Relevant Coursework Resume Bullet

I'm touching up my resume right now, but it's coming up a bit empty. I'm trying to decide what coursework I should list that would be appropriate for a banking internship. Problem is, I haven't taken any "real" finance courses yet, just general business stuff that's part of our core curriculum. Would appreciate feedback on which courses should go on the resume...

So far, I've taken:
Problem Solving using Computer Software (Word, Excel, & Powerpoint, basically)
Calculus
Statistics with Regression
Principles of Financial Accounting
Principles of Managerial Accounting
Principles of Management
Principles of Marketing
Supply Chain and Operations Management
Principles of Entrepreneurship
Macro/microeconomics

Maybe I have more courses relevant to consulting internships at the moment?

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listing resume coursework

Our users shared that you should not list the most basic coursework - IE the entry level classes such as "principles of management." It is assumed that these are fluff classes that all business majors take. Instead you should focus on highlighting the hard skills classes that you have taken such as Financial Accounting, Calculus, Statistics, and Micro / Macroeconomics. Our users explain below.

User @j-rad", a corporate development manager, shared the relevant courses from the OP’s list:

j-rad - corporate development manager:
Calc, stats, financial accounting, macro/micro

User @mwgr5", a hedge fund associate, shared that you need to be prepared to talk about your coursework in interviews:

mwgr5 - hedge fund associate:
I agree with the classes j-rad highlighted. Also, be prepared to talk about the classes you list in interviews.

RJohns - Investment Banking Managing Director:
The "principles" courses aren't worth mentioning because they are the same low-level, intro courses everyone in b-school takes. Calc and stats also are standard, but better to mention. You have taken just the standard stuff, so you don't have anything distinctive to mention. If you can, take a more advanced course in math or analysis or something that sets you apart from the tens of thousands of business majors.

You can see a picture below that demonstrates an example of how to format this section on your resume.


Source: http://www.footrule.org/12902/relevant-coursework-resume-02-01-2018/per…

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The "principles" courses aren't worth mentioning because they are the same low-level, intro courses everyone in b-school takes. Calc and stats also are standard, but better to mention. You have taken just the standard stuff, so you don't have anything distinctive to mention. If you can, take a more advanced course in math or analysis or something that sets you apart from the tens of thousands of business majors.

 

this section should be as minimal as possible - try to give more substance to work experience and extra curriculars. they should have a good idea of the courses you've taken based on your major(s) and minor(s), listed in your education section

 

Hello... Names Devin am in class right now well in careers and were doing a mock resume and what the resume says in one of the things, well in Education, is relevant courses and then the next is relevant projects what does that mean?? Oh am in grade 10 too.

 

If you do decide to include coursework on your resume I would advise you to tailor the relevant course work to what your employer is interested in. ie:lets say you apply at a prop shop, I don't think they would be as interested in knowing that you took Principles of Accounting versus Probability Theory.

 

Your listing is pretty redundant. Doesn't the fact that you've taken Calc 3 imply that you've taken 1 and 2? The same going for intermediate macro/micro and intro macro/micro. In fact, I'd just get rid of those macro and micro courses as they are really par for the course for any econ major.

And if you're looking to get into IB, you can easily get rid of some of the others (Industrial Organization and Performance for example).

 

Agree with trackstart2k2. If you're going into trading then not all of that is relevant. If you're going into IBD then most of it isn't necessary to list. And you don't need to list lower courses when higher courses are there. For example, you don't need to say calc 1 and calc 2 and calc 3 when calc 3 basically says that you've covered 1 and 2. Same for econ. You don't need to list intro micro and intro macro when you've also got intmdte micro and macro. That'll save you some space and redundancy and not make it feel like the recruiter is combing over your transcripts. As for GPA, everyone knows that it's going to be more difficult to maintain a superb GPA in hard sciences like math as opposed to history or english lit. The real driver of your resume looks like it's going to be your work experience anyways

 

After college, the results speak for themselves. You already have results, so let that speak over your college.

That said, include the difficult classes to help justify a lower resume.

Any update on where you ended up?

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."
 

Probably Financial Statement Analysis, but understand that the course you take don't really matter for interviews.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 
BocaYankee:
Relevant coursework=wasted space=I have no experience. It's redundant, if you are in college studying a discipline, it's assumed you will have taken/need to taken those courses.

he's a sophomore so his resume is only a year old. Keep the relevant coursework until you have at least 1-2 substantial internships/extracurriculars under your belt

 

Of the courses you listed I would definitely say Financial Statement Analysis is the most relevant. That being said, because they're all "resume worthy," I would go with whatever combo is easiest, so that you can raise/maintain a high GPA. Check which professors are teaching next semester, ask friends, etc. to get the easy ones. GPA is a much greater factor than coursework.

“Millionaires don't use astrology, billionaires do”
 

I've had an interviewer (who was brought in spontaneously to meet me after others had, so hadn't seen my resume) ask whether I'd taken some relevant classes - so maybe it's a check the box thing that some people like to see. Never had it brought up otherwise.

If you have better stuff to fill the space I'd say go with that - if not, listing some coursework won't hurt.

 

I think it's a good idea when you graduate and are looking for that first job. Especially if you're a non finance major. It helps interviews assess you and it also added fullness to your resume. Once you've started working I would cut that section first though.

 

How many other work experiences do you have listed? If this legal internship was freshman year, it can probably go.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 

Try to keep both. Put relevant coursework in 2 rows with 3 columns each (find another fin-related class to make it 6 courses).

But work experience matters too, so def. keep it there. I'd say since you're not an econ major, relevant coursework might be important to show off your interest in finance, whereas work experience will show that you worked in a corporate environment.

 

I've you've got enough other stuff to fill up the page and you majored in finance I don't think you need the relevant coursework bullet.

If you've got space anyways, however, it might be worth including - particularly if you took a lot of accounting, finance and hard math classes (which always look good). Accounting is very important.

 

Normally I am personally against putting down 'relevant coursework' in my Resume. I feel like generally your major and year speaks enough and no need to take up the space. In your case I think it is good to have those two classes there, but no, Business Ethics would not fit as well under that section - the rest of your resume is to show that you are a hardworker and act ethically (perhaps Volunteer experience). I don't think it would turn anyone off a resume, but if someone asked you in an interview about it what would you say?

"I am not sure who this 'Anonymous' person is - one thing is for certain, they have been one hell of a prolific writer" - Anonymous
 
GoHuskies:

Normally I am personally against putting down 'relevant coursework' in my Resume. I feel like generally your major and year speaks enough and no need to take up the space. In your case I think it is good to have those two classes there, but no, Business Ethics would not fit as well under that section - the rest of your resume is to show that you are a hardworker and act ethically (perhaps Volunteer experience). I don't think it would turn anyone off a resume, but if someone asked you in an interview about it what would you say?

This is not true at all. Most targets have certain courses that almost every recent alum on the street took, often with a specific professor, and its helpful to know whether you took that class as well and how you did. I would also throw in any functional finance courses you had (i.e. financial accounting, derivatives pricing) and then maybe a course that is interesting to talk about (game theory, behavioral economics, etc.)

 

I find it pointless to add relevant coursework if you're a finance/econ major. Especially econ and accounting classes. You're a finance major, obviously you took econ, accounting, and finance -- it's part of your degree. Unless you took intermediate microeconomic theory or stochastic calculus, leave it off. (I've taken both of these and don't have them listed).

If you're a non-business major then I'm all for the relevant coursework. Also if you're a freshman or sophomore then listing courses can show your interest in finance (but nothing is better than a finance internship).

But to answer your question, I would drop all the ones you've currently listed and add the first 3 you suggested (assuming you will take all these courses). And maybe list accounting.

 

In my experience, "relevant" can be loosely defined. If you want to have that section, you can put Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Econometrics, and maybe a math class. If you were to omit the section, I don't think it would be a mortal sin.

One of those lights, slightly brighter than the rest, will be my wingtip passing over.
 

Your fine. The Relevant Courses bullet is one of the weaker bullet points and is used mostly as a segway into technical questions (ie Equity Valuation leads to "What are some ways you value a company,ect). Putting those economics courses are perfectly acceptable, and you can probably expect to be asked a question like "tell me about the economy". You can also put the calculus courses if you want to add a quantitative aspect to the resume (which can never hurt provided you can at least do multiplication problems in your head)

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

I'd definitely list the relevant coursework especially since you're an Econ major in lib arts. I think it shows the technical side of your knowledge/abilities. however, just pick out a few (at most 4) that are the most applicable to the position youre applying to.

 

I personally think the best approach to a resume is being specific. It gives the reader a more concrete idea of what you are referring to and makes the experience seem more "real," (although all of your experiences should be real...) For example, I wouldn't list Algorithms. As a reader that doesn't really mean much to me. What did you do with algorithms? Learn the definition? Write a simple algorithm to multiply two numbers? Etc.

Going off the list you've got I'd say Financial Engineering, Statistical Modeling, Financial Modeling, Trading Strategies and Algorithms are pretty vague; the rest seems fine. To give you an example of what I personally might change: instead of saying statistical modeling maybe you could say Econometrics, Time Series Analysis, or whatever exactly it was. Just a thought, but I think that it is generally more helpful for the reader and doesn't make it seem quite like you're just throwing a bunch of buzzwords around.

 
iwa1409:
I personally think the best approach to a resume is being specific. It gives the reader a more concrete idea of what you are referring to and makes the experience seem more "real," (although all of your experiences should be real...) For example, I wouldn't list Algorithms. As a reader that doesn't really mean much to me. What did you do with algorithms? Learn the definition? Write a simple algorithm to multiply two numbers? Etc.

Going off the list you've got I'd say Financial Engineering, Statistical Modeling, Financial Modeling, Trading Strategies and Algorithms are pretty vague; the rest seems fine. To give you an example of what I personally might change: instead of saying statistical modeling maybe you could say Econometrics, Time Series Analysis, or whatever exactly it was. Just a thought, but I think that it is generally more helpful for the reader and doesn't make it seem quite like you're just throwing a bunch of buzzwords around.

Thanks for the advice! Do these courses sound better?

C++ with Financial Applications Financial Time Series Financial Risk Management Differential Equations α/β strategies Introduction to Derivatives Intermediate Financial Modeling Financial Microstructure & Trading Strategies Algorithms for HFT (C)

"The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets." -John D. Rockefeller
 

I guess I didn't specifically answer your question, but a variety of quantitative courses is probably best--also anything CS related if you've taken it. I wouldn't list Calc I-III or Linear Algebra, it's kind of assumed you've taken those if you're taking Diff Eqs. and Stochastic

 

Yeah that sounds a lot better, still a little unclear on "Financial Risk Management" (may want to specify if you mean risk management for derivatives, portfolios, etc.) and "Trading Strategies," but I don't think either is a big deal and again that could just be me. Also, be ready to answer questions on "Algorithms for HFT" especially for Prop Trading roles as I'm sure they'll be interested to hear.

 
Alpha_1:
You're a undergrad sophomore at a non-target, and you've taken/mastered those courses? -.-
Some of those courses are intros but I'll have the upper levels mastered by the time I am looking for FT positions.
"The way to make money is to buy when blood is running in the streets." -John D. Rockefeller
 

I wouldn't include it because like you mentioned, it's not directly relevant and also weakens your resume. Also, unless you are at a top school like MIT or Cal Tech, Calculus II is not difficult.

 

not sure what kind of school you're at but at a lot of schools calc 2 is a weed out class for engineers. I transferred into a top school in one of the more difficult majors and calc 2 at my old school is without a doubt the hardest class I've taken in college (i did have a terrible instructor though). but in regards to the question, i definitely wouldn't put it on your resume

 

On the intern resumes I look at, applicants only list their GPA.

GPA is really the only thing score I'm interested in seeing. I'd find it odd to see marks for individual subjects listed.

Those who can, do. Those who can't, post threads about how to do it on WSO.
 

I'm still in college so I'm not sure how much my opinion would matter, but I wouldn't even list the other 2 classes on your resume unless you have nothing else to fill it with. A 3.7 GPA is an A, so I imagine recruiters would assume you'd be getting mostly A's in your classes. Plus if you leave out the B, they might think the 0.3 slip was due to a couple A-minuses, which I think looks better than a B (some professors just don't seem to give out A's, even if you did almost everything right).

 

If you attend a target, or semi-target you will not be dinged for majoring in something outside of business or math so don't worry too much about them not thinking you can handle the work. That said, I would definitely showcase a few relevant courses that you've taken if your resume has room and if you can back up the claim of knowledge. I would not, however, put down all intro level courses - if you've taken anything beyond the basic 100 level courses, I would out those down, but I wouldn't only put down 2 or 3 intro courses as an attempt to demonstrate your aptitude in those particular fields. If you make it past the initial screen and are invited to interview, I would, however, be ready to clearly articulate your interest in banking given your major, and why you chose English as your major.

For non-target students, majoring in English will definitely be a bigger hurdle to get over and you will definitely need to show not just your aptitude in the field, but prove your interest in the field as well - relevant courses, club involvement, past internships, etc.

 

Ignore the cover letter if they don't ask for it, few people read it even when they do ask for it. Definitely include those SAT scores, of course with scores like that you most likely go to a target so getting interviews shouldn't be a problem anyway.

For your relevant courses, you don't need to list all of them. just the key 4-5 that you want them to focus on. It should be a healthy combination of accounting, finance, math, maybe one economics course. If your aiming for banking include more accounting/corp finance/valuation courses. If you want trading , include the more quantitative courses. The goal of relevant courses is to get asked technicals about those courses. " Oh I see you took fixed income markets....what are some of the risks to a bond, tell me about duration, ect" Also, another hint---you don't need to include the full course name if it is really long---one example is Intermediate Corporate Finance 101---all you need to put on the resume is "Corporate Finance" This saves space and get the idea across--it is also used somewhat for math classes. MIS isn't really that relevant, although putting excel and MS word on the bottom of the resume helps.

EDIT: I recommend relevant courses on a resume, but know that if you need space for something more valuable...they are the first to go.

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 

Don't worry too much about the cover. Write something short and sweet if anything at all.

Definitely include your SAT scores... (1) they're solid (math is more important than verbal anyways) and (2) along with your GPA, your SAT scores are probably the most important thing on your resume at this time. Even when you're 2 years out of school and have just completed an analyst program at goldman, the PE firms looking at you will still be looking at your SAT scores as an important part of your application

 

yeah agree with above, I have listed relevant courses to the position im applying to on my resume. I did not show the GPA per each of those classes though (if they wanted to know they would check your transcript tbh). i personally think relevant courses on the resume is a good thing to do in my opinion.

 

Always list college of liberal arts coursework like; gender studies, feminist 101, protesting for a cause 202. You want to let them know you're woke af and that it will transfer to a SA stint.

26 Broadway where's your sense of humor?
 

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