How to Write a Resume for an Internship in Finance (2024)

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If you're in college and planning to work in finance after graduation, you have likely been told that internships are essential to your career success. And that couldn't be more true, especially in today's competitive work world. Competition in finance is fierce, and the experience and networking opportunities you gain from an internship can be invaluable to your current skill set and future employability.

However,writing a resume for a finance internship can be a daunting task when you don't have a lot of work experience under your belt. Any part-time jobs you may have held in high-school or college, most likely are not that relevant to the kind of work you're seeking. But, don't panic.

How to Write a Resume for a Finance Internship

Instead of submitting a half-empty piece of paper as a resume, there are things you can do. Hands-on technical skills are important but your coursework and work ethic are also important tools to consider and can help build the framework for a strong resume.

Before you start, it'll be worth your while to look at somesample resumesto get a sense of structure and language. In the meantime, below is a sample resume you can use as a template, along with tips and advice for putting your best foot forward.

Finance Internship Resume: What to Include

When considering what to include in your resume, make sure you evaluate your coursework, hobbies, and any clubs. If you're the head of a student investment club or started a personal finance blog, those are strong assets that will make you stand out from other student applicants. If you excelled in financial courses and met finance professionals as a student, those experiences can be highlighted as well.

It's also important to include what you can add to the company on a personal level as a young adult. While you may think it's not much because you're still in school, you bring a fresh perspective, passion for the subject, and innovation to the table. If you are familiar with technology and different money/math programs, include those on your resume. Also, if you are fluent in any other languages, include that in a prominent location. Many companies are looking for bilingual candidates to either work with a broad client base or help clients abroad. Speaking two or three languages (especially if you speak them fluently) can give you an edge over the competition.

If there's work you have done that isn't relevant to finance, such as working in the school cafeteria, don't include it on your resume. While it's valuable work, it isn't relevant to the position you're applying for.

Sample Resume

This is an example of resume for a finance internship. Download the finance internship resume template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) or see below for more examples.

A Word About Best Practices

A good financial system is vital for every business. Not only will a properlyprepared financial statement tell you what’s transpired in a business, it offers a snapshot regarding the future.

Through financial budgeting and planning, a company can review historical data such as previous year´s budget to determine whether or not they successfully followed the company guidelines and determine why variances are present. However, budgeting and planning are time-consuming and resource intensive.

For some, it takes 6-8 months to complete an analysis by the end of the budgeting period, but best practices companies can often finish it in 2 months or less

The three most important steps to ensure financial stability include:

1. Establish a Performance-Based Framework

One of the problems of a traditional budget is that it does not clearly and sufficiently link investments to the outcome. This limits the finance team´s ability to do in-depth analysis and understanding of the real return on investment. Establishing a performance-based framework can improve visibility into the real and tangible impact of the company’s financial decisions.

2. Perform What-if Analysis

In today’s economic climate where there is too much instability, unpredictability, and volatility, the slightest material deviation that occurs during any given year can severely paralyze an organization especially if the organization has no efficient way of determining the cause of change. By performing What-if analysis, a company’s budget can take into account the performance of the company under varying scenarios. Doing this ensures that all risks are thoroughly evaluated and the future properly planned for.

3. Use Modern Technology to Aid the Process

As a common practice, Excel has been the de Facto tool for financial budgeting and financial forecasting but every single finance person that has worked with this knows this is too complex and time-consuming. Smart businesses use innovative technology like Performance Canvas by DSPanel to make the entire budgeting and planning process less stressful.Technology can aid CFOs and finance persons in making sure a more developed and collaborative budgeting and planning process is in place.