Before you start, it’ll be worth your while to look at some sample resumes to get a sense of structure and language. In the meantime, below is a sample resume you can use as a template, along with tips and advice for putting your best foot forward.
What to Include
When considering what to include in your resume, make sure you evaluate your coursework, hobbies, and any clubs.
- If you’re the head of a student investment club or started a personal finance blog, those are strong assets that will make you stand out from other student applicants.
- If you excelled in financial courses and met finance professionals as a student, those experiences can be highlighted as well.
If there’s work you have done that isn’t relevant to finance, such as working in the school cafeteria, don’t include it on your resume. While it’s valuable work, it isn’t relevant to the position you’re applying for.
A Word About Best Practices
A good financial system is vital for every business. Not only will a properly prepared financial statement tell you what’s transpired in a business, it offers a snapshot regarding the future.
Through financial budgeting and planning, a company can review historical data such as previous year’s budget to determine whether or not they successfully followed the company guidelines and determine why variances are present. The three most important steps to ensure financial stability include:
- Establish a Performance-based framework: One of the problems of a traditional budget is that it does not clearly and sufficiently link investments to the outcome. This limits the finance team’s ability to do in-depth analysis and understanding of the real return on investment.
- Perform What-if Analysis: In today’s economic climate where there is too much instability, unpredictability, and volatility, the slightest material deviation that occurs during any given year can severely paralyze an organization especially if the organization has no efficient way of determining the cause of change. Doing this ensures that all risks are thoroughly evaluated and the future properly planned for.
- Use Modern Technology to aid the Process: As a common practice, Excel has been the de Facto tool for financial budgeting and financial forecasting but every single finance person that has worked with this knows this is too complex and time-consuming. Technology can aid CFOs and finance persons in making sure a more developed and collaborative budgeting and planning process is in place.
Sample Finance Resume
Jane Jones
123 Main Street, Willow Creek, NY 12345
(123) 456–7890
jjones@email.com
FINANCIAL ANALYST
Award-winning college business graduate, with experience in two finance internships at two top firms, as well as experience analyzing financial statements for area businesses, seeks position with a top company.
Key skills include:
- Preparing and Analyzing Financial Statements for 25 Area Firms
- Able to Calculate Financial Ratios
- Experience Evaluating Organizational Performance Compared to Competition
- Reviewing Trends in Finance Industry
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
MERRILL LYNCH, New York, N.Y.
FINANCE INTERN (February 2018 — Present)
Review current trends in the finance industry and create PowerPoint presentations for clients; spend time with financial consultants and assist in organizing FA / EMA account listings; helped rewrite company manual on reviewing industry financial trends.
Notable accomplishments:
- Assisted in the organization of company files, collateral material, and administrative tasks.
- Was named “Intern of the Month” three months in a row for excellent performance.
DELTA AIRLINES, New York, N.Y.
FINANCE INTERN (September 2017 — December 2017)
Calculated liquidity, solvency, and profitability ratios for Delta consulting with financial officers.
Notable Accomplishments:
- Determined favorable trends by analyzing ratios, using Excel spreadsheets to exhibit trends.
- Developed and presented to management a PowerPoint presentation on Delta’s performance.
EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS
UNIVERSITY OF ABC, New York, N.Y.
Bachelor of Science in Business (Minor: Music; GPA: 3.5; Graduated Cum Laude), May 2018
Extracurricular Activities
Vice President, Student Government Association • President, ABC School Financial Club
Information Technology Skills
Microsoft Word • Excel and PowerPoint • Publisher, Outlook, Access • PC and Mac, Internet
