Finer Recruiting Guidance and Opinions on Resume Writing
- bfiner
- Jul 17, 2024
- 2 min read
1. Your Resume (CV) is a synopsis of what you have done – it is not your life story!
Brevity is paramount – avoid extra words, be clear and concise.
To the extent possible, keep the bullet items to 1 line.
Avoid long summaries – these will get overlooked – stay on point!
Design your CV for simplicity and scannability
2. Length of Your CV
For most people with <15 years of experience ONE PAGE should suffice!
Unless you are applying for a CEO role – stay within 2 pages!
In our opinion, less is more; CV should fill up the page but not look like a page out of a textbook.
Play with the margins or cut words to avoid one word on a 2nd line of a bullet point.
3. GRAMMAR
Double, triple, quadruple check your CV for any spelling or grammatical errors.
Have multiple other people check for spelling/grammar.
Stay consistent with past or present tense – double check for consistency!
We have seen candidates get disqualified for ONE spelling error!
4. FORMATTING – Keep consistent!
I.e. Dates of employment – if you start with Month/Yr, stay consistent throughout.
FONTS – Assure consistency!! Make sure fonts are easy to read!
Assure CV is aligned properly!
Proper formatting demonstrates your ability to be detail oriented and organized.
5. Key Words
Many Recruiting firms or Hiring Managers are using automation/AI now.
Assure your keywords are in the CV.
I.e. if you are a trader that has traded multiple products, do not say I have traded “multiple products” – assure they are listed out, e.g. “Traded equities, listed equity options, leveraged loans, CDS, bank debt and interest rate swaps.”
6. We advise keeping the CV old school without using flashy new sections, inputting boxes or coming up with your own style
As recruiters and hiring mangers, we are used to common resume formats.
Making a CV look fun, exciting or making it stick out w/ new fancy fonts and colors/shapes may be overkill.
Stick to templates or formats that are simple and are proven over decades is your best bet.
7. Education
If your GPA was >3.5 – make sure it is listed on your CV.
If you have great test scores, SAT/GMAT etc. include that
8. Summary
If you choose to include a high-level summary – ensure it is concise and not too long or it may be glossed over.
As stated before – keep brief and on message.
