Heard this a few times but do people put specific deal experience on their resumes? I haven’t updated my resume in almost 2 years so just have basic job functions for current/previous role. At what point in your career is it valid to include specific deal experience?
I’m still an analyst so don’t want to overstate my role, but i feel I have contributed enough to warrant mentioning some specifics. How in depth do you go on your resume for a specific deal? Any examples would be helpful.
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No hard and fast rule on when you add deals to your resume, but if you put one on there, be able to speak to 1) the details 2) how you contributed and 3) current status of the project.
I also would only put deals on your latest job and not previous positions unless you really remember the details. It just opens you up to looking stupid if you say "I forgot." You shouldn't be putting forgettable things on your resume.
Was told by a reviewer to definitely include, even as an analyst. I personally felt like it helped me land more interviews, and they were common talking points that were discussed in the interview process.
As for content, I agree with the other person - include details, and be specific. Maybe your team purchased a property recently. I’m sure you weren’t the one writing the original PSA, but its probably fair to assume that you gathered DD, presented to IC, and helped organize closing materials. One way you could write this would be as “Gathered Dd, assisted in underwriting, and organized closing materials for the purchase of a $XXm, XXk sf, office/retail/multi property”
This short sentence shows a bit more detail of what you’ve done and your familiarity with the acquisition process vs if you had wrote something like “assisted in acquisitions of over $XXXm.” Which may show a larger volume, but not actual understanding of what a closing might look like. That said, i have a sentence like this also included to showcase a general idea of reps i had.
You could make it even better if you had some tangible/measurable impact by catching a mistake or actually running a part of the process.
Was often asked questions along the lines of “what did you think about that deal you did?” Or “would you do anything different on this deal?” So being able to remember specific deal points (debt details, business plans, challenges/obstacles) and speak to them will be important.
Include it as soon as you have some - main bullet includes "did blah blah blah on $X million/billion in transaction activity across Y & Z asset classes", then 2-3 sub-bullets addressing specific deals ("these were my responsibilities on a $300M CBD office acquisition through a joint venture with XYZ pension plan").
Only include from your most recent role and be sure that you are including deals you REALLY worked on and can speak to. You will get asked about them so you need to be able to speak to the full deal - what was the thesis/why did you pursue it, what were your pre-DD underwritten returns, what problems did you uncover in DD and how did you address them, what was the impact of DD on your underwriting, any obstacles to close, etc. and finally be prepared to speak to why you did/didn't like the deal (you don't have to think it was a good deal just because your shop did it).
I'm in development, but I put a single line showing some aggregate statistics, i.e. # of units built, total $ value of developments, # commercial SF developed, etc. Separately I put together a project sheet that has each project I've worked on with some summary data and unique characteristics from each (including a photo of the project). I did that when I was getting my MBA and was trying to differentiate myself and highlight my construction experience, interviewers definitely appreciated having something to look at that made my experience more real and immediate vs a generic "I built $350m worth of real estate and 680 units, etc."
It's easier to do in development since you'll be on only a few projects for a long period of time, but I imagine you could pull together a nice roll-up summary sheet if you've transacted/closed on a solid number of deals in PE/debt.
Associate or Above you should have a separate deal sheet. Also, you should have 2-3 examples of transactions that you can go in depth about.
When you work for a private company with private information, you can’t… so it’s a catch 22
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