6 things you need to include in your Banking CV

​For many, the thought of compiling and structuring a CV is a daunting task. Research has shown that your CV can be discarded in a matter of seconds if an employer or recruiter doesn’t

immediately read the information they want. Working mainly in the Banking sector, many of my candidates come across the same problems when writing their CV. Questions that I receive regular enquiries about include questions such as: What type of information does my Banking CV need to contain? Should I make sure to keep it less than 2 pages? Do I include every job I’ve had or just those that are relevant?

There is a wealth of information out there on how to structure your CV. Most of the information is generic and it can be hard to apply the information available to your specific industry. In light of this, I have put together a detailed list of what you should include in your Banking CV when making your next move within the Banking sector.

I am in direct contact with some of the biggest banking institutions on a daily basis. Some of them receive in excess of hundreds of CVs per day so how do you make yours stand out from the crowd? Here are the key points I always recommend my candidates to include in order to have the best chance at success.

1. Go back to Basics

Most important are your day-to-day tasks. What do you do from the moment you hit your desk until you leave? Be extremely clear in your approach when explaining what exactly you do. Be mindful when listing these to firstly include the tasks that are most relevant to the role you are applying for.

2. Demonstrate your Development

Equally important are any promotions or extra responsibilities you’ve taken on as you have progressed in your role. Employers are keen to hire people who go above and beyond and will be an integral member of their team. If you have had a number of promotions within a short period of time mention them as well as the time frame they occurred in.

3. Doing things better?

What really makes you stand out is project work or process improvements you’ve led or been involved in. Clearly outline these with a direct focus on your role within these projects. Many of our Banking clients have requirements for candidates with proven Project Management skills. Showing examples of processes in which you have been involved in streamlining is very attractive for employers.

4. Explain the gaps

Ensure you list all roles you’ve had and discuss any gaps in employment with your recruiter to ensure you cover these too. Gaps in your CV are generally not a problem once you can explain them. Do not try and hide them as often people are caught out and it doesn’t reflect well on them. If you have a valid reason for a gap in your CV such as time away travelling be open and upfront, employers are totally open to this.

Don’t allow for any doubt at first glance. If you’ve been away travelling, lucky you!! Most likely you’ll have some odd, short-term jobs on your CV. It is important to list these, remember the banking world is highly regulated and background checks and on-boarding processes are detailed and thorough. My advice is to outline the timeline of your travels, acknowledge you had a number of temporary contracts and bullet point each one listing the dates you worked there, the company name and your job title. This is clear, concise and avoids any confusion at a later stage too when you’ve landed yourself an offer!

5. Technical Skills

Make sure to include your systems experience. From a training perspective, your experience with certain systems can make you more attractive than your competitors in the market and this is worth highlighting upfront. Internal or in-house systems are worth mentioning too, often they are easily comparable to counterpart systems in your industry so these are worth mentioning too.

6. Tailored CVs

It’s perfectly fine to have a few versions of your CV. Some experience might be more relevant for one role than another and in order to make yourself stand out sometimes, you’ll need to reformat your profile to highlight your more relevant experience for the job. I also advise rewriting introductory paragraphs to showcase what parts of the job specification you have experience or knowledge of. Don’t forget you need to grab attention in the first few lines at a minimum.

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