One of the biggest reasons strong candidates get rejected in M&A and W&I recruitment is not lack of experience — it is lack of relevance.

Hiring managers are not assessing whether someone is generally capable. They are assessing whether that person can step directly into a specific seat:

• underwriting
• broking
• M&A execution
• transaction services
• legal deal advisory

A candidate may have worked on many transactions, butif the CV does not clearly show how that experience translates into the target role, it often gets overlooked.

Generic Deal Experience Is Not Enough

Many CVs contain vague statements such as:

• “Worked on cross-border transactions”
• “Supported M&A processes”
• “Involved in due diligence”

These do not explain:

• what side of the deal you worked on
• which workstreams you owned
• whether you assessed risk or managed process
• how close you were to execution or negotiations

Specificity matters.

Weak:

“Worked on multiple private equity transactions.”

Stronger:

“Reviewed legal due diligence findings and SPA liability provisions across sponsor-backed healthcare transactions, with focus on warranty risk allocation relevant to W&I underwriting.”

The second example immediately demonstrates relevance.

What Different Teams Actually Look For

W&I Underwriting

Underwriting teams care less about deal volume and more about:

• diligence exposure
• SPA review
• indemnity structures
• disclosure exercises
• risk identification
• analytical judgement

Candidates often overemphasise prestige or transactionsize instead of actual risk analysis.

W&I Broking

Broker roles are far more commercial and process-driven.

Strong broker CVs demonstrate:

• client interaction
• insurer coordination
• negotiation exposure
• managing multiple stakeholders under tight timelines

Technical knowledge matters, but communication and execution management are equally important.

M&A Roles

M&A teams want evidence of genuine execution involvement.

Strong CVs clearly show:

• buy-side vs sell-side exposure
• process ownership
• buyer interaction
• diligence coordination
• signing and closing involvement

Hiring managers want to know whether you actually ran workstreams — not just whether you were exposed to transactions.

The Importance of Market Language

Strong CVs use the terminology of the market:

• SPA negotiation
• QoE
• completion accounts
• locked-box
• underwriting call
• disclosure process
• debt-like items
• buy-side diligence

Vague language such as “supported deals” or “analysed companies” weakens credibility.

Final Thoughts

Tailoring a CV in M&A and W&I is not about rewriting your background. It is about emphasising the experience most relevant to the role.

The strongest CVs make it immediately clear:

• what type of deals you worked on
• what responsibilities you owned
• how your experience transfers into the target seat

In competitive markets, relevance and specificity are often what determine whether a profile gets shortlisted.

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