Entry Level Financial Analyst Resume: 6 Full Examples
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
10 min read
An entry level financial analyst resume is one page that proves you can build a model, read a set of financial statements and explain a number to someone who did not build it. The one constraint is that your proof comes from coursework, internships and projects, so each line has to show the analysis, not the class name. The US occupational database O*NET lists the core task as to "Prepare plans of action for investment, using financial analyses", and every example below is built around that. Six complete resumes follow, from new grad to career changer. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
The advert says entry level. Then it asks for two years of experience. That is not entry level, that is a door with a second door behind it. The examples below get you through both.
Entry level financial analyst resume example: the new graduate
This is the most common case: a finance or economics degree, one internship, a few projects. The degree goes near the top because it is the strongest qualification on the page.

Entry level: New finance graduate, one internship (184 words)
Jordan Ellis | Chicago, IL | jordan.ellis@email.com | (312) 555-0142 | linkedin.com/in/jordanellis
Summary Finance graduate with a corporate FP&A internship and three-statement modeling experience in Excel. Built a monthly variance report used by a regional sales team. Looking for an entry level financial analyst role in corporate finance.
Education B.S. Finance, University of Illinois Chicago | May 2026 | GPA 3.6 Relevant coursework: Corporate Finance, Financial Statement Analysis, Investments, Econometrics
Experience FP&A Intern, Midwest Packaging Co., Chicago, IL | June to August 2025 - Built a monthly budget-to-actual variance report for three sales regions in Excel - Reconciled travel and marketing spend against the general ledger and flagged two miscoded invoices - Updated the rolling forecast template each week and presented the changes to the FP&A manager
Projects Three-statement model, Student Investment Fund | 2025 - Built a linked income statement, balance sheet and cash flow model for a listed retailer - Ran a discounted cash flow valuation with a sensitivity table on growth and discount rate
Skills Excel (pivot tables, INDEX MATCH, XLOOKUP), PowerPoint, SQL basics, Tableau, financial modeling, variance analysis
Look at the bullets. Each one names an output: a report, a reconciliation, a model. That is what the hiring manager wants to see on day one.
What an entry level financial analyst resume has to show
O*NET lists the tasks a financial analyst does. Three of them are the ones an entry level hire is trained on first:
- "Interpret data on price, yield, stability, future investment-risk trends, economic influences, and other factors affecting investment programs."
- "Analyze financial or operational performance of companies facing financial difficulties to identify or recommend remedies."
- "Prepare all materials for transactions or execution of deals."
You do not need to have done all three for money. You need one line per task that shows you have done something like it. A class project valuation covers the first. A case competition covers the second. Building a pitch book for a student fund covers the third.
Harvard's career services office describes a resume as "a concise, informative summary of your abilities, education, and experience". For an analyst, concise means one page and informative means a number in most bullets.
Example 2: Junior financial analyst resume from an internship
When the internship was in the same field, it goes first and gets the most bullets. This candidate interned at an investment firm and wants a junior analyst seat.

Entry level: Junior analyst after an investment internship (139 words)
Priya Shah | New York, NY | priya.shah@email.com | (646) 555-0187
Summary Economics graduate with a summer analyst internship in equity research and a passed Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam. Comfortable building comparable company analyses and earnings models.
Experience Summer Analyst, Equity Research, Hudson Street Capital, New York, NY | June to August 2025 - Updated earnings models for six consumer companies after each quarterly report - Built a comparable company analysis for a coverage initiation and wrote the valuation section draft - Pulled and cleaned industry data from company filings for the senior analyst's sector notes
Education B.A. Economics, Rutgers University | May 2026 Finance Club, Treasurer: managed a $4,000 club budget and reported to student government
Licenses Securities Industry Essentials (SIE), passed 2025
Skills Excel modeling, FactSet, Bloomberg Terminal (student access), PowerPoint, Python (pandas)
Name the data tools you used, by product. A manager who sees FactSet or Bloomberg knows what you will need less training on.
Do you need the SIE or CFA for an entry level role?
No license is required to apply for most corporate finance analyst roles. Investment firm roles are different, and this is where the SIE helps. FINRA says the SIE exam "is open to anyone aged 18 or older, including students and prospective candidates interested in demonstrating basic industry knowledge to prospective employers." It adds that "Association with a firm is not required to take the SIE, and results are valid for four years."
So a student can pass it before graduating and put it on the resume under Licenses. If you are a CFA candidate, write the level and the exam window you are registered for, never a level you have not passed.
Example 3: Accounting graduate moving to financial analysis
Accounting graduates are already strong on the statements. The resume has to show the move from recording numbers to explaining them.

Entry level: Staff accountant moving into FP&A (124 words)
Marcus Reed | Dallas, TX | marcus.reed@email.com | (214) 555-0119
Summary Staff accountant with one year in month-end close and account reconciliation, moving into financial planning and analysis. Built the monthly expense variance commentary my controller sent to department heads.
Experience Staff Accountant, Lone Star Logistics, Dallas, TX | July 2025 to present - Close 14 balance sheet accounts each month and reconcile them to subledgers within the close calendar - Write the monthly variance commentary for operating expenses, explaining every line over the threshold - Built an accrual tracker in Excel that cut the number of late adjustments at quarter end
Education B.B.A. Accounting, Texas State University | May 2025
Skills Excel, NetSuite, Power BI, account reconciliation, variance analysis, accruals, month-end close
The variance commentary bullet is the bridge. It shows the analysis work inside an accounting job, and it is the line an FP&A manager will ask about first.
Example 4: Career changer into a financial analyst role
A career changer has real work history, just not in finance. Keep the old job, and rewrite its bullets around money, data and decisions.

Mid level: Operations coordinator changing career into finance (137 words)
Elena Torres | Phoenix, AZ | elena.torres@email.com | (602) 555-0164
Summary Operations coordinator with four years of budget tracking and vendor cost analysis, now completing a financial modeling certificate. Moving into a financial analyst role where cost data drives decisions.
Experience Operations Coordinator, Desert Health Clinics, Phoenix, AZ | 2022 to present - Track a $1.2M annual supplies budget across five clinics and report monthly spend to the operations director - Compared three medical supply vendors on unit cost and delivery terms; the clinic switched to the cheapest compliant one - Built a staffing cost dashboard in Excel that the director uses in the annual budget meeting
Training Financial modeling and valuation certificate, online course | 2026
Education B.A. Business Administration, Arizona State University | 2021
Skills Excel, budgeting, vendor cost analysis, forecasting basics, Power BI
If you are making this switch, our guide on career goals on a resume shows how to word the change so it reads as a plan.
Example 5: Financial analyst resume with no experience at all
No internship and no finance job. The page then runs on education and projects, and the projects have to be specific enough to discuss in an interview.

Entry level: Student with no finance experience (129 words)
Daniel Kim | Atlanta, GA | daniel.kim@email.com | (404) 555-0128
Summary Senior finance student with a valuation case competition placing and two self-directed modeling projects. Retail work experience handling cash and nightly deposits.
Education B.S. Finance, Georgia State University | expected May 2027 | GPA 3.4 Coursework: Financial Statement Analysis, Corporate Finance, Excel for Business
Projects - Regional case competition, second place: valued a regional bank and recommended a hold, presenting to three industry judges - Personal project: built a dividend screen in Excel on 40 large companies, ranked by payout ratio and five-year growth
Experience Sales Associate, Target, Atlanta, GA | 2024 to present - Count and balance two registers at close and prepare the nightly deposit
Skills Excel, PowerPoint, financial statement analysis, discounted cash flow basics
The retail line stays. Counting and balancing cash is a small, true signal of accuracy with money. Our first job resume guide covers how far up the page education should go when it is your strongest section.
Example 6: A one-page entry level financial analyst resume template
Use this skeleton when you want to fill in your own content without rearranging anything.

Entry level: Fill-in template for a financial analyst (119 words)
[Your Name] | City, State | email | phone | LinkedIn
Summary [Degree] graduate with [internship or project] in [area of finance]. Built [one specific output]. Looking for an entry level financial analyst role in [corporate finance, banking, or investment].
Education [Degree], [University] | [Month Year] | GPA [if 3.5 or above] Relevant coursework: [three or four finance courses]
Experience [Title], [Company], [City, State] | [Dates] - [Built or updated] [report or model] for [team], used for [decision] - [Reconciled or analyzed] [data] and found [result]
Projects - [Model type] for [company], with [method] and a [recommendation]
Licenses and Skills [SIE if passed], Excel, [data tool], PowerPoint, [modeling skills]
Keep it to one page. The section order changes only when your internship is stronger than your degree, in which case experience moves up.
Skills and keywords for an entry level financial analyst resume
Postings for this role repeat a short list of terms. Use the ones that are true of you, in the posting's own words:
- Modeling: financial modeling, three-statement model, discounted cash flow, sensitivity analysis
- Analysis: variance analysis, budget-to-actual, forecasting, ratio analysis
- Tools: Excel, PowerPoint, SQL, Tableau or Power BI, an ERP such as NetSuite or SAP
- Reporting: monthly reporting, management reporting, presentation to stakeholders
For the verbs that start each bullet, see our list of resume action verbs. For the senior version of the same resume, compare our senior financial analyst resume page, and for the full role overview see the financial analyst resume page.
Mistakes that sink an entry level financial analyst resume
- Course names instead of work. *Corporate Finance* tells the reader nothing. *Built a DCF valuation of a listed retailer* tells them what you can do.
- Proficient in Excel, alone. Name the functions and the models. Everybody writes proficient.
- Two pages. At entry level, one page is the standard. Cut the coursework before you cut a project.
- A license you have not passed. Write *CFA Level I candidate, exam registered* only if it is true.
- No numbers anywhere. A budget size, a number of accounts, a number of companies modeled. Use your own, never invented ones.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a financial analyst resume with no experience?
Lead with your degree and relevant coursework, then a projects section with two or three specific models or case competitions. Add any job where you handled money or data, even retail. Each bullet should name an output, such as a model, a report or a valuation, so the reader sees analysis work rather than course titles.
What skills should an entry level financial analyst put on a resume?
Financial modeling, variance analysis, forecasting and Excel are the core. Name the Excel functions and models you have built, and any data tools such as SQL, Tableau or Power BI. Add soft skills only inside bullets, for example presenting a variance report to a manager, rather than as a list of adjectives.
Should I put my GPA on an entry level financial analyst resume?
Put it on if it is 3.5 or above, or if the posting asks for it. Many finance employers screen graduates on GPA, so leaving a strong one off costs you. If yours is lower, leave it off and let your projects and internship carry the education section instead.
Is the SIE exam worth putting on a resume?
Yes, if you are applying to investment firms. FINRA says the SIE is open to anyone aged 18 or older and does not require association with a firm, so passing it as a student shows initiative. Put it under a Licenses heading with the year you passed. For corporate finance roles it is a minor plus.
How long should an entry level financial analyst resume be?
One page. At entry level you have a degree, one or two internships and a few projects, which fits on one page with room for skills. A second page usually means coursework lists or long summaries that a hiring manager will skip on the way to your experience.
Related articles
- College Freshman Resume: 6 Examples for Your First Year
- Accountancy CV Example: 6 UK Accounts CVs by Career Level
- Accounting Interview Questions and Answers: 7 Full Examples
- Activity Resume Example: 6 Samples for College Applications
More articles
- Entry Level IT Resume: 5 Examples for Your First Tech Job
- Entry Level Project Manager: 5 Routes In With No Degree
- Entry Level Roles With No Experience: 6 Routes That Work
Looking for a worked example for your job title? Browse the resume examples by job title.