top finance intern sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
Writing a job-winning experience section: Finance Intern resume edition
Finance intern resume experience section: dos and don'ts
- List 4-6 bullet points per position;
- Include only relevant job experience;
- Make sure to highlight your strongest skills by focusing on the challenges you’ve faced and the results you’ve achieved;
- Don’t use buzzwords that carry no meaning;
- Don’t share confidential information about your previous employers.
If you prefer to be led by example, check out some great Finance Intern resume experience section snippets below!
- Assisted with account reviews and preparation for account reviews.
- Reviewed weekly and monthly budget performance reports, ensuring all departments and agencies operated within allocated budgets and investigated excessive expenses and reporting discrepancies.
- Identified budget variances and recommended corrective actions, avoiding overruns and maintaining positive cash position.
- Collected data and developed detailed spreadsheets to identify trends and create revenue, profitability and expense forecasts.
- updating and preparing daily, weekly and monthly financial reports (using SAP BW)
- developing excisting reports
- making analytical reports as it is needed
- helping out to prepare budget and financial forecasts
- Utilization of the SAP program to post invoices and pay vendors.
- Worked in accounts receivable and accounts payable.
- Expanded my knowledge regarding ERP software such as Oracle andSAP.
- Hands on experience regarding security deposit refunds, clearing ofsmall accounts, along with posting receipts.
- Introduction to budgeting and how it is implemented within SAP.
- Assessed the best potential investors whilst creating lists of the company's best potential sales
- Conducted product research
- Develop detailed spreadsheets to identify trends and develop forecasts
- Analysed companies and performed a variance of financial management and valuations
- Provide audit services of the companies with senior member of the Company.
- Analysed, reviewed and assessed reliability and fairness of client's financial statement and communicated findings to the top level management.
- Work closely with the central team in the company in maintaining and developing key relationships.
- Provide general accounting support.
- Prepare monthly/quarterly financial analysis packets for management.
- Conducting accounting activities in the field of distribution such as making Sales Orders, Purchase Orders, Invoices and preparing financial statements
- compiling documents during accounting and distribution activities
- increase billing rates during the internship period by 30%
- Preparing Bank Reconciliation Statements and Vendor Reconciliation Statements
- Preparation of Tax invoice
- Physical Counting and Reconciling with the system
- Updating Balance sheet schedules
- Learned about the entries in petty cash
- Proper filing and documentation of financial records in accordance with guidance from department leads.
- Form appraisal to enhance accuracy of information and proper record keeping in accordance with set guidelines and under guidance of departments leads.
- Acccount opening for new members joining the sacco and appraisal of the same
- Cancellation or upgrade of accounts in accordance to sacco set rules and regulations
- Verification of account details and ensuring this is accurately entered in our systems.
- Offer guidance to customers where possible and any other duties as adviced by department leads
- Help manage $90M+ annual budget
- Use Financial Edge system to record transactions
- Manage financial data on Microsoft Excel
- Attend weekly policy meetings with senior policy analysts
- Supported the business decision making process by preparing the analysis/simulations P&L based on the different scenarios;
- Ensured that all significant processes are complied with companies’ policy/norm/internal control;
- Reviewed brands performance by comparing between actual, budget and trend;
- Analyzed the Business from different angles (Brand, Category, Channel and Client) and giving quality inputs to Brand Heads to achieve the Brand Ambitions.
- Updated company material to ISO9001 Compliance Quality standards
- Managed a team of 20 auditors who consistently received excellent client feedback
- Designed and led the implementation of a program that resulted in a +7% improvement in financial margin over 3 years
- Provided support in preparing reports and review of account receivables, payables and bank statements.
- Assisted in performing simple calculations, tracking contractual and financial data.
- Maintaining accurate payment schedules and necessary paperwork to ensure payments made timely.
- Created and maintained confidential file and entered general journal entries.
- Shadowed the Finance Team attending conferences, meetings and presentations.
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action verbs for your finance intern resume
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An impressive skills section for your finance intern resume
Writing a skills section that stands out:
- Check the job advert for keywords that you can use: this will help you pass ATS;
- Focus on relevant and valuable skills that will support your application;
- Make sure to include both hard and technical skills, leaving soft skills for other sections of your Finance Intern resume;
- Don’t list skills you don’t have.
Top skills for your finance intern resume
Microsoft Office
SAP
Excel
Salesforce
Data Entry
Quickbooks
Project Management
Customer Service
CRM
Communication
Negotiation
Critical thinking
Problem solving
Collaboration
Flexibitly
Resilience
Dedication
Empathy
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
Finance intern resume header: tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your finance intern resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
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PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Finance Intern resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
The finance intern resume summary: tips and tricks
Making a strong first impression.
- Keep your summary section short and easy to read; avoid long sentences;
- Highlight your total years of experience in the field;
- Mention 1-2 of your biggest achievements and strengths;
- Add a couple of keywords from the job advert.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a professional taster. Use it wisely. Effectively convey your professional profile and let the hiring manager know that if they hire you, they won’t be disappointed. Make sure to include keywords from the job description too! Elaborate on your abilities further in your experience section. Again, cater to the job description.
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Finance intern resume: A strong education section
What to include in your education section:
- Your highest education degree (incl. major, duration, name of institution);
- A bit more about the certifications you’ve got (if they are relevant to what you’re applying for);
- Some extracurricular activities that have helped you develop and strengthen your skills;
- If you’re an entry-level applicant: Relevant courses and projects.
Top certifications for your finance intern resume
Introduction to Finance, Accounting, Modeling and Valuation
Learn Finance & Accounting from Scratch by an Award Winning MBA Professor, Ivy Grad, worked @ Goldman & VC
Accounting & Financial Statement Analysis: Complete Training
Accounting & Financial Ratio Analysis made easy. Learn important accounting skills that will get your foot in the door!
Finance for Non-Finance: Learn Quick and Easy
Obtain Suplemental Skills to Get a Raise, Better Job or Improve Your Own Business
Finance Fundamentals: Complete guide fundamentals of finance
Finance Fundamentals : A complete course on Building blocks of finance
The Complete Finance Manager Course 2022
Financial Management, ERP systems, Accounting, Capital budgeting, Presentation design, Management, and Negotiation
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PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Finance intern resume: how to choose the right format
The content of your resume is necessary for showcasing your expertise, skills, and education. Great formatting, on the other hand, is essential for highlighting your attention to detail, creativity, and ability to stand out.
There are three basic resume formats to choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Which one of these you choose depends on a couple of things, but most importantly: the industry and your level of experience.
The reverse-chronological resume format, for example, is great if you’re a Finance Intern with many years of experience and no career gaps. It doesn’t really matter if your company of choice is a multinational corporation or an early-stage startup – this resume format is considered to be a safe bet.
If you’re someone with little or no experience, however, we advise you to go for a functional skills-based resume format. It focuses on skills, competencies, and education, rather than experience. This makes it great for entry-level applicants, career changers, and graduate students.
And if you’re tired of traditional formats and want to go over the top when it comes to your application, the combination or hybrid resume format is here to help. Here, you can focus on both your experience and your skills, there’s even space for you to highlight your most spectacular personality traits. If you want to give a modern feel to your Finance Intern resume, this resume format is just what you need. Add a ‘my life philosophy’ section for additional bonus points!
Looking for ways to perfect your Finance Intern resume layout and style?
- Don’t risk it: choose standard 1-inch resume margins;
- Go for traditional resume fonts (sized 10-12p);
- Match the length of your Finance Intern resume with your years of experience – choose a one-page template if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- To be on the safe side, save your resume in PDF. This will help you avoid formatting issues and unauthorized editing.
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PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Finance Intern resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Your finance intern resume: Other sections to include
Tired of resumes that focus only on your professional side? Want to show you’re an actual human being with a real personality that goes beyond your work experience? Then add some other sections to your Finance Intern resume!
Depending on the industry, company, and position, you can go for a more creative or less creative approach. Choose 1-2 of the following:
Making your finance intern resume shine
In a pile of boring black and white resumes, a creative Finance Intern application feels like a breath of fresh air. And trust us, recruiters love this.
There are two ways to add a splash of creativity to your resume. You can either go for a creative layout (bright colors, modern fonts, etc.) or add some creative sections (e.g. ‘what my typical day looks like’).
It’s up to you! Just make sure to keep the position, company, and industry in mind. Otherwise, you risk going over the top. And that’s not always a good idea.
What makes a great finance intern resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
