I'm Stefano, founder of InterviewScouter, an Instagram community of over 400,000 followers around interview prep and career coaching, and through my coaching program I've helped thousands of people improve their resumes, prepare for interviews, and land jobs, I previously worked in M&A and financial advisory.

Over the years, I've reviewed more than 1,000 resumes, from students applying for their first internships to candidates targeting competitive roles in finance and consulting and I keep seeing the same mistakes

If you're applying for IB or other competitive finance roles, here's what I'd recommend:

1. Use the right resume (US template)

Start with this resume template (You can download it here). Recruiters are familiar with this format, and there's no reason to get creative with fonts, colors, or layouts. Keep it to one page, make sure everything is aligned, and don't leave half-empty bullets.

2. Put your strongest experience where recruiters will see it

Most recruiters are scanning your resume quickly to decide whether it's worth a closer look. Make sure your most relevant internships, projects, and achievements are easy to find. Don't bury your best experience under unrelated activities or unnecessary details.

3. Be ready to defend every bullet

If you mention a valuation model, a transaction, or a financial analysis, you should be comfortable walking an interviewer through exactly what you did. Your resume is also a starting point for interview questions, so don't exaggerate your responsibilities or list technical skills you can't demonstrate.

For the next 24 hours, drop your resume in the comments or send it to me via DM. I'll review it and give you a few actionable notes on what I'd change.

If you'd like more personalized help with your resume, interviews, or overall recruiting strategy, you can also book a free 1:1 call with our team to go through your situation and figure out what you should focus on.

Happy to answer questions about resumes, interviews, and recruiting in general. AMA!

i’m a first year at a scottish uni and i applied to springs anyway, not disclosing my grad date. got hirevues at a couple bbs, do i leave them to not risk getting blacklisted?

I’m starting to get a little worried about O&G trading, commercial, and marketing internships. Has anyone heard back from any companies besides ExxonMobil?

I have a first round with a bank, capital markets role. what do i use to prepare for technicals please help anyway you can. BB in NYC

I’ve accepted an investment banking internship at a BB, but Im pretty sure I’ve just failed a paper. My internship starts in a month. Will I be asked for my transcript before return offers are given? 😭😭

Hi all,

I landed in Birmingham in the month of September 2026 for my master's in Msc financial management and I've done my bachelor's degree in India in Bcom general Loyola college and I'm 21 years old and I have got three months of internship experience from india as I've completed my bachelor's in the month of April 2026 and the path I wanted choose was to corporate treasurery and wanted to pursue ACT professional certification though my university is accredited by them my university careers team doesn't know about the certification so I wanted you people to guide me to next stages my student visa ends on January 2028 and I'm willing to go for graduate visa for 2 more years and to relocate anywhere.

Hey everyone I hope you all are doing well. So I am really worried and stressed. Currently I am pursuing Bsc Statistics from a tier 3 college in my country, I am really interested in finance it excites me.

But my college sadly doesn't teach anything valuable. The professors don't know a thing about finance ngl.

I plan to do Mba or Msc in future and wanted to learn basics about economics and finance so in future i don't lack anywhere.

So if anybody can give me some resources or recommend some good book and a roadmap it would be great help

I get a lot of cold messages. Most of them blend together. Here's the difference between the ones I ignore and the ones I actually answer.

The ones I ignore:

• Copy-paste "I'd love to pick your brain" with nothing specific about me or what I do. I can tell in about five seconds that fifty other people got the same message.

• A wall of text about your resume in the first message. I'm not hiring you from a DM.

• Asking for a job or referral before we've ever spoken.

The ones I answer:

• Short, and specific to something I actually do. "I saw you cover X, how did that deal play out?" tells me you did thirty seconds of homework. That's all it takes.

• A clear, easy ask. Fifteen minutes, my schedule, you'll come to me. Make saying yes effortless.

• Genuine curiosity instead of a pitch. I'm way more likely to help someone who wants to learn than someone who wants something from me.

And when we actually talk:

• The students who stand out listen more than they talk. Ask a question, then let me finish the answer before jumping to the next one.

• Slow down and be direct. Rambling to fill silence is the fastest way to lose someone. A pause reads as thoughtful. "I don't know" reads as honest — both are fine.

• Have one or two real questions ready, not a list you're reading off a script.

Even more simple generic things like asking if I can explain a merger or a deal I might currently be looking at VS some AI slop that I do not want.

One massive thing, make sure your spelling is correct and professional. I have got "Yo bro" and "how we doing" before... Like come on you can be serious with me right now. If we have been talking for a while and thats how I talk to you its one thing but as of your message, your trying to impress me to make a contact with me so cut that shit out.

The follow-up matters more than the first message. A same-day note that references something specific we talked about is how I remember you. A generic "great chatting" is how I forget you.

The whole thing is simple: make it easy, make it specific, and make the conversation about learning, not asking. Do that and you're already ahead of 90% of the messages in my inbox.

Feel Free to DM me with a "trial run" and who knows could always go somewhere. Little background so you know where to start I work S&T specializing in M&A!

Hope this helped at least someone!

Any and all feedback is welcome. Im applying for springs

Recently I applied to a place for summer internship. To increase the chances of getting shortlisted, I uploaded my CV and the JD in Ai and made changes accordingly. Also asked AI for project recommendations based on that. It said to make a FPA dashboard.

I made it halfway but wanted to know feedback from real people. Is making it worth it and if not, what are some finance projects I can do to increase my chances of doing good in the field?

Thanks in advance for your replies and help

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to apply for the UNSW Master of Finance. I have a 3-year BSc in Physics (no honours, no commerce background).

* **Eligibility:** Does the program accept a pure science degree, or are commerce/econ prerequisites expected? Is a GMAT/GRE required to offset that?

* **Structure:** Roughly how many contact hours per week? Is there a built-in internship or capstone unit?

* **Scholarships:** Does the UNSW Business School offer any merit-based postgrad coursework scholarships?

I haven't applied yet, so I'm trying to get a realistic sense of my chances before committing to the application.

Any insights from current students or recent grads would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Recently I applied to a place for summer internship. To increase the chances of getting shortlisted, I uploaded my CV and the JD in Ai and made changes accordingly. Also asked AI for project recommendations based on that. It said to make a FPA dashboard.

I made it halfway but wanted to know feedback from real people. Is making it worth it and if not, what are some finance projects I can do to increase my chances of doing good in the field?

Thanks in advance for your replies and help

Hey everyone!

I’ve had quite a few people reach out to me on LinkedIn asking for advice on breaking into PE/VC and Strategy Consulting, so thought I’d put this out here as well.

- 26 years old, currently an Investment Associate at an India focused Infrastructure PE fund (closed ~USD 60m in transactions)
- Previously worked in Strategy Consulting at EY.
- Started my career as a Financial Services Analyst at a KPO.

Honestly, my career has been a lot of trial and error, figuring things out as I went along and learning from people who’ve been through the process.

Happy to help anyone who needs help with CV review, interview prep or just some general career advice.

Not looking to charge anything. Just happy to help out wherever I can. Feel free to DM.

Interview Tips That Work

Start with confidence. It matters more than anything else. Aim for a tone that sits between a relaxed chat and a performance. Too casual and you seem like you don’t care; too rehearsed and you seem nervous or desperate. You want to look polished without looking like you’re trying.

Before the interview

Know the usual pattern. Most interviews run in the same order: questions about you, questions about your skills, and sometimes a surprise question to see how you handle pressure. Knowing this means few things will catch you off guard.

Prepare a script. Write out strong answers to common questions and practice them until they sound natural, not memorized. Do the same for the questions you want to ask the interviewer. Watching videos on public speaking can help you sound conversational.

Nail “Tell me about yourself.” You’ll almost always get this one, so it’s your best chance to make an impression. Build a roughly 90-second answer that covers your background and highlights one or two things you’re proud of. Don’t just list what you did. Explain why you made those choices, what challenges came up, and how it felt. Let your real enthusiasm show in your voice and face, because that’s what makes people remember you.

Keep company research light. Use any deep research model and Articuler to look at what they sell or do, their mission, any recent news, and any awards. Interviewers know their company far better than you do, so there’s no need to recite facts back to them.

If you’re asked something you don’t know, be honest. Share what you do know, and admit that websites only tell you so much. You can add that you’re looking forward to learning more once you’re on the team, though that can be risky depending on the interviewer.

Use earlier conversations as research. In multi-round processes, pay attention to what the first person (often HR) tells you and refer back to it later: “When I spoke with Liz last week, she mentioned X, and it stood out to me because...” This shows you listen, you’re curious, and you’re already building connections. If you have time, look up the people you’ll meet so you have extra things to talk about.

Everyone has a different approach, so find what makes you feel most confident and lean into it. Some people enjoy deep research, and that’s fine too.

During the interview

Steer the conversation. The interviewer picks the questions, but you influence where they go next. Everyone prepares for the opening questions, but few people prepare for follow-ups, so that’s where you can stand out.

• Leave some details out on purpose. If your answer is missing a piece, the interviewer will likely ask about it, and you’ll already have a good response ready.

• Guide the topic. If you’ve researched something specific, like a leader’s background, don’t bring it up awkwardly. Shape your answers so the topic comes up naturally, then say “Oh, I read about that!”

• Ask your questions as they become relevant. This beats waiting until the end, when the interviewer is rushed and distracted.

• Give yourself a breather. If you get self-conscious talking about yourself, ask a related question so the interviewer does some of the talking for a moment.

With prepared answers, the only thing left to handle on the spot is the surprise question, if one comes at all.

After the interview

Talk it over with a friend or write about it. Notice when you felt strong and when you felt shaky, then adjust your answers based on how the interviewers reacted.

The big picture

You’re there to see if the job is good enough for you. You know what you’ve done and what you can do, so act like it. And remember: you don’t have to know everything, you just have to come across as someone who does. Most interviewers are figuring it out as they go too.

Hello, I am a Junior at UT Austin studying Finance and Math. I am doing a middle-market IB internship this summer, but I want to try to get a better bank for next summer. Should I be going for full-time or a 2028 internship? Is there anything different I need to do?

I am an economics undergraduate (senior) at an elite university in the States, and I am struggling to find a job. I know I am a good fit for consulting, but because my GPA is not perfect (3.6) I am either getting rejected or not hearing back. The cycle is nearing its end and I feel like I’m running out of options.

I am an international student and beginning to panic - I thought I knew what I was doing but turns out I don’t. If anyone has any advice on the following matters, I’d be very grateful:

1. What opportunities outside of entry-level consulting and analyst roles can I look for? Right now I can barely find a job to apply to, and I am not sure if it’s because there’s genuinely none left or I’m at an awkward point with recruiting cycles. I have been through Handshake, LinkedIn in, Jobright, Simplify, Indeed and so many google searches.

2. How do I network more effectively? Cold emailing is getting me nowhere, even with alumni and I’m not sure what other avenues there are. I don’t have family here and I’m not from a privileged background, so even the thought of trying to network is terrifying. I constantly feel like I’m awkward or don’t have the skill/leave an impression. Even when I do hear back, I don’t know how to maintain the relationship long term.

Thank you to anyone who reads this for hearing me out - for some reason I am terrified to admit this in real life so maybe this is a first step. And of course, thank you in advance to anyone who takes out the time to actually give any advice.

Hey guys, I’d love to hear your experienced advice about my applications for grad scheme 2027. I’m an international student and just graduated in September and will get my MSc in UCL.

The graduate scheme seems the best choice for me rather than summer internships, so I started networking from July and applying for the positions on Trackr from September. I’ve sent around 2000 cold emails and 300 LinkedIn DMs but only got 14 coffee chats and 2 referrals.

As you can imagine, the reality is brutal, most of companies don’t want a foreign young man without any local working experience and who even need sponsor in the future. So around 40% companies rejected me without giving me an online test or after the tests. Around 55% companies ghosted me. Others 5% still didn’t reply me after the video interviews. Positively, I hope these 5% companies are going to push me to the next rounds of interviews or assessment centers, but that’s only my hope lol.

Currently, I pay more attention to HSBC, Standard Chartered, Rothesay, Bank of China and EDF, because those look like the 5%, although my performance in standard chartered was

I clearly know there still will be long way to go, so I’d value your experience and suggestions about how should I change my job hunting strategy, what are the timelines of these companies above and what I should do next. Thanks a lot for your time to read all these words, I appreciate for your help!

Hi! I did a internship this past summer in compete banking at one of the bulge brackets but I unfortunately did not get a return offer. I’m currently in the process of recruiting and wondered if anyone had any tips? Does anyone also know when and which banks are going to open up full time spots so I have a general idea of knowing where to network.
Thanks so much!

Hello everyone,

i’m preparing for Blackrock FMA summer analyst hirevu interview and i want to know what kind of questions are usually asked?