Resume tips for a non-traditional
Hey folks,
Quick question about resume Do's and Dont's. I know there's a lot of support and info, and some for non traditional pathways (i.e. non finance major etc). How valuable or useful is a mission statement/objective on the resume?
Considering I have zero finance experience professionally, and a non finance degree, apart from from a few certifications and online courses I want to show recruiters and HR that I'm dedicated to the career switch. Some argue that a mission statement isn't critical for the resume, but could it actually hurt to have one on there?
I have reviewed hundreds of resumes and have seen maybe 2 or 3 mission statements, exclusively by sophomores who hadn't been told differently yet. In some fields it is totally common, but IB and related fields you shouldn't have it on there.
Looking at your post history, it seems like you graduated in 2019 or 2020 with a pre med degree? What have you been doing since graduation? Look into healthcare IB - they specifically recruit for a science background. Healthcare is a pretty complicated field and science major is preferred. You still need to show some finance interest, but that kind of move makes sense. I think timing hurts you more than anything, it's just extra hard to get into IB once you've graduated. You need to focus on tiny boutiques that are willing to show you the ropes, it's easy to lateral upstream from there once you have a year or two experience.
You can also heavily redact your resume and post it on here for more specific advice
Thanks for the update! I did graduate in 2019 with a Public Health Science degree and completed all the "pre-medical" coursework. I was dead set on medicine and worked in a medical clinic for about 2 years until Feb '21 at which point I started full time MCAT studying while applying to med school. During the 2 years I was working and late into my undergraduate I got into trading, more so focused on long term investments but grew interested in the short-term (not exclusively day-trading), learning more about company metrics and understanding the nuances of finance. Took me a while after talking and reading tons of useful write ups and opinions to want IB. Still, as a non trad I know my journey will be rocky and I'll learn a lot along the way.
As far as HC IB I am definitely looking into that as well! Only problem is applying to some HC IB analyst roles where the app doesn't give me a chance to provide some details about my background, especially considering I've got little to no tangible finance coursework or experience.
Side note, hate to ask more of ya but any recs on modeling courses or Certifications that I should be doing while applying? Any MSF programs that IB firms would recruit from? I've seen a few non-finance majors in the industry but the write ups they post usually follow some Masters program, or that they knew early enough to switch majors and/or add a major or minor and extend graduation.
Cheers
Networking is where you can provide the info you're looking for. Most online applications for IB are a black hole (unless you're an experienced lateral analyst) you need to be contacting bankers at all levels at these firms and set up 30 minute phone calls. Do a search on here for better advice on that.
I think your best paths here are
1. Network your way into an off cycle internship (paid... don't waste your time on anything unpaid) at a boutique IB firm - especially those in healthcare. You're gonna need to send a hell of a lot of emails and be on a lot of phone calls, but even having a 3-6 month IB internship makes you way more attractive. Ideally stay there FT for a year or so, and then you can start moving up. I think this is your best path
2. MSF as you mentioned - problem is you won't even start until fall 2022 at this point. MSFs aren't typical IB recruiting haven, but you're too young for an MBA and thus a rare case where it could work. Worth working on GMAT and applying to a few in your spare time while still trying to do #1 point - networking for an internship. Princeton is cream of the crop MSF, but basically a 2 year quant program, not what you want. Look at Vandy, WashU, MIT, UVA, Villanova, UT Austin.
Modeling certs - these are a waste of time unless you have no clue about financial statements, like basic technicals are confusing to you, and you want to learn the 3 statements visually. None of the modeling certs are really that impressive, and they will never test/ask about modeling in interviews. It's just a skill to pick up on the job. You're better off killing technical questions and having a great why finance answer (I would avoid talking about trading, it's not related to IB + people will just assume you are a day trader) look up some good why IB answers on here.
Best of luck man. You sound humble and focused, I'm sure you will land something.
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