What Goldman Sachs Recruiters Actually Look For in a CV
A former bulge-bracket recruiter breaks down the six things that separate a CV that gets an interview from one that gets binned in under ten seconds.
A first-round CV at a bulge-bracket bank gets six to eight seconds of attention before it is sorted into “yes”, “maybe”, or “no”. That is not a recruiter being lazy — it is a recruiter working through 400 applications for 12 interview slots. Your CV does not need to be perfect. It needs to survive that first scan.
Having reviewed thousands of finance CVs against the standards used at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citadel, and KKR, the same six things decide it almost every time.
1. Quantification on every single bullet
This is the number-one differentiator, and it is the most common failure. A bullet without a number is an unverifiable claim. A bullet with a number is evidence.
Weak
Assisted with financial modelling for a client engagement.
Strong
Built a 3-statement DCF for a £340m acquisition, identifying a 12% valuation gap that reshaped the client's bid.
Deal sizes, AUM, percentages, rankings, team sizes, revenue impact — if it can be measured, measure it. A CV where every bullet carries a number signals someone who thinks in terms of impact, which is exactly how the job is evaluated.
2. Strong action verbs, never passive language
The phrases “responsible for”, “assisted with”, “involved in”, and “helped to”are red flags. They describe proximity to work, not ownership of it. Recruiters read them as “was in the room when this happened”.
Replace them with verbs that imply you drove the outcome: modelled, executed, structured, pitched, originated, sourced, valued, negotiated. The structure that works every time is [strong verb] → [specific task] → [quantified outcome].
3. Role-specific language
An investment banking CV and a quant research CV should not read the same way. Recruiters are scanning for the vocabulary of their specific desk. For IB that means terms like mandate, accretion/dilution, enterprise value, precedent transactions. For asset management it is alpha, attribution, conviction, risk-adjusted return. Using the wrong register signals you do not yet understand the role.
4. The right structure for your stage
Students and recent graduates: Education first, then Experience, then Extracurriculars, then Skills — on a single page. Experienced hires: Experience first, then Education, up to two pages. No photo. No personal statement that opens with “a highly motivated individual”. Consistent, right-aligned dates.
One page is not a suggestion for students — it is a hard filter. A two-page student CV tells a recruiter you cannot prioritise, which is the entire job in year one.
5. A complete, well-presented education section
University, degree, and your classification or GPA must be unambiguous. For students, include A-levels or IB scores — top firms expect them. For quant, research, and asset management roles, list relevant modules and any quantitative coursework. Scholarships and prizes belong here too: they are third-party proof of ability.
6. ATS-ready skills and keywords
Before a human sees your CV, an applicant tracking system often scores it for keyword match. “Microsoft Office” tells it nothing. Excel (VBA, financial modelling, Power Query), Bloomberg Terminal, Python (pandas, NumPy), and relevant certifications (CFA Level I, BMC) do. Specificity is what gets you past the filter.
The uncomfortable truth
Most CVs that get rejected are not rejected because the candidate is weak. They are rejected because the CV fails to presenta strong candidate well. The content is there; the packaging buries it. Fixing the six points above is usually an evening of work — and it is the difference between the “no” pile and the “yes” pile.