I’m finishing my undergrad so I do not have much work experience to speak of. Any comments would be appreciated. Dear Sir or Madam, I am applying for the position of Investment Banking Analyst as posted on the COMPANY website. I am interested in COMPANY and the investment banking role due to the focus COMPANY places on Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Now that Price to Earnings Ratio (P/E) valuations have normalized, M&A activity should begin to expand as sellers become more willing to enter such deals. Assisting in the M&A transactions that will emerge is something that is of great personal interest. As a Strategic Analyst at COMPANY, my responsibilities included valuing a myriad of potential projects by conducting IRR and discounted cash flow analysis. Additionally, I provided both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the firm’s competitors and product offerings. This analysis was utilized by COMPANY management to improve their competitiveness in the market. The investment fundamentals, qualitative analysis, and market research skills I have refined in this position and as a CFA Level II candidate will allow me to quickly adapt and contribute as an Investment Banking Analyst at COMPANY. I am certain that COMPANY is a great fit for me based on my keen interests in both quantitative and qualitative data analysis, as well as the valuation and execution of mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, and equity financings. I believe that my professional and academic experience qualifies me for a position with your firm. Combined with my interest in capital markets and my desire to excel, this experience would allow me to make a strong contribution to COMPANY. Thank you for taking the time to review my resume. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, NAME
Fundamentally sound. But I would assume they will be receiving letters that look like yours. Do you have a contact at the firm? Or are you hoping this will somehow break through the HR barrier
agreed. i have written the same letter before. that part about wanting to excel and how i acquired the said skills is almost identical to what I write. i think i need to change that now.
I have a very close, non-investment banker connection who knows the HR person that will handle the applications. So to sum up… I have no useful contact lol. I will try to network more (cold calling, cold emailing) but I would say that type of stuff is one of my weaknesses. I noticed that mergers and inquisitions, and wallstreetoasis has guides for how to network. The one by wallstreetoasis is pretty cheap. Is it worth buying one of these guides?
I’m not impressed after reading the first sentence. Sounds like you’re just another unemployed financial guy surfing websites for job leads. IB’ing very competitive. Just knowing how to design financial models is not enough…I had the opportunity to speak with a IB executive and asked him what he looks for in a prospective candidate…his response was creativity.
Seems quite formated as said by Mason88. Do you see any points on your letter that may help you to be different that another one? Personnaly I don’t. Maybe try to introduce extra curriculum acitivities…get out of the box. Don’t hesitate to use dynamic words! Make it dynamic, enjoyable to read! E.g: what about team competencies? Leader? Follower? Driving force? Motivator? Think about projects you did during your studies… Good luck with this exercise! Do not go to fast on it, it’s really a fundamental one…that may also help you to start preparing for the interviews 
I’ll be glad to develop further but have a meeting now. EDIT: 1) That might be different in Europe 2) I have a list of good verb to use in cover letter (really dynamic like expand, contribute, orchestrate, manage, etc…) - I’ll try to find where I put it and then upload it somewhere.
There are several problems with this cover letter: (1) In the first paragraph you are telling the people you’re interviewing with about THEIR job. For example, take your statement about P/E ratios being “normalized.” How do you know? How do you know that will stick? And do companies really buy others primarily on the basis of P/E? Doubtful…the reader will automatically ding you because of this paragraph (if it were me) (2) Second paragraph is OK but too much “shop talk” and not enough discussion of your actual leadership capabilities and proclivity to adapt/apply your existing skills. Basically, it’s sort of boring – you need to make things more animated and exciting. (3) Almost everyone is interested in the job for the same reasons you are, i.e. interesting work and it pays well in spite of terrible hours. Tell them something they don’t know. Did you have any contacts within the firm? Anything about the culture or interesting deals/projects that grabbed your attention? This is stuff you should discuss… Anyway, I provide more comprehensive cover letter/resume editing services for those that are interested, but I think these are some high-level points that I would consider if I were you. Right now your cover letter is in very preliminary stages and while you should eventually employ your attention to detail to fine-tune things, what you really need to be doing now are (1) adding more life and color to your writing, and (2) having a better understanding of the role and why it’s interesting to YOU. Something like your third paragraph could have been said by anyone at anytime, therefore it’s not special.
tough crowd tonight. I think all my cover letters have looked something like this. Maybe that’s why I’m not driving a car worth more than a house and dating a supermodel. dang
Actually, this is a cover letter I used a while ago - got dinged unsurprisingly, but I enjoyed writing it… Dear XXXXX, Equity Analyst Position Application While it may have been Warren Buffett who came out with that great line about finding out who is swimming naked when tide goes out, I’m also known as someone who can turn a phrase, remarking to a colleague back in late 2007 that “this s*** can’t last”. Admittedly not as prosaic as Warren, but I like to think he and I were on the same wavelength. Of course I don’t manage a multi-billion dollar portfolio and I’m no Seth Klarman, but I do have a deep and long-standing interest in finance, economics and the share market, even though I have taken a rather convoluted path to where I am today. While I also wouldn’t describe myself as an eosophobic quant, preferring to communicate in fractions and stochastic calculus, I do enjoy number-crunching, working with excel and other tools to develop models and provide answers. Recognising that succeeding in investment analysis is not all just numbers, spreadsheets and formulae, I believe that I possess excellent negotiation and leadership skills and that I have an empathetic, caring and relaxed nature. I am able to work well in a team, as I possess good listening and diplomacy skills and I have always enjoyed excellent working relationships with fellow staff members. I am also, however, able to work independently and autonomously as required. I am a highly motivated individual and do not require constant supervision to remain so. It is my belief that I possess effective decision making skills and am able to accept responsibility for the consequences of decisions that I make. A firm believer that the best investment one can make is in their own education, I graduated from the University of XXXX with a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Finance and Economics. I am also currently enrolled in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program, having recently written the Level II examination. After some time working in XXXX, I am looking to relocate in order to further develop my career in the financial industry. I believe that I would be able to make a valuable contribution in this role, combining both my interest and knowledge of financial markets and investments with my creative yet disciplined writing skills. I appreciate your time and I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely
numi Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There are several problems with this cover > letter: > > (1) In the first paragraph you are telling the > people you’re interviewing with about THEIR job. > For example, take your statement about P/E ratios > being “normalized.” How do you know? How do you > know that will stick? And do companies really buy > others primarily on the basis of P/E? > Doubtful…the reader will automatically ding you > because of this paragraph (if it were me) > > (2) Second paragraph is OK but too much “shop > talk” and not enough discussion of your actual > leadership capabilities and proclivity to > adapt/apply your existing skills. Basically, it’s > sort of boring – you need to make things more > animated and exciting. > > (3) Almost everyone is interested in the job for > the same reasons you are, i.e. interesting work > and it pays well in spite of terrible hours. Tell > them something they don’t know. Did you have any > contacts within the firm? Anything about the > culture or interesting deals/projects that grabbed > your attention? This is stuff you should > discuss… > > Anyway, I provide more comprehensive cover > letter/resume editing services for those that are > interested, but I think these are some high-level > points that I would consider if I were you. Right > now your cover letter is in very preliminary > stages and while you should eventually employ your > attention to detail to fine-tune things, what you > really need to be doing now are (1) adding more > life and color to your writing, and (2) having a > better understanding of the role and why it’s > interesting to YOU. Something like your third > paragraph could have been said by anyone at > anytime, therefore it’s not special. This reminds me of that practice GMAT exam I took a while ago (Kaplan?) where they scored my exam like 100 points below what I had been averaging with other providers in order to prove that I needed their services.
what’s missing in cover letter is the “story” part, i would def consider putting a good story (before last paragraph maybe?). Like you acquired other lemonade stands in your neighborhood when you were a kid where you acquired them with borrowed money and never paid it back! Now that will put you ahead of other candidates. good luck!
Cover letters all seem to end up reading the same most of the time. This is a decent one, though I think the word “myriad” is too much of a $100 word, and attracts odd attention. I sometimes like to list the skills I can bring as bullet points. I get the sense that people fall asleep reading too many paragraphs.
newsuper Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Actually, this is a cover letter I used a while > ago - got dinged unsurprisingly, but I enjoyed > writing it… > > > Dear XXXXX, > > Equity Analyst Position Application > > While it may have been Warren Buffett who came out > with that great line about finding out who is > swimming naked when tide goes out, I’m also known > as someone who can turn a phrase, remarking to a > colleague back in late 2007 that “this s*** can’t > last”. Admittedly not as prosaic as Warren, but I > like to think he and I were on the same > wavelength. > > Of course I don’t manage a multi-billion dollar > portfolio and I’m no Seth Klarman, but I do have a > deep and long-standing interest in finance, > economics and the share market, even though I have > taken a rather convoluted path to where I am > today. While I also wouldn’t describe myself as an > eosophobic quant, preferring to communicate in > fractions and stochastic calculus, I do enjoy > number-crunching, working with excel and other > tools to develop models and provide answers. > > Recognising that succeeding in investment analysis > is not all just numbers, spreadsheets and > formulae, I believe that I possess excellent > negotiation and leadership skills and that I have > an empathetic, caring and relaxed nature. I am > able to work well in a team, as I possess good > listening and diplomacy skills and I have always > enjoyed excellent working relationships with > fellow staff members. I am also, however, able to > work independently and autonomously as required. I > am a highly motivated individual and do not > require constant supervision to remain so. It is > my belief that I possess effective decision making > skills and am able to accept responsibility for > the consequences of decisions that I make. > > A firm believer that the best investment one can > make is in their own education, I graduated from > the University of XXXX with a Bachelor of > Business, majoring in Finance and Economics. I am > also currently enrolled in the Chartered Financial > Analyst (CFA) program, having recently written the > Level II examination. > > After some time working in XXXX, I am looking to > relocate in order to further develop my career in > the financial industry. I believe that I would be > able to make a valuable contribution in this role, > combining both my interest and knowledge of > financial markets and investments with my creative > yet disciplined writing skills. > > I appreciate your time and I look forward to > hearing from you. > > Yours sincerely I find it hard to believe why any prospective employer wouldn’t give you an interview on the spot after reading this.
EMHdenied Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > newsuper Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Actually, this is a cover letter I used a while > > ago - got dinged unsurprisingly, but I enjoyed > > writing it… > > > > > > Dear XXXXX, > > > > Equity Analyst Position Application > > > > While it may have been Warren Buffett who came > out > > with that great line about finding out who is > > swimming naked when tide goes out, I’m also > known > > as someone who can turn a phrase, remarking to > a > > colleague back in late 2007 that “this s*** > can’t > > last”. Admittedly not as prosaic as Warren, but > I > > like to think he and I were on the same > > wavelength. > > > > Of course I don’t manage a multi-billion dollar > > portfolio and I’m no Seth Klarman, but I do have > a > > deep and long-standing interest in finance, > > economics and the share market, even though I > have > > taken a rather convoluted path to where I am > > today. While I also wouldn’t describe myself as > an > > eosophobic quant, preferring to communicate in > > fractions and stochastic calculus, I do enjoy > > number-crunching, working with excel and other > > tools to develop models and provide answers. > > > > Recognising that succeeding in investment > analysis > > is not all just numbers, spreadsheets and > > formulae, I believe that I possess excellent > > negotiation and leadership skills and that I > have > > an empathetic, caring and relaxed nature. I > am > > able to work well in a team, as I possess good > > listening and diplomacy skills and I have > always > > enjoyed excellent working relationships with > > fellow staff members. I am also, however, able > to > > work independently and autonomously as required. > I > > am a highly motivated individual and do not > > require constant supervision to remain so. It > is > > my belief that I possess effective decision > making > > skills and am able to accept responsibility for > > the consequences of decisions that I make. > > > > A firm believer that the best investment one > can > > make is in their own education, I graduated > from > > the University of XXXX with a Bachelor of > > Business, majoring in Finance and Economics. I > am > > also currently enrolled in the Chartered > Financial > > Analyst (CFA) program, having recently written > the > > Level II examination. > > > > After some time working in XXXX, I am looking > to > > relocate in order to further develop my career > in > > the financial industry. I believe that I would > be > > able to make a valuable contribution in this > role, > > combining both my interest and knowledge of > > financial markets and investments with my > creative > > yet disciplined writing skills. > > > > I appreciate your time and I look forward to > > hearing from you. > > > > Yours sincerely > > I find it hard to believe why any prospective > employer wouldn’t give you an interview on the > spot after reading this. I found it hard to believe too. I’m sending it to Fidelity though, where I expect it to get the treatment it really deserves. When I work at Fidelity, I’ll still try and find time to come and visit y’all at AnalystForum but I can’t promise anything.