Why would J.P. Morgan want to give you tips on résumés and cover letters? That's just how we are - we want to help you succeed. And, to be frank, we enjoy reading the good ones.

Résumés

Successful résumés serve only one function: to get you an interview. But creating a résumé that accomplishes that requires a lot of thought. Your résumé is an introduction to us or to any potential employer; make sure it presents you in the best possible light.

So for example, you've probably honed your career interests with a challenging summer internship. Be sure to give it the emphasis it deserves - it's far more important to us than the summer you spent as a lifeguard. If you don't have this kind of experience, think of other ways you can demonstrate your quantitative aptitude - other jobs, perhaps, and certainly advanced coursework.

A few more tips from the people that review your resumes - our recruiters and campus teams of senior alumni:

• Almost without exception, your résumé should be no longer than one page
• Prioritize the points you want to get across, such as summer internships and other quantitative work experience, and structure your résumé to highlight skills that are most relevant to the position for which you are applying
• Keep your statements concise, and quantify where possible. "Tutored 60 students on a weekly basis for two years" is better than "Tutored students" for example
• Be sure you can support and talk intelligently about everything on your résumé, including special interests and hobbies
• Proof it. Typos and grammatical errors tell us that either you're careless or not that interested in a job with J.P. Morgan
• Colored paper, eccentric fonts and non-traditional graphics will get your résumé noticed - but probably not in the way you want

Cover letters

Cover letters give you an opening to sell yourself - but be succinct. This is the place to say why you want to work for J.P. Morgan, and how your experience, education and aptitudes qualify you for that challenge.

Remember that one size does not fit all; a form letter will always look like a generic form letter. We want to know that you've done some research on J.P. Morgan, and that you've thought through why you want to join our team. (Quick tip: reading our brochure and website will give you some great insights to leverage.) Which of our events have you attended, and who have you met through the recruiting process who has influenced your decision to apply and why? What do you have to offer, and why do you think you'd be a good fit? Be specific. A few intelligent insights will help separate your letter from the hundreds of others we review.

Use the cover letter to demonstrate compelling evidence of your candidacy that may not be obvious in your résumé. If your résumé states what you did at your last job, your cover letter allows you to discuss what you learned there, and how you will apply it to an Analyst position. Organization and brevity are just as important here as in your résumé. Put yourself in our shoes, we will see hundreds of cover letters. Prioritize your points; cover each one in order; do not dwell on any of them.

Finally, one of the many jobs you'll perform as an Analyst is organizing and formatting presentations. Make sure both your résumé and cover letter demonstrate your familiarity with formatting protocols.

Hope this helps. We are looking forward to hearing from you soon!