Overview
Investment banking analyst roles are the most competitive graduate positions in finance. Banks like Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley receive tens of thousands of applications for a few hundred spots in London. The candidates who succeed typically have a combination of a strong degree from a target university, a relevant summer internship, and demonstrable passion for financial markets.
Patrick Reilly is an economics graduate from the University of Warwick who completed a summer analyst programme at Barclays Investment Bank in the equity capital markets team. His resume works because every line is directly relevant to the role: IPO execution, financial modelling, pitchbook preparation, and market analysis.
What Makes This Resume Work
IPO execution experience with deal values. Supporting 3 IPO transactions with £1.4 billion in combined proceeds is a headline that immediately establishes credibility. It shows Patrick worked on live transactions with significant market impact.
Financial modelling for pitchbooks. Building comparable company analysis and precedent transaction models for 5 pitchbook presentations is the core technical work of an analyst. Describing it with specific counts and contexts makes it concrete.
A stock-pitch competition win judged by industry professionals. Winning a competition judged by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan analysts, with a DCF-derived price target showing 35% upside, is the kind of competitive achievement that banks value. It proves Patrick can form and defend an investment thesis under pressure.
A First Class degree with a relevant dissertation. Studying IPO underpricing using 9 years of LSE data connects directly to the ECM work Patrick did at Barclays. It shows his academic interests and professional experience are fully aligned.
Key Takeaways
For graduate banking analyst roles, your resume must demonstrate technical skills (modelling, valuation, market analysis), deal experience (even at intern level), and competitive achievements (stock-pitch wins, fund management). Name every transaction you worked on, the deal values, and the specific deliverables you produced. A Bloomberg certificate, finance society leadership, or tutoring experience all add depth. Banks want to see intensity, precision, and genuine enthusiasm for financial markets.

























































































































































































































































