BEST 5 Investment Banking Resume Interests I’ve Seen When Interviewing Candidates
I'm now an analyst on the other side of the table that looks at resumes of starry eyed college sophomores every day to help us decide who we want to bring on as interns.
The interests section is often under looked and can be an easy way to stand out and win the interviewer over. Just put yourself in our shoes:
- Tired, went to bed at 2am the night before working on live deal
- 7th kid I’ve interviewed the past 2 days, they all blend together (top school, strong GPA, finance internship, interested in fantasy football and “The Office, etc., etc.)
- Mentally spacing out and thinking about what I’m going to Door dash to the office for dinner
Best FIVE I’ve Seen:
- Red Hair. This one made me chuckle and showed that the kid didn’t take himself too seriously. It also gave him an opportunity to show his energized passion & go on a soap box about his endless stories of being hated / made fun of for “not having a soul”.
- Extreme Skiing. Most rich kids interviewing for IB will have “skiing”. Adding the “extreme” element will make us (the banker) want to challenge you and press on the “extremeness” / validity of your skiing. Makes you seem like more of a character, which is what we want in the office. We don’t want to be working long hours with some boring, average joe - we want to bring in a smart kid who will energize the environment too.
- Barstool Sports Pizza Reviews. Instead of “pizza”, getting super specific is good. Especially if it is some old MD that doesn’t have a clue what this is, it’s a chance for you to show your passion and get super into telling them all about the concept and how you want to try / have tried all of his spots. Plus, younger bankers will be able to relate and have probably tried a lot of Portnoy’s favorite spots out in NYC.
- Golf Course Architecture. Finance bros love golf. Takes the standard “golf” interest one step further to help you stand out. Shows that you are a character and a weirdo a little bit too since most people like the athletic aspect and don’t get nerdy about the design. We want to attract people with big, non-bland personalities to the office.
- Macaroni and Cheese. Who doesn’t love mac n cheese. Don’t be the person that just has “Food”.
Main Takeaway: Be Oddly Specific & Bait Them Into Asking You About It
- Take your broad interest and make it oddly specific so that it piques the interviewers interest and makes them ask about it. Gives you a great opportunity to show your energy and personality talking about some weird specific interest you have - which will make you stand out in a sea of candidates that blend together.
lingerie enthusiast.
can i write sydney sweeney as my interest?
For the love of god stop putting “powerlifting”. First of all I see this shit on probably 50% of all male resumes now and it does not make you unique or interesting. Second, I know how this shit works - all you little fucks go to your school’s rec center every night and hog the bench / squat rack / deadlift platform with your “powerlifting team” for an ungodly amount of time. 10 - 15 minutes rest in between sets while there are 5 other people waiting for the equipment. Oh how I do not miss my college gym.
Every time I see powerlifting as an interest it is an automatic trash can. Don’t care if you’re smart, don’t care if you’re the best person ever. Do some high rep, high volume bodybuilding like a true Chad and leave the dumbass powerlifting behind.
Echoing this…
I saw “Golds Gym Regular” on an obvious Chad’s resume and instantly put him in the interview stack
I feel like there’s levels to having powerlifting on your resume. If it’s hitting bench and bi’s every other day without squats or deadlifts it’s cringe.
If they’re totalling over 1500lbs and competing at the national level it’s a different story
Double majored in economics and female anatomy
I play a niche sport, even here in the UK, and basically every interview I've ever had has been me explaining it to someone who doesn't know what it is, or talking with the interviewer about how they play/used to play/know someone who plays who I also therefore know.
Side note my tinder/hinge bio when single was "nationally ranked at a sport you've never heard of" and it never failed to get a nibble.
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