A finance recruiter spends well under a minute on each CV in the first pass. Your job isn't to tell your life story — it's to make the right things obvious, fast. Every rule below serves that single goal.
The non-negotiables
- One page. Always, at this stage. If it spills over, you're including things that don't earn their space.
- Clean and consistent. One simple font, consistent dates and formatting, plenty of white space. No photos, no graphics, no colour bars — they distract and can break applicant-tracking systems.
- Reverse chronological. Most recent first in every section.
- Saved as a PDF, named professionally (e.g. Firstname-Lastname-CV.pdf).
- Zero typos. A single error signals carelessness in a job that's all about accuracy. Read it aloud; have someone else check it.
The structure recruiters expect
Header
Name, phone, professional email, LinkedIn. That's it — no full address or date of birth.
Education
University, degree and grade (predicted if needed), key modules if relevant, plus A-levels/equivalent and grades. Lead here if you're a student.
Work experience
Any job counts — finance or not. Part-time, retail and hospitality roles all show reliability and people skills. Frame them well.
Extracurriculars & positions of responsibility
Societies, sports, volunteering, leadership roles. This is where many strong candidates separate themselves.
Skills & interests
Languages, technical skills (Excel, coding), and a couple of genuine interests that make you a human to talk to.
The bullet formula that works
This is the single highest-impact change you can make. Weak CVs list duties; strong CVs show impact. Use this pattern for every bullet:
Action verb + what you did + the result (quantified where possible).
Compare:
- Weak: "Responsible for working on the society's social media."
- Strong: "Grew the society's Instagram following 40% in one term by launching a weekly content series, driving record event attendance."
Numbers make achievements concrete and believable. You don't need finance numbers — any number (people managed, money raised, hours saved, percentage grown) works. Start each bullet with a strong verb: led, built, launched, analysed, negotiated, organised, increased, delivered.
Tailoring for finance
- Signal you're numerate and detail-oriented. Highlight quantitative modules, analytical projects, or any work with data and accuracy.
- Show commercial interest. A finance society, an investment competition, a self-managed mock portfolio, or a relevant online course all signal genuine motivation.
- Demonstrate teamwork and leadership. Banking is team-based under pressure — positions of responsibility matter.
- Mirror the firm's language. If a role emphasises "clients" or a specific division, make sure relevant experience speaks to it.
Mistakes that get CVs binned
- Going over one page, or cramming so tightly it's unreadable.
- Listing responsibilities instead of achievements.
- Vague filler: "hard-working team player with excellent communication skills" — show it, don't claim it.
- The same generic CV sent everywhere with no tailoring.
- Typos, inconsistent dates, or an unprofessional email address.
- Fancy templates with columns and graphics that confuse automated systems.
FairShot can help with the formatting — free
Knowing the rules is one thing; applying them to your own CV is harder. It's the kind of help a paid consultant provides. FairShot's CV tool covers much of the same ground at no cost:
- Upload your existing CV as a PDF and it extracts and restructures it into a clean, one-page format.
- It suggests rewrites for weak bullets using the action-verb-plus-result structure above.
- It drafts tailored cover letters for each firm you apply to.
- Everything stays in your browser — your CV is never uploaded to us, sold or shared.
A strong CV gets you through the first door — it won't secure the offer alone, but a weak one can end the process before anyone reads your story. It's worth the hour, and it doesn't need to cost money.