The one-page investment banking resume: format and order

What does a banking resume look like, line by line?

Bankers read hundreds of resumes in the same format, so the format is the first test. A resume that looks like every other one lets the reader find your school, your GPA, and your best experience in the same spot they always look. A creative layout makes them hunt, and they will not.

Here is the full skeleton for a sophomore, top to bottom. Replace every bracket with your own details and delete any line that does not apply. Do not add sections that are not here.

• Header, line 1: [Full Name], centered, bold, 14 to 16 point. The only line in a larger size.
• Header, line 2: [school email] | [phone] | [City, State] | [LinkedIn URL, optional]. No street address, no photo, no objective.
• EDUCATION, line 1: [University Name], [City, State] on the left; Expected [Month Year] on the right.
• EDUCATION, line 2: [Degree, such as Bachelor of Science in Economics], [Minor, if finance or quant].
• EDUCATION, line 3: GPA: [3.xx]/4.00 | [SAT xxxx or ACT xx, only if strong] | Honors: [Dean's List, named scholarship].
• EDUCATION, line 4: Relevant Coursework: [Financial Accounting, Corporate Finance, Statistics]. Finance or quant courses only.
• EDUCATION, optional: [High School Name], [City, State], one line with a standout result only. Cut it by junior summer.
• EXPERIENCE, entry line: [Firm or Employer], [City, State] on the left; [Mon Year] to [Mon Year] on the right.
• EXPERIENCE, title line: [Your Title], [Group or Team], in italics.
• EXPERIENCE, bullets: two to four per role, each '[Verb] [what you built or did] [number] [what it was used for]'.
• LEADERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES: [Investment Club or student org], [Role], same entry, title, and bullet format as experience.
• PROJECTS, optional: [Stock pitch or model name], one or two bullets with the company, the thesis, and the result.
• SKILLS AND INTERESTS, line 1: Skills: Excel (financial modeling), PowerPoint, [Python or SQL, only if you can use it live].
• SKILLS AND INTERESTS, line 2: Certifications: [a modeling course you finished]. Languages: [Language (fluency)].
• SKILLS AND INTERESTS, line 3: Interests: [three to five specific interests, such as marathon training, chess, Korean cooking].

Why does education go first?

For a student, the school and the GPA are the two facts a screener checks before anything else, so they go where the eye lands. Bankers keep education on top until a few years into their careers, and the convention is so strong that moving it down reads as hiding something.

Put your graduation month and year on the right, not your start date, because the recruiter is matching you to a class year. If you transferred, list the current school first and the earlier one below it with its own GPA.

What are the exact formatting rules?

These are the rules the resume review on Waddle Street checks, and they match what banks expect. None of them are about taste; each one exists so a tired reader can scan the page in the same pattern as every other page in the stack.

• One page. Never two. A second page tells the reader you do not know the convention.
• Margins between 0.5 and 1 inch. Font size between 10 and 12 point. One font throughout, usually Times New Roman or Garamond.
• Section headers in bold caps with a thin rule underneath. Firm names bold, titles italic, dates right aligned.
• Reverse chronological order inside every section. Most recent first.
• Past tense for finished roles, present tense only for a role you hold now.
• One date format everywhere, such as Jun 2026 to Aug 2026. Do not mix 06/2026 and June 2026.
• Save as a PDF named Lastname_Firstname_Resume.pdf so it does not open as a Word file with red underlines.

In what order should experience and activities go?

Internships and paid work go before clubs, and clubs go before projects, because that is the order of how much the reader trusts each one. Within each section, sort by date, most recent first.

The one exception is a sophomore whose only finance signal is a club. If your investing club role is the strongest thing you have, it is fine to call the first section Experience and put the club in it, as long as the title is honest. The goal is that a 20 second skim finds the finance signal without hunting.

1. Education, always first.
2. Experience: internships, then part-time and summer jobs, newest first.
3. Leadership and activities: finance clubs first, then other leadership, newest first.
4. Projects, only if they carry a real model, pitch, or competition result.
5. Skills and interests, three lines at most.

When do you need this resume ready?

Before the first program you want opens, not the week it opens. Banking applications are rolling, and the resume you submit is the one that gets screened. You will also send it with networking notes months earlier, so a clean version should exist by the fall of sophomore year.

The table below shows investment banking programs from the firms' own careers sites, with what is open now and what last cycle's public record says is next. Track the ones you want and plan to have your final draft done a few weeks before the first expected date.

Questions students ask

Should a sophomore include high school on a banking resume?

Only if it carries something strong, such as a top SAT, a national award, or a varsity captaincy, and only as one line. Most people cut it by junior summer, when college experience fills the page.

Do I need an objective or summary at the top?

No. Banking resumes skip both. The program you are applying to is the objective, and a summary takes space the reader would rather spend on your education and bullets.

Can I use a resume template from my school's career center?

Yes, if it matches the order and format above. Many school templates already follow the banking convention. Avoid two-column layouts, color, icons, and skill bars.

Should I list LinkedIn on my resume?

It is optional. Include it only if the profile matches the resume and has a plain photo. A half-finished profile does more harm than leaving the link off.

How do I check my resume against these rules?

Run it through the resume review on Waddle Street. It scores the page against the same checks in this guide: one page, education first, verbs, numbers, specific work, a visible finance signal, and clean formatting.