REVIEW MY CV: Is my career switch counting against me?

Another eFinancialCareers reader has bravely put forward their CV for some (constructive) criticism in a bid to enhance their job-hunting potential. Below is their profile (with all personal details removed) and little about their search for new employment so far. Can you offer some tips about where they may have been going wrong and what, exactly, can be improved about their CV?

"I've been looking for a mid management role in the private equity or investment banking sector over the last 3- 6 months. I'm specifically looking for roles with multi-national companies or good mid/large size companies that are growing. The problem I face is that although I have 6 years of experience, not all of of is in finance or private equity. It is equally split between operations, corporate strategy/business management and private equity.

"So I'm definitely at a disadvantage compared to someone who's worked for 5-6 years in PE although I might have valuable operational and business management experience, which is sometimes discounted by recruiters. I've managed to get a few calls so far, but they haven't landed me an interview as yet. I do know that the competition is quite tough now with fewer positions out there and more people looking. But it would definitely help a lot if this feedback can help me get more calls and a better response."

PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

· An MBA, a level 3 CFA candidate, with engineering background and 6 years of cross functional experience in Investments, Valuations, Deal Structuring, Corporate Strategy, Project Execution, Financial Analysis and Business Management

· Functional experience in - Private Equity, Retail, Telecommunications and Healthcare sector

· Successfully closed 3 acquisitions for current employer (total investments size ~ USD 200 M)

· Performed concept development, initial business planning and implementation of a retail chain of about 21 stores across GCC for previous employer

· Performed the business planning and execution of the rollout of 3 major fixed line and broadband projects (total value of about US$ 25 M)

· Excellent management, communication, negotiation, analytical, financial & quantitative skills.

· Excellent at presentations, report writing, financial analysis, financial modeling and business strategy

· Excellent at team management, coordination & networking. Highly committed, zealous & creative. Enjoy traveling and interacting with new people.

ORGANISATIONAL EXPERIENCE

June 2008 - till date: Private equity firm, Kuwait - Senior Investment Analyst

Pre Investment

· Analyzing target business, business plans, growth strategy, valuation, deal structuring, negotiating pricing & terms, evaluating various financing options, conducting financial and legal due diligence, overseeing legal agreements & contracts and evaluating risk factors

· Managed all aspects of the deal closing process including financial, legal due diligence, and deal structuring, and successfully closed three deals (Total Investment ~ US$ 200 M)

· Developed financial models across various industries and performed valuations using several methods such as market, earning and asset base

· Directly supervised and mentored 2 financial analysts in the process of valuation, and preliminary financial due diligence for more than 10 deals

· Procured more than 20 deals for current employer through a network of investment banks and brokers built during the last 3 years, some of which are currently in the investment pipeline

· Developed PPMs (Private Placement Memorandum) for launching PE funds and raising finance for new acquisitions (equity and debt)

Post investment

· Creating appropriate business strategy for subsidiaries for unlocking potential by analyzing business processes, identifying potential improvements and untapped synergies.

· Tracking performance & growth of subsidiaries and making appropriate recommendations to the board for alignment of performance with corporate goals

· Regular monitoring of business and operational risk of investments and make appropriate recommendations to the board

· Monitoring execution of proposed plans and projects and their valued addition to Revenue, Net Profit, ROE & IRR of subsidiary companies

2007 - May 2008: Investment arm of large conglomerate, Retail division, Kuwait - Asst Mgr & Business Analyst

·Identifying new opportunities for the growth and diversification of the Retail Business of firm

· Evaluating new potential regional acquisition targets, conducting industry research & valuations, formulating business growth strategy and overall synergy with existing Retail businesses. Coordinated and negotiated the franchise rights for furniture store for GCC (Potential value of USD 35 M)

· Project planning & execution - Spearheaded the business planning, business strategy, concept development and project execution for the launch of a chain of retail stores for the franchisee concept furniture store in GCC. This business has been the most profitable and fastest growing business for my employer

·Coordinated and managed the business operations, product management, financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, sales and marketing for furniture stores

· Prepared and coordinated the annual business strategic planning exercise for Retail business group

2006 - 2007: (Employer as above), Corporate Strategy & Business Development - Business Analyst

· Identifying specific business opportunities for the profitable external growth and diversification of the Company through Acquisitions, Alliances and Joint ventures in - Retail, Manufacturing, Telecommunications, and Logistics sectors

·Driving the Corporate Business Development Initiatives by developing Business Cases through Conducting Research, Conducting Valuation Analyses, Financial Modeling, Forecasting, Assessing Economics and Risks for expansion in the above sectors

· Coordinating & executing the Annual Business Strategic Planning exercise at the corporate level

2005 - 2006: Telecommunications firm, Operations, Mumbai, India, - Asst Mgr, Revenue Analysis & Budgeting

· Monitoring of revenue & its periodic analysis, preparation of revenue budgets, tracking of outgoing traffic, usage patterns, pulsing and their trend analysis, forecasting usage and future revenue enhancement strategies for Fixed line and Broadband (Internet) businesses

· Preparing the Voice & DSL revenue sales & operations budget for FY2006 (US$ 12.5 M) comprising acquisition targets, MOU (minutes of usage) targets & revenue forecasts

· Analyzing competitive tariff plans, products offers, events, promotions, and competitors' strategy and evaluate its impact on the market and develop suitable counter strategy and products

· Conceptualizing new schemes, tariff plans and promotions based on analysis of customer demand & usage patterns and customer feedback

· Managing execution of new schemes, plans and strategies through vendors and a large direct sales force

2004 - 2005: (Employer as above), Marketing, Bangalore, India, - Asst Mgr, Market Planning and Budgeting

· Preparation of the Sales & Acquisition Budget (US$ 9 M)-Including revenue forecasts, operational expenditure estimates, tariff planning, product pricing and capital expenditure estimates

· Planned and executed the Market Construct (Roadmap for laying new telephone network) using predictive network utilization models and thorough research of Competitors' network for the entire state of Karnataka

· Spearheaded and coordinated the market mapping, demand estimation, financial valuation and network planning to execute the rollout of 130,000 new telephone connections in Bangalore. The total CAPEX involved in this project was about US$ 20 M

· Business development through acquisition/tie-ups with related businesses, planning rollout of telecom network & infrastructure in new areas and financial evaluation of potential business opportunities in Karnataka region

· Planning & execution of the Franchisee Business Concept at a total project cost of US$ 5 M for other towns in Karnataka

EDUCATION

Current: CFA Level III candidate, CFA Institute, USA

2002 - 2004: Master of Management (MBA) - Finance & Marketing Business school, IIT Bombay, India

1998 - 2002: Bachelor of Electronics & Communications Engineering, Technological University, Hyderabad, India

Additional Certifications/Qualifications:

· Certification in Basic Concepts of Islamic Finance by Shura for Sharia (Kuwait)

· Certification in Business Intelligence by Infocenter (Kuwait)

· Certification in Financial Modeling Master Class by Terrapin Financial Training (Dubai).

· Green Belt certified in Six Sigma and executed a Green Belt project for Bharti Televentures

Computer/IT Knowledge:

· OS: DOS, Windows 98, Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Linux

· Languages: C, C++, SQL, Visual Basic, HTML

· Tools: SAS, SPSS, Lingo, MS Access. MS Excel, MS Office 2000/XP/2007, Business Intelligence, SAP production module

· Completed HDSE Certification Course from APTECH (SQL, VB, MS Office & Application software)

Internships:

Internship 1: Pharmaceutical firm, Mumbai (Management Trainee) - Realignment of the Distributor & Logistics Network for Ethicon, Endo & Lifescan divisions of firm vis-à-vis market potential. Tools used were Microsoft Excel and SPSS.

Internship 2: IT firm, IIT Bombay - Demand estimation, Feasibility Study and formulation of a Business Strategy for the marketing and launch of a new product and its further expansion across India.

Internship 3: Technology firm, India (Management Trainee) - Market Analysis & Feasibility Study of Web Application Management Solutions & Enterprise Network monitoring solutions, build a Business Development Plan and propose an Entry Level Strategy into this domain for Impetus Technologies.

Internship 4: Technology firm, Hyderabad (Trainee Engineer) - Construct and Implement a Model of a Navigation & Tracking System using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Wireless Technology. Tools used: VB 6.0, Assembly language programming & RF microcontroller configuration tools.

Achievements

· Successfully closed three PE acquisition deals (approx value of 200M USD) for current employer

· Launched the first franchisee retail store for the retail business group of previous employer

· Coordinated and completed two consecutive Annual Strategic Business Planning cycles for previous employer

· Planned & executed the rollout of 3 major projects with a total value of about INR 1000 Million (USD 25 million)

· Successfully planned, coordinated and completed the annual budgeting & financial planning for two years for South Central (Karnataka) and Western Circles (Mumbai, Maharashtra & Gujarat) respectively in Telecommunication firm

· Scholarship holder for 2 consecutive years for academic excellence at business school, Bombay

· Part of the core organization team of B-school events

· Obtained 3rd Rank in the University during my undergraduate course of Engineering (BTech)

· Presented papers at All India Level Paper Presentation contests during my Undergraduate Engineering Course

· Active member of various social clubs in school & college. Won several prizes in social & literary events

If you would like to submit your CV for popular review on eFinancialCareers, please e-mail: editor_gulf@efinancialcareers.com.