How to Present Your CV as an Analyst

You don’t have to be a Rock star to land an Analyst/Associate position in IB/PE I have recruited 25+ Analyst/Associates in last few years. Seen 300+ resumes, interviewed ~50 candidates. Resumes have been standard cramped one-page covering everything, A-Z. Internships always included ‘achieved 2x-3x+ revenue growth or cost savings’ (in a 8-week stint!). Many experienced candidates listed down several deals they worked on – yet, they could not explain key investment highlights or valuation. This was a put-off. I wasn’t expecting these kind of achievements in the first place. You do not have to be super-achievers for this role. I was looking for hunger to learn, curiosity, awareness, work in tight timelines, deliver neat work, potential to grow in the team, financial modelling and verbal & written presentation skills. I will test basic knowledge of finance, as I couldn’t take it for granted. To my surprise, some post graduates added preference share capital to net worth while computing equity book value per share.!! My suggestions: 1)      It is Ok for resume to spill over 2 pages. Make it easy to read. You may use AI tools for resume writing. But don’t forget to write from your heart and what best defines you. I remember one candidate who was a state level Tennis player. It was a one line in the cramped resume. She never spoke about it until I asked. That experience made her a more whole person, but I’m not sure she was able to see that! 2)      Send a cover email along with resume customized to the organization/role you are applying for. 3)      Explain clearly why you chose the School/Univ, Course, Subjects, current work place. 4)      Why are you looking for a change? Many candidates don’t have convincing answers. I felt that they will leave within one year after I hire them. Give your current organization at least 1-2 years to give you what you want. 5)      Highlight your key learnings during an internship or job. Don’t talk only about achievements in superlative. For every experience, you should be able to answer at least six questions. Use a senior from school to help you prepare. 6)      Highlight how you are contributing to your team’s mission. Yes, you do contribute in your own way. 7)      Be aware of latest financial / business news. Read ET end to end for few days before interview. 8)      Articulate how this role & organization fits in to your career path. Browse organization’s website, press and interviewer's profile on LinkedIn. Establish a connection between who you are and what the organization / recruiter believes in. 9)      Carry copy of resume and a sample presentation or report. 10)   Don't share confidential information like names of clients/projects. Resume is a door-opener. It’s the interview that matters. The first 15-20 min are crucial in which interviewer takes a broad yes/no decision. Hence, communicate key messages within this time. Happy to connect for further discussion.

From SRCC to the Big 3 (and beyond) - the resume format that landed me interviews at BCG, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, BCG and D. E. Shaw I get endless DMs asking how my CV stood out, so here’s the exact framework I used. Feel free to steal and tweak. First, nail the four-block structure. 1. Start with Education & Scholastic Achievements, where you list your highest qualification plus two or three credibility boosters like ranks, scholarships or Courses like MBA, CA, CFA, etc.. 2. Follow with Internship and Work Experience, making every bullet start with a strong verb and a number—“Generated ₹2 million in deal pipeline” beats “Helped with deals.” 3. Show Positions of Responsibility that prove leadership & stakeholder management: “Led 75 volunteers across three cities” tells a far stronger story than “Member of club.” 4. Finish with Extracurriculars and case competitions, but highlight only podium finishes or outcomes that map back to skills the role values—analysis, public speaking or creativity—not every event you ever attended. Few tips on how to make your CV look better! a) Keep everything to one clean, white-space-friendly page so the company can scan it in eight seconds; anything that doesn’t pass that test gets cut. b) Second, let numbers replace adjectives. Instead of “worked on financial models,” say you “built a three-statement LBO model that improved valuation accuracy by nine percent.” Swap “good communication skills” for “pitched findings to five CXOs and secured buy-in for a ₹50-crore Series A.” Quantified impact sticks. c) Third, signal what matters for your background. If you’re pre-MBA, spike hard on GPA, case-comp wins and tier-one internships because BCG’s pre-MBA Associate slots are few. For MBA candidates, institute brand, a top-ten-percent rank and national case-comp podiums catch the eye, but strong pre-MBA work experience can compensate for a non-core campus. For chartered accountants, ranks and Big-4 articleship help, yet they’re not mandatory—I had no rank at any level; a holistic CV with measurable impact got me through. Try to include instances & competitions similar to what is required as part of the job role. Finally, respect formatting hygiene. Use Calibri or Helvetica 10–11 pt, margins around half an inch, bullets no longer than two lines and try to ensure less spaces after a line ends Next up as part of this series, I’ll break down the case-plus-fit interview dance—timelines, resources and mock-prep tips. Attached a copy of Resume which helped me get into BCG!

After applying to 60+ jobs and getting zero callbacks… My student was convinced she wasn’t “good enough.” But the truth? Her skills weren’t the problem. Her resume was invisible. 3 weeks later, the same student had interview calls lined up with Amazon, Infosys, and EY. How? We rebuilt her resume to beat the ATS (Applicant Tracking System). 10 Steps to Build an ATS-Friendly Resume (that actually gets seen) 👇 1️⃣ Header that works, not wows Forget fancy designs. Keep it clean: Name | Job Title (matching the role). Example: “Amit Sharma | Business Analyst.” 2️⃣ Contact details recruiters actually need Email, phone, LinkedIn. Nothing else. Your pin code, father’s name, or blood group won’t get you hired. 3️⃣ Professional summary that sells you in 7 seconds 2–3 lines. Tailored for every role. Example: ❌ “Looking for opportunities in data analysis.” ✅ “Data Analyst with 3 years’ experience building Power BI dashboards used by 200+ employees, reducing reporting time by 25%.” 4️⃣ Work experience that proves results Every bullet = [What you did] + [How you did it] + [Impact]. Example: “Automated weekly MIS reporting in Excel → saved 15 hours/month → enabled faster decision-making for 3 departments.” 5️⃣ Education with strategy Add degrees, relevant coursework, or honors. GPA? Only if strong (3.0+/5.0). 6️⃣ Certifications that count Don’t just list them. Keep them updated. Example: “Microsoft Certified: Data Analyst Associate (2024).” 7️⃣ Skills section optimized for ATS 12–13 hard + soft skills. Mirror the job description keywords. Example: Instead of “Team Player,” use: “Cross-functional collaboration on cloud migration projects.” 8️⃣ Freshers: Projects = Your Work Experience Don’t write “Python Project.” Write the impact: “Developed chatbot in Python used by 150+ students to automate exam queries, reducing admin workload by 20%.” 9️⃣ File format check Use .docx or text-based PDF. ❌ No scanned resumes. ❌ No images, tables, or columns. ATS can’t read them. 🔟 Keep it simple, keep it short 1 page (2 if senior). No fluff. No “References available on request.” Remember: recruiters skim for 7 seconds max. A recruiter will only see your resume if you make it past the ATS first. And that means writing for robots before humans. Beat the ATS → Reach the recruiter → Land the interview. 📌 I’ve created a ready-to-use ATS-friendly resume template with these exact rules. 👉 Link in comments to download. #resumetips #ATSresume #careercoach #jobsearch #dreamjob

Have you asked yourself if your resume content clearly and concisely communicates your best work experience? Does it show the actions you took? Does it show the impact you drove? During resume reviews and mock interviews, one of the biggest gaps I see is individuals underselling their wins within their existing resume content and/or not including their highest-impact wins at all. You've got amazing experience—let's make sure your resume reflects it! Here are some tips and strategies to highlight your biggest wins while aligning your content with the roles you're targeting. Remember: think about where you want to go, not just where you've been. Step 1: Define Your Target Role. Be specific! "Software Engineer" is too broad. "Senior Cloud Security Engineer specializing in AWS" is better. Step 2: Categorize the Role's Responsibilities (R&Rs). Group them into key areas like Communication, Problem-Solving, Stakeholder Management, or Data Analysis. This helps you identify which skills are most valued. Step 3: Identify Key Metrics. What metrics does the team or role tie to? (Revenue, Operations, Adoption, Customer Satisfaction, etc.) Understanding these metrics helps you frame your accomplishments in terms of business impact. Step 4: Document Your Wins with Data. Write out past work experiences that align with all three of the above (target role, R&R category, and key metric), including quantifiable data. If you can't measure it, remove it! "Wins" are projects with clear, measurable impact on your team or the business. Focus on your top 5 wins. Step 5: Conduct a Resume Audit. For each R&R listed in the job description, assess your current resume content. Does it demonstrate your skills and experience in that area? Step 6: The "Clarity Test." Once you've completed the above steps, read (and re-read) your resume. Share it with a friend. Ask: "Does my resume clearly connect with this job description? Do you understand the work I did? Can you clearly see the impact I made?" - Keep in mind, the recruiter may only have a high-level understanding about the role. So you want to make it easy to understand. Step 7: Quantify and Show Impact. You have great wins; you just need to identify and connect them. Assess each bullet point. Challenge yourself: "How can I quantify this? How can I show impact here? You have the wins. Now, showcase them effectively! #resumetips #jobsearch #careeradvice #linkedin #jobhunt #careersuccess #resumehacks #gethired #newjob #careergoals #bigtech #finance #healthcaretech