Excellent Work – CV & Cover Letter Overhaul Got Me A Job In Tier 1 IB

1/ Background/Profile

London-based male with ~4Y of professional experience in Finance (Asset Management, Investment Strategy, Portfolio Analytics) across Europe (London, Paris, Milan). BSc in Economics and 2 MSc (Finance and Quantitative Finance).

2/ Choosing a Consultant/Our Work Together

Having lost my job during the pandemic, I was looking for some help to refresh and upgrade my resume. A good friend of mine recommended Greg, and I will be forever grateful for this recommendation. After a preliminary talk on how to plan the work, I signed up for 6.0 hours of service. We decided to split the process in 3 steps: (i) resume (ii) cover letter (iii) presentation/messaging.

(i) We first reviewed each bullet point and every single word of my CV, and then improved the structure overall, balancing and refining blank space. At each round of review, Greg sent me the reviewed version with comments, questions, suggestions or possible options to improve a certain bullet. We managed to group similar info, cut or rephrase some points and develop some others. This part of the process took roughly 2/3 weeks. (ii) We also worked on the cover letter (2 reviews), enhancing storytelling, highlighting strengths, differentiators and key skills, to present my profile in a way that catches the attention of the reader. This also helped me to schematize my presentation during the interview. (iii) The last step was a call to discuss messaging, verbal presentation of the resume and time management during the interview, and potential outreach plans.

3/ Results

The result at the end of the process was impressive. Before working with Greg, I had never been interviewed by any Tier 1 IB, only had working experience with 2 large EU banks. Since I started applying with the reviewed resume and cover letter, I have been interviewed by the most prestigious financial firms (GS, MS, JPM, etc.), progressed to the final stage in 3 cases, and eventually received an offer from one of them.

4/ Recommendations

Greg was deeply committed and honest since the very first informal talk, with the only goal of helping me in achieving the best possible result. He always rounded down the time and, as a result, I am sure I received far more hours than what I signed for. Also, his professional experience in a prestigious financial firm and knowledge of the hiring process is a big plus and helpful to better understand the environment and the positions I was applying for.

The outcome exceeded my expectations by far, and after few applications, I soon realized how strong and effective was my resume after Greg’s edits. I am sure I would have never been able to secure my current job without his help. I highly recommend Avanti Prep!