Overview
Credit analysis is a core function in every bank and lending institution. Junior credit analysts review financial statements, assess borrower risk, and prepare the recommendations that senior decision-makers rely on. For graduates, these roles require strong Excel skills, an understanding of financial ratios, and the ability to write clear, concise credit assessments.
Daniel Murphy is a finance and accounting graduate from University College Cork who completed a summer internship at Bank of Ireland in the SME credit team. His resume works because it shows he has already analysed real loan applications, built financial models, and written credit memos that informed lending decisions.
What Makes This Resume Work
Loan analysis with specific volumes and values. Analysing 22 SME applications with borrowing requests up to €500,000 gives the reader a clear picture of the complexity involved. These are not textbook exercises; they are real businesses with real financial statements.
A tool that the team adopted. Building a cash flow projection template that was used by 8 other analysts is a strong signal of quality. It means Daniel's work was good enough to become part of the team's standard process.
Retail banking experience that adds context. Working at AIB part-time and opening 8 business accounts per month shows Daniel understands the customer side of banking, not just the analytical side. This rounded experience is valuable in credit roles where you need to understand the borrower's perspective.
An independent project with a real methodology. Building a default prediction model using 200 data points and achieving 78% accuracy shows Daniel can apply statistical methods to credit risk problems. This is exactly the kind of initiative that hiring managers in banking look for.
Key Takeaways
For junior credit analyst roles, your resume should demonstrate that you can read financial statements, calculate key ratios, and summarise your findings in a clear format. Name the number of applications you reviewed, the loan values, and the specific tools or templates you created. If you have retail banking experience, include it because it shows commercial awareness and customer understanding. A banking qualification in progress rounds out a strong application.
