Talk Sh*t on my resume / life and advise my face

WSO,

Take your bad day out on me. I am a recent graduate from a non-target hippie college who to it's credit does have some high-tier financiers out there.

Background:
I studied neurobiology in college and I wrote my thesis on millennial investment trends in the sustainable investing space. I wound up as an acquihire for a HNW money manager due to my work on starting an SRI robo advisor to take in that millennial money. I passed the first level of the CAIA program during my final year in school so I have some tangible financial literacy. I think that the time has come for me to apply to IB positions and I would appreciate getting shit talked and advised as necessary.

I do not have the traditional background for IB. However, my success from my undergraduate research work (publication out of Columbia Med), the CAIA, and my independent consulting venture and money manager work probably looks okay. Please let me know your opinions on this situation.

PS: this is the position I am the most interested in if anyone has any experience to share. I would like an analyst position and would like to start a fund down the line so I'm not sure it matters too much where I get hired although GS's culture seems the most in line with my own.

http://www.goldmansachs.com/a/data/jobs/43116.html

Attachment Size
wsocv.pdf 57.51 KB 57.51 KB
 

Nice. Thank you so much for the template, that's really helpful. The template that you sent still has relevant coursework - there I would probably put my math / finance courses, correct?

I don't have an actual job, no. I'm a research consultant with a money manager which is pretty time consuming, educational, and fun but is not a 9-5. I do most of it from home, in front of excel or on the phone.

As a second year associate (congrats btw), what are some skills and experiences that I should emphasize? Is the scientist turned financier angle worth anything or just consider that irrelevant as the skills don't really transfer over?

 
Best Response

Hey man,

I'm no experts on resumes, so take my edits with a grain of salt. These are just some general thoughts: 1) You probably took this off because you're posting on WSO, but just in case, make sure you have phone and email on the top. 2) Would agree with trader_timmy - would keep coursework to one line, using 4-5 classes that are most relevant to the jobs you're applying for. The template he referenced is good. 3) Would focus on making your bullet points more quantitative and focused on accomplishments. My general approach to resume bullets is as follows: "Implemented X program, leading to Y% increase of Z". 4) You misspelled Technical Skills at the bottom. If you're looking for jobs which require a high level of attention to detail, I would do my best to avoid mistakes like this. You've got a ton of time to review and proof your resume. If you're going to make mistakes on a document you can review every day, how do interviewers know you won't mess up on the job as well? 5) Piggy-backing off my last comment, I think technical skills should generally be reserved for programming languages. Anyone can claim they know Word and Excel. Caveat: If someone told you to include this section because most job applications scan resumes for keywords, find a way to fit "Excel" in a bullet point (e.g., "Constructed basic Excel models using DCF and DDM valuation methods"). 6) I would add an interest section at the bottom as a replacement to Technical Skills. Keep it to one line. 5 or 6 interests that are specific. This should help in interviews.

Best of luck with the job search, man.

 

Thanks for the time.

I like your point 3, I will muster some quantitative successes. I will not misspell my shit. No one told me to include excel because of a resume keyword scan, but that's a good thing to keep in mind. Interest section always sounded redundant but I am happy to put one in and know people who have.

Thanks again for your help. I really want to pull this off.

 

I was almost starting to miss the "gangbang my resume and leave it bleeding in the streets" threads...

-remove the emphasis on coursework...this is mostly a filler and no one really cares -your experience needs to list accomplishments, not overall summary points of what you did -shorten that grants section- it doesn't apply to IB, and most people won't fully understand it -your resume needs to be more "finance-y"

 

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