Chapter 11 case. The experience of working directly on complex transactions — and seeing how financial analysis drives real decisions — confirmed that banking is what I want to do.

I'm particularly interested in Morgan Stanley's M&A group because of your work on large-cap technology deals. I followed your advisory role on the $28 billion VMware deal, and I'd love to contribute to that kind of transaction."

Example Walkthrough #2: Non-Traditional Background

"I studied computer science at Michigan, where I developed strong quantitative and programming skills. My interest in finance started when I interned at a fintech startup and built their financial reporting dashboard — working with revenue data and unit economics made me realize I wanted to move closer to corporate finance.

After graduation, I spent a year at Deloitte in their valuation services practice, where I worked on purchase price allocations and fairness opinions for 8 M&A transactions totaling $3.5 billion. That gave me hands-on modeling experience and exposure to the deal process — but I wanted to be on the advisory side, working directly with clients on strategic decisions.

That's what led me to investment banking. I'm excited about JPMorgan's TMT group specifically because your team advised on 5 of the top 20 tech deals last year, and I think my combination of technical skills and valuation experience would add value from day one."

What Questions Follow "Walk Me Through Your Resume?"

Be ready for deep dives into anything you mention:

• "Tell me more about the restructuring case at Lazard" — have 2-3 details prepared
• "What was your investment thesis on that stock?" — know the numbers cold
• "Why did you leave Deloitte?" — frame positively, focus on growth
• "What specifically interests you about our group?" — reference a recent deal

Check out our full behavioral interview questions guide for more examples of follow-up questions and how to handle them.

How Long Should Your Answer Be?

Aim for 90-120 seconds. Under 60 seconds feels underprepared. Over 2 minutes loses the interviewer. Time yourself until you consistently hit this range.

Practice delivering your resume walkthrough until it sounds conversational, not rehearsed — IB Flash includes timed behavioral question drills that help you build this skill with real-time feedback. Also see our guide on how to answer "Tell me about yourself" for more scripts and frameworks.