Advice

Roast my CV: I've finished my Masters; banks still won't hire me

6 February 2023

3 minute read

Roast my CV: I've finished my Masters; banks still won't hire me

I've just completed a Masters in Corporate Finance and I am applying for banking jobs But even with extensive experience working in finance teams at non-financial institutions, I still can't seem to get any offers.

Where is my CV going wrong, and where can I plug the gaps? Please let me know in the comments at the bottom of this article.

[Submit your CV to be roasted here].

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EDUCATION

[REDACTED], France

Masters in Corporate Finance, 2019 – 2020

Cumulative GPA: 11.8/20

[REDACTED], Ghana

BSc. Finance, 2006 - 2009

Cumulative GPA: 3.62/4

EXPERIENCE

[REDACTED], Ghana

Finance internship, Jun 2017 – Jul 2017

Collaborated with a team of 7 to complete financial analysis and expenditure audit which resulted in 1.5% cost reduction over a period of 2 months.
Analyzed historic sales data to achieve forecasting accuracy of 76% with the help of regression and moving average models.

[REDACTED], Ghana

Credit Officer, Jul 2013 – Aug 2014

Supervised a loan portfolio of 100k generating an annual interest income of over 35k with less than 10% default rate.
Streamlined credit approval and collection processes, improving operational efficiency by over 5%.
Negotiated default loan repayment terms to successfully reduce the overall volume of default loans by over 13%.
Utilized robust customer relationship management skills to develop a rapport with clients and gain a full understanding of their financial status during the loan application process.
Conducted loan application evaluations utilizing all available information and complying with application assessment guidelines when generating recommendation reports for approval committee review.

[REDACTED], Ghana

Investment Associate, Oct 2010 – Dec 2011

Assisted in closing Mergers & Acquisition deals worth $50 million by collaborating with management to produce financial models, reports, and pitchbooks using Excel, Word, and PowerPoint for clients.
Conducted extensive industry and company specific due diligence in support of business generation.
Organized and participated in marketing and client meetings.
Designed and implemented cutting-edge analytical tools including a template that successfully measures investment social impact.

Non-Finance Job

Distribution Assistant at [REDACTED], Nov 2019 – Nov. 2020

Sales Executive at [REDACTED], Jun 2007 – Aug 2010

Store Clerk at [REDACTED] Hospital, Nov 2005 – Aug 2006

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Skills: Financial modeling, Financial analysis, Accounting principles and standards, Budgeting and forecasting, Dashboard and data visualization, Communication skills, Team player.

Certification: Candidate for CFI’s Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst designation.

Volunteering: Pivotal member of the fundraising team of Leukaemia Project Foundation.

Interest: Strong interest in financial modeling.

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AUTHOReFinancialCareers

Insider Comment

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7 comments

Bi
BigP
16 February 2023
Your job history reads like a load of padding to fill up your CV. Just write your job title and what your actual role was, it doesn't matter if your CV is only a page long. Also 11.8/20 at the top looks awful. Remove your grades.
Reply
Mx
Mx
16 February 2023
Remove all the non banking experience and focus on your current experience. State if you are studying a professional qualification like the CFA. See if you can add could or format to your cv to make it visually unique. Good luck
Reply
an
anonymous00
7 February 2023
It's perhaps not the content of the CV but the name of the school on the CV that matters.
Also, 11.8/20 does not look very attractive. If it's already the top 1% of the class, you may want to indicate highlight it.
Reply
gi
gill1234
7 February 2023
Understanding the value of MBA's and how they can give a future employee a competitor edge - is still debatable. When I graduated with an MA, it opened opps from an interview perspective, but I still had to prove I could do the job.
Reply
je
jemima
6 February 2023
What roles are you applying for? What you need if you have non banking experience is to first get any role that helps you get a "leg" into the industry. Then once in, begin to build your profile .

May want to start with operational roles to break into the industry. Once you are in, then work hard and prove yourself then you can make tactical and strategic moves either internally through vacant roles or externally .

Apply to all types of banks - 1st, 2nd & 3rd tier banks ( there is no such thing as “tiered” banks- any would do for now).

Also apply to roles within Asset Management ( Buy side) as it is easier to make the transition from buy side than to sell side

Then make sure you keep abreast of developments within the financial sector. Also bear in mind that a lot of functions are being automated within the banking sector so you want to make sure that your IT skills are “smoking” . At the very least, you need to be very proficient in MS Excel up to advance level. Knowing how to code , having VBA skills would help you as well.

Hope this helps
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