European cv
I'm in my final year of msc. I'm looking for a summer internship (analyst preferably quantitative), and I thought I might give it go posting it here:
- Any red flags?
- Any missing stuff?
- Is my resume too weak?
- Should I include my enrollment for 2012-2013?
I'll mainly apply for EMEA, but should I make adjustments for US applications?
regards,
Hi,
I'm a bit in the same situation as you are at the moment, but reviewed some CVs in my life.
Some people can comment more on this, but I was told at a BB Investment bank in London you shouldn't have age in your CV due to discrimination etc.
To make it stronger you should write about achievements. Now your CV says that you have done things, but basically haven't achieved anything. For interests you might also want to put for example the level of football etc.
Everyone knows how to use Excel but VBA is a different story. For C++ and Matlab you might want to include examples where you have used them.
Depending on where you apply I might put a description after your Grades. Not many countries use Latin grades even here in Europe. Most likely HR-professionals do know them but the person who makes the recruitment decision maybe doesn't. Also I would advise to include thesis grades.
Lay out: Personal data text just takes away space. Also it does not need to say CV / resume. The icons for phone and letter are not needed. (depends on the person but might annoy someone). I would also put language skills last.
Don't give up your hopes, but you're also a bit late to apply for many places in Europe. This might be slightly different for quants since they're more rare and opportunities might arise.
Thanks a lot for your feedback. Does "with distinction" or "with honours" sound better? I've tried to find some equivalent degrees: some say 2:1 degree, others say top 20%... Officially it's +70% or + 67.5%, depending on the faculty.
I'm still working on my second thesis, so I can't include those grades, but i'll add the ones of my BSc.
I'll remove my date of birth and replace it by nationality. It does seem strange though. I'm in my 20s, about to graduate... If I leave my age off, it seems as if I'm hiding it...
By achievements, do you mean specific issues that arose during internship/academic career? (I.e. Attended workgroup to improve use of programming in our curriculum...) I once hiked 60 miles in under 24 hours... Is that a relevant achievement? I've lived abroad for a large part of my life (I grew up in London), is that relevant, even though it was my childhood?
Hi voljockey,
I've had some experience with CVs (being based in the UK) so here's my 2%.
i) Personal data or Personal is fine. For UK there is no need for date of birth nor place of birth. Simply state that you are a Belgian/EU national (which I am guessing). Email address and phone number is enough (I always need space so leave out physical address).
ii) At the moment, since your education is the most relevant, you've done well to keep it first. The cum laude grade marking could be in italics with (76%) or whatever the grade was such that UK recruiters have an idea of where you are. The thesis title isn't important, especially since it doesn't suggest anything about finance. Bullet point straight into the finance modules. Also, format-wise there are too many lines - I'd remove the vertical ones and use bold instead (italics only for latin). What is SCIENCE-MATHEMATICS (8 HOURS)?
iii) Combining work experience and leadership is fine, but I would simply put work experience, and then a separate section for 'Additional Details' or something where you mention the leadership (you can also mention your languages here).
iv) I would put the Skills section separate, where you only state which computer languages you know. Most quant positions will look for this, and you're giving it straight to them.
v) Have an 'Additional Details' section where you can mention leadership, languages and other activities.
If I were you I wouldn't put 'brainteasers' as an interest unless you are very confident you can knock them out of the park as they come. Some HFs will ask tricky ones.
LaTeXing is fine but just make sure you keep a theme going (you've only used bold for skills, activities and interests, so to me they are the most important part of your CV).
PM me if you want to talk more, but I hope the above helps.
Thanks for your pointers, maximumlikelihood.
Regarding point 2. I'll leave in the thesis, but remove the advisors. I want to show that I have research experience, which is relevant for a quant job. Science-Mathematics (8 hours) is the most advanced high-school course you can take in belgium, where you get 8 hours of math a week. Should I leave this out?
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