Investment Banking Analyst Resume Example (2026)

What recruiters look for

Deal experience: type (sell-side, buy-side, financing), size, sector and status (closed, signed, live), each in one line with your part.
Technical work: which models you built yourself (operating, DCF, LBO, merger) and which documents you drafted (teaser, CIM, management presentation).
Process ownership: buyer lists, data rooms and bid tracking show you can run a process, which matters for promotion and buy-side recruiting.
Academic record: school, GPA and graduation year stay near the top for the first two or three years.
Licenses: SIE, Series 79 and Series 63 tell a reader you are fully registered.

Writing the summary

Most bankers skip the summary, and a short one is optional. If you include one, keep it factual: group, months of experience, closed deals with combined value and what you do on a deal team. Leave out adjectives; the deal list does the persuading.

The summary in this example

Investment banking analyst in the industrials group of a middle-market bank, with 15 months of live deal work: 2 closed sell-side sales worth a combined $640 million and a $300 million recapitalization. I build the models and books, run the data room and keep a process on schedule.

Analyst recruiting for private equity

Second-year investment banking analyst in a healthcare M&A group, with 4 closed transactions worth $1.3 billion, including two sales to private equity sponsors where I built the LBO the buyers checked against. Looking for a private equity associate role in healthcare services.

Transaction services associate moving into banking

Transaction advisory associate with two years of financial due diligence on 14 middle-market deals, from quality of earnings to net working capital pegs. Passed Level I of the CFA Program. Looking for an M&A analyst role where diligence experience speeds up good modeling.

Bullet points that work

Strong lines for this role, beyond the ones in the example. Borrow the shape and put in your own numbers.

Built the three-statement model and LBO for a $520 million sale of a dental services platform, used by 6 private equity bidders in the second round.
Drafted a 70-page confidential information memorandum in 4 weeks, pulling together input from management, counsel and accountants.
Contacted and tracked 85 potential buyers in a sell-side process, leading to 12 indications of interest and a signed deal in 5 months.
Ran the merger model for a $1.1 billion stock-for-stock pitch, showing 4% EPS accretion in year two under the client’s cost savings case.
Prepared 30 pitch books in a first year, 6 of which turned into mandates.
Answered 350 buyer diligence questions with the company’s CFO across a 4,000-document data room.
Built a sum-of-the-parts valuation that supported a $45 million higher asking price for a carve-out.
Created the group’s comps template, cutting the time to refresh public comps from 3 hours to 40 minutes.
Prepared the lender presentation and covenant model for a $250 million term loan refinancing.

Skills to list

Hard skills

Three-statement, DCF, LBO and merger modeling
Comparable companies and precedent transactions
CIMs, teasers and pitch books
Excel and PowerPoint at banker speed
FactSet, Capital IQ, PitchBook and Bloomberg
Virtual data rooms (Datasite, Intralinks)
Financial due diligence
M&A accounting (purchase price allocation, working capital)

Soft skills

Attention to detail under deadlines
Managing up to associates and VPs
Client-ready writing
Stamina and consistency

Certifications and licenses worth listing

SIE, Series 79 and Series 63: the standard registrations for a US investment banking analyst. Your bank sponsors the Series 79 and 63; list them once passed.
CFA Program levels: optional, but useful for moves to the buy side or equity research. Write “Passed Level I of the CFA Program”, never “CFA” alone.
Modeling course certificates: not needed once you have live deals; the deal list replaces them.

Length and format

One page. Education goes first for the first two or three years (school, degree, GPA, graduation year), then experience with deals as one-line bullets, then a short block for skills, licenses and interests. A plain, single-column format is the norm in banking.

Common mistakes

Naming confidential clients or unannounced deals. Describe them by sector, size and type: “sale of a $410 million specialty packaging company”.
Listing every pitch. Closed and live deals carry the weight; pitches belong in one summary line.
Vague verbs such as “assisted with” or “supported”. Say what you built, drafted or ran.
Dropping GPA too soon. Banks and private equity firms still ask for it during the analyst years.
A skills line padded with “Microsoft Word” and “email”. List models, databases and data rooms.

Questions and answers

Should I list deals that did not close?

Yes, if you did meaningful work. Mark them “terminated” or “not completed” honestly and focus on what you built. Recruiters know many processes fail.

How do I describe deals without breaking confidentiality?

Use the sector, a rounded size and the deal type, without names, unless the deal has been publicly announced. When in doubt, ask your compliance team; most banks have a policy.

Do I need an interests line?

It is a banking convention and a common interview opener. One short line of specific interests (a marathon, a sport played at a high level, a niche hobby) works better than “travel and reading”.

What GPA do investment banks look for?

Many banks screen at about 3.5, and the most selective firms higher. Once you have a year or two of deals, GPA matters less, but it should stay on the page.

Investment banking analyst resume example