Should you include modeling experience on your resume?

Hey guys:

How much modeling / valuation experience do you think should be included on an ibanking resume? Mine has 3 bullets on it that talk about modeling / valuation experience, and I'm not sure if these are things I should omit or if I should mention them directly on the resume.

Thanks for any help.

  • Nick
 
Best Response

If you're a college student you should include them as it shows you've been developing a skill set geared towards banking.

If you're already a banking analyst, your experience should convey that you know all this stuff without having designated bullets that say you know how to spread comps and do a DCF.

If you're a BO/MO type guy trying to transition over, it would probably help that you have the necessary skill set.

Regardless of which case you fall into, but especially for the 2nd and 3rd, you should know your shit cold and inside out if you're putting it down on your resume. The last think you want is for someone to ask you in an interview how you calculated WACC or which method requires a control premium and which doesn't... and you stumble.

 

Marcus:

Thanks for your response. I'm still a college student so I will keep that stuff on my resume... do you think it's possible to 'overdo' it or put too much about those kinds of things on a resume?

 

Include your modeling experience, but don't overdo it. In other words, if you worked on deals, cite it, if you performed a decent amount of DCF, M&A, LBO, comps, etc modeling, then highlight it, but don't use 5 bullet points to highlight. 1 bullet point per deal, and 1 bullet point per task.

For example, if you did a bunch of modeling but not for any 1 particular deal, then highlight the bunch of modeling on deals in these sectors using 1 bullet point to convey the message.

 

I'm in the same position. I had an internship where I had exposure to modeling, but I didn't work on anything really intense. For example, the LBO models I worked on did not have multiple tranches of debt. Also, I wouldn't know how to answer Marcus' question about the control premium (transaction comps?).

Would it look like I'm trying to weasel out of being responsible for knowing this if i put "Analyzed basic DCF and basic LBO models"? Or would that sell me too short and make it look like I just plugged in numbers and read the outputs? For the record, I did have to build these models from the ground up.

FYI, I'm a rising junior Thanks

 

be careful with any modeling experience you put on the resume. if you put it on, you better be able to explain everything about that model

ex: talking about how to get to equity value and EV value from DCF, what happens if it's mid year period, what happens if the transaction ends on the third quarter as oppose to the very beginning.

As you can imagine, LBO and M&A model becomes more complex. The place where I am now has the tendency to ask very technical questions for first rounds.

So be careful if you put on anything because you WILL be asked.

 

You could go into the detail about the portion of the model you were responsible for actually building. For example, if you put a lot of time into the bottom up revenue projection and expense portion, you could go into depth there. Or alternatively (not sure if you saved a copy of the final model), you can study up the model you helped build and just say you worked on the whole thing, and come interview time, be prepared to answer very detail-oriented questions pertaining to it. Also, consult the mergers and inquisitions site regarding the resume template thing.

Anyone else have any other advice? Feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

 

SirTradesaLot: why do you think there's a difference depending on female vs. male? Does this exist at all levels of recruiting?

lulzbanker: really appreciate the reply. Unfortunately there wasn't a way for me to get a copy of the model tho I remember it pretty well. When you say be prepped for detailed q's about it, what types of details are you referring to? (Like if x assumption were changed, how would it flow or something like that?)

 
apassan:
SirTradesaLot: why do you think there's a difference depending on female vs. male? Does this exist at all levels of recruiting?
Because most males think female models are hot. Seeing modeling experience on a resume would likely get a female a lot of interviews from male interviewers. I don't think it would make as big of an impact for male models.
 

Lol, if you haven't noticed already, SirTradesaLot is just fuckin with you. What you're referring to sounds like sensitivity analysis so yes, that might be something you could keep in mind too i.e. what are the most sensitive drivers that affect the valuation (price of unit sold? capex? margins? etc). Know things like what the revenue & expense drivers are, rough valuation multiples and key financials, comparable peers, etc. Essentially you'll want to know as much as you can about the company and its industry. You could easily be asked to walk the interviewer through every line item on the income statement. You don't need to know exact numbers, especially if the interviewers never heard of the company, but you'll need to know roughly how much revenue, op expenses, margins, etc, Hope this is helpful. Do a search on the board, this should be a pretty common topic.

 

yeah, back when i was at Williams in 2002 we could get away with not knowing much of any finance, but I think nowadays, would definitely make you more competitive if you knew most technicals just in case. Either way, may sure you have the answers to the behavioral questions polished.

Good luck unless you're from Amherst (....joking).

 

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