The second you walk into someone’s office, they will inevitably look you over and make a snap judgment – is your shirt wrinkly, is your jacket or tie stained, are your dressed appropriately for banking, hell, even your shoes and your hair will be noticed. What this will tell the interviewer, in his/her mind, is whether you care about the opportunity before you, whether you care about yourself (because if you don’t care enough to put yourself together properly, then how can they expect you to care about the job), whether you are even trying to make a good impression, and whether your attention to the little (and in some cases, big – such as a stained tie) details is spot on. In all honesty, you can absolutely land the job without looking your best, with a stain on your tie, or your hair disheveled. Why, however, especially in a market as competitive as this, would you want to overlook some simple details and nuances, that, when put together in a neat package, will surely help to keep you from making a bad first [moment] impression (considering your appearance is judged both once you walk through the door, and then throughout the interview). So let’s jump right in and uncover some simple do’s and don’ts of the investment banking interview (assuming, of course, that business attire is required).

The Don’ts

Solid black suits

I know people have argued that black suits are fine before, but honestly, they’re not. Again, nothing here will result in an automatic ding, but why go against the herd. Stay away from solid black suits unless you don’t have any other suit. In this case, yes, the solid black suit would be preferable (but only to no suit at all). Think of it this way; black is drab and stark, and the last thing you want to do when making your first impression is walk through that door and remind the interviewer of a funeral.

Brown shoes

I know that I may catch hell for this one, but, in general, stay away from brown shoes on the interview (especially if you are wearing a navy suit, as a navy suit should only be worn with black shoes). I have always felt that brown shoes are just a bit more casual than black shoes, and, as such, I think that you are better off sticking with black shoes regardless of suit color.

Disclaimer: this is probably the least “don’t” that I would enforce, as many brown shoes are acceptable for interviews (only with gray suits), but, in general, brown shoes would be more casual than black (style to style), therefore to avoid people wearing brown shoes that are a bit too casual, I always recommend black shoes.

Cufflinks (therefore, French cuff shirts)

Please stay away from cufflinks. I know you want to flash your new snazzy cufflinks, but save it for the job. For the interview, there is no reason to sport a French cuff shirt and cufflinks. I have seen way too many interviewees sporting outlandish gold, or bulging cufflinks that only act to distract the interviewer. While you may have a few very nice pairs of cufflinks, the interview is not the time to show off your accessory sense, it is the time to look conservative, look good, and sell yourself, not flash your bling.

Belts with big name logo buckles

I have seen a lot of people flashing their Prada or Ferragamo logo belts, which in general is fine (if that’s your thing), but not wise for the interview. Keep it simple and keep is conservative, please. Leave the flashy and fancy belt buckles/belts at home, and just use a simple, classy black belt. Considering many employers will frown on your wearing Ferragamo shoes pre-bonus, I doubt many of them will be pleased when they are blinded by a $200 flashy Ferragamo belt staring them in the face while trying to conduct an interview.

No V neck or tank top undershirt

Keep it conservative; if you are wearing a tie, stay away from the V neck undershirt, and always stay away from the tank top undershirt as a general rule of thumb. There is nothing wrong with a V neck undershirt in general, but when wearing a tie, stick with the crew neck t-shirt; there is no reason to see any renegade chest hairs sticking out of the V underneath your white button down.

Disclaimer: Outside of the button down with tie outfit, I prefer wearing V necks, as I don’t like seeing the undershirt popping out of the top of the button down when the top button isn’t buttoned.

No white socks (I have seen it before)

I cannot stress this one enough, and I know many of you are going to say “who the hell would do that,” but trust me, I have seen it before, and I have even been asked “what if my pants are really long, then it’ll be fine right?” Answer: No, AND get your pants tailored properly. Please, match your socks to your pants – gray suit, gray socks; Navy suit, navy socks. Whatever you do, do not wear white socks on your interview – I don’t care if you have to stop off at a store and buy a pair of dress socks, then change on the train, and put your white socks in your bag – just don’t wear white socks on your interview, please.

The Do’s

Suit

As mentioned before, I always stick with either the navy or charcoal suit, in a simple pinstripe, a simple pattern (windowpane, for example) or a solid. Please, regardless of color or pattern, make sure that you get the suit pressed and cleaned before your interview. I have seen way too many applicants walking around with blazers and/or pants that are wrinkled, or even stained. This makes a terrible impression, and looks sloppy, uninterested and lazy – three qualities that you are definitely not trying to convey during the interview.

The shirt

Pretty standard stuff here – what you would normally wear to work is what you are targeting here. Stay with blue or white shirts, and either solids or simple grid/stripe patterns; you don’t want anything too bold or too wild, as you will be wearing the shirt with a tie, and you want to retain the conservative look.

The Tie

For the tie, burgundy, yellow or blue (depending on shirt color and pattern as well) and either simple stripes or a casual pattern (something out of vineyard vines or Brooks Brothers) will work just fine. I prefer striped ties with solid shirts, rather than opposing stripes on striped shirts (you don’t want horizontal stripes on your tie and shirt, for example) – but as long as the colors go well together, and the tie is tasteful, you should be fine. As a rule of thumb, I like to go with yellow or burgundy for blue shirts, and blue or yellow with white shirts (with a navy suit, a burgundy tie can work with a white shirt as well). Again, people will have different opinions, but in my experience, these combinations yield an attractive, yet professional look that is sure to tie (pardon the pun) an outfit together very well.

Socks

As mentioned before, the socks should match the pants – gray with gray, navy with navy. A solid pattern is not necessary, as long as the pattern is simple, tasteful, and, if possible, compliments the rest of the outfit (for example, if you are wearing a charcoal suit with a blue shirt and yellow tie, gray socks with a simple blue pattern would tie things together very nicely – is this necessary, absolutely not, but if you happen to think of it when getting dressed in the morning, it can’t hurt).

Shoes

I prefer black shoes with laces, although loafers are perfectly acceptable. The key point here is in the appearance of the shoe. Before going for the interview, either day of or earlier, make sure to take your shoes for a shoe shine. You want your shoes to be polished, ding free, and shining. An applicant that attends to the subtleties of his appearance is sure to bring that same attention to detail to his job. In fact, I have spoken with a number of senior bankers across a few banks, and all of them have admitted that they always notice an applicant’s shoes at some point in the interview, and even a cheap pair of black shoes that are shined can be more impressive than a $500 pair of loafers that are scuffed and haven’t been shined in months, if ever. In other words, cheap shoes, expensive shoes, old shoes, new shoes – take $6 and 10 minutes, and go get them shined.

A Few Extras

Resume

Bring a few copies of your resume – usually 2 or 3 more than you think you’ll need – example, 1 person, bring 2 or 3, superday with 6 people, bring 8 – in a black document holder WITH a pen. Regarding a briefcase (for a newspaper, technical notes, etc), it is optional, but not required. If, however, you are carrying a lot of paperwork, etc, then I would recommend bringing a briefcase as it will offer a much neater appearance.

Face

This should be a no-brainer, but make sure your hair is neat, and that you are freshly shaved. It shouldn’t take you too long to handle either of these tasks, but the result is a much neater and professional look that is sure to impress your interviewer more than the bed hair and 5 o’clock (circa last Tuesday) shadow.

Watch

It is perfectly acceptable to wear a nice watch, but it is not necessary.

Finger nails

Always make sure your finger nails and cuticles are at least in decent shape with your finger nails trimmed and filed. A firm handshake often kicks off an interview, and you want to make sure you’re not stabbing the interviewer with a hang nail, or giving him front row seats to nails that are chewed up. Remember, biting your nails is a sign of weakness and insecurity, so even if you do it, make sure to disguise it by filing your nails before the interview.

Cologne/Perfume

With cologne/perfume you have two options: a little or none at all. The old phrase, “too much of a good thing is bad,” has never rang so true. Too much cologne can choke your interviewer, smell up a room, and generally appear rude. Not to mention the fact that the interviewer could be allergic to the fragrance, or have a very sensitive nose, in which case those hearty sprays of cologne could result in much worse than an annoyed glare. It is for all of these reasons, and others that I generally recommended to either go light on the cologne, or just don’t wear any at all. A squirt or two is fine, but as usual, moderation is key.

Keys

The last thing you want in an interview is a bulge coming out of the side of your pants – no, I mean bulky key chains, a bunch of papers, etc in your pants pockets. Keep the articles in your pants pockets to a minimum, and if you need more room, bring that briefcase.

Is all of this necessary, not at all, but it absolutely helps to know these things and work towards presenting yourself in the best possible “first-impression” light. A good first impression is definitely at least a few parts physical appearance, so rather than overlook some subtle and not-so-subtle details, follow at least some of these simple rules and interview with style.

A successful resume will impress the reviewer through a subtle placement of powerful action language, clearly convey your career progression and accomplishments in an organized manner, and depict your ability to excel in and contribute to each position that you have held. A bad resume will all but guarantee that you never get that shot, and, ultimately, never get the job that you really want and deserve. I’m not promising you an offer with every employer to whom you send your resume, but I am offering you a tool to land more interviews and better opportunities, which should result in more job offers (assuming your interview skills are on par, but that’s another topic). Can you really afford to turn your back on job offers, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, yes hundreds of thousands of dollars, in foregone salaries because you chose to settle for your 2nd, or more realistically, 5th or 9th job choice?

[Do the math – assume in an average banking year (think modest bonuses, instead of huge or zero levels), a 1st year will take down $90k, a 2nd year earns $105k and a 3rd year earns $135k, which totals $330k. Now assume you don’t get the IB job and accept a back office style role in a small shop paying $50k per year – after 3 years, that would be $150k. While $50k per year is definitely a solid salary, the difference between the two is $180k – even if you assume worse numbers in banking, you are still looking at a difference, all in, of about $150k over just 3 years.]

Below is a sample resume I received, before and after revision, for your consideration.

Sample Resume Before Revision

Sample Pre Revision

Sample Resume After Revision

Sample Post Revision

I know that times are tight right now, and everyone is trying to cut a few corners and save some cash, which is why when I revamp your resume I am including free checks and tweaks. If you don’t like something, or want to add a few stats, a hobby, change some language, adjust an experience or the like, just send it back, let me know what’s bothering you, and I’ll take care of it – no problem. So rather than dance around the specifics, here is the approach and process when revamping your resume/cover letter.

Specific process:

1. You buy the service through the Paypal link below (or on the resume product page, Here).

2. You send your current resume and/or cover letter, name, email address and receipt number (if you have it) to me at IBanker@BankonBanking.com.

3. You send any additional attributes, work experiences, responsibilities, education credentials, hobbies, skills, etc, that you want to see in your new resume.

4. I will combine everything given to me, reformat the template on which your resume is built, and then revamp the language, sentence structure, descriptions and overall presentation of your resume.

5. I will send it back to you for review, and then the fun begins – we will now go through it together via a short consultation to discuss your thoughts and opinion and where you’d like to see a few more tweaks and edits, if any.

6. Your resume will be sent back to you with the aforementioned changes, and you are ready to send it out to recruiters, staffers and potential employers. If in the future, or even immediately after receiving it, you decide you want to add something else, or change something, you can ask me to review your changes or have me make the changes (although the former will generally be much quicker – as it will not be placed in the queue for resumes and other future products to be completed).

7. Enjoy! Now start sending it out, and realize your full potential; achieve your goals; break into investment banking…and thrive!

For this all-encompassing resume service, I am only charging $105, but keep in mind, as more people continue to take advantage of this opportunity, I may have to adjust the price so that the quality of work isn’t lessened due to the increase in quantity of demand. Additionally, I will offer my cover letter service for just $95. As an added bonus, I will revamp your resume and cover letter as a package for just $175 if purchased at the same time. A resume is often your one shot to impress the people responsible for offering you employment. In this market, you cannot afford to leave things to chance and blindly send out an ineffective resume – you just won’t receive the attention that you will need to break into this business. So dust off your resume, send me an email, and get ready to break into investment banking!

Resume Revision – $105

Cover Letter Revision – $95

Resume PLUS Cover Letter Revision – $175

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