It would seem like most candidates who try to get a job in consulting tend to overlook one important aspect. As the title itself suggests, we’re talking about creating a professional-looking consulting resume.
Next to a case interview, writing a resume doesn’t appear to be as important. That’s the number one mistake we see consultants make — they tend to ignore everything else in preparation for the upcoming case question.
Suffice it to say that such a mistake can be very costly. It’s so costly that most candidates who disregard the importance of a resume don’t even make it to the interview.
After all, how can you hope to accomplish much if your lackluster consulting resume ends up in a trash can?
Today, we’re here to ensure that doesn’t happen to you. Making a professional consulting resume takes time, but it will all be worth it in the end.
What’s So Different About a Consulting Resume?
Every company out there wants to see what’s in your resume. Some care more about your education, others about your experience. Most want to see both. But what matters most is how capable you are of representing yourself.
The same goes for management consulting companies. They want to know who you are, how experienced you are, and perhaps most of all, how organized you are.
But then again, that’s not so different from most other companies out there. What is different, however, is the sheer amount of resumes that consulting companies receive.
Consultancy is one of the most sought-after careers, and that’s not likely to change. The pay is excellent, the consulting companies are resilient in times of economic downturn, and the exit opportunities are limitless.
That’s why companies such as McKinsey receive more than 200,000 job applications per year. Not even the most diligent of recruiters can go through all of those applications. For that reason, a consulting resume is scanned, rather than read. Recruiters have to spend 30 seconds (at most) per resume.
If your resume fails to meet all the expectations within those 30 seconds, your application is trashed. That’s the fate of about 60% of all job applications in a consulting company.
We’ll show you how to make scannable resumes that satisfy all the requirements at a glance. You can learn even more about consulting resumes here: myconsultingcoach.com/consulting-resume.
Consulting Resume vs Consulting Cover Letter
Both are equally crucial to you getting a job in consulting, but resume takes precedence for obvious reasons. The resume will have to impress before the cover letter does.
However, there’s another very important difference between the two. Once you create your perfect consulting resume, you won’t have to worry about it anymore. You’ll be able to use it to apply to multiple consulting companies without changes to the resume itself.
Of course, once you garner some more experience as a consultant, you’ll have something new to add. But until then, you can leave the resume unchanged.
The same is not true for cover letters. You’ll have to adjust your consulting cover letter to each company you apply to. The cover letter has to answer the question of why you’ve decided to apply to a specific company. That’s a piece of information you can’t reuse.
Creating a Proper Consulting Resume
First, you need to make sure you understand what the recruiters are looking for in every resume they scan through.
Know What Recruiters Are Interested In
We mentioned how you have about half a minute to impress the person reading your resume. This is what the recruiters will be on the lookout for: a consulting resume needs to be formatted properly, outline crucial skills, focus on achievements, and use simple language.
By formatting, we mean you must contain the resume to one page and use a standard typeface. It needs to have about four or five points and no photograph. Any resume that doesn’t meet the standards above will be automatically discarded.
Crucial skills that need to show up on a consulting resume include teamwork, analytical skills, leadership, problem-solving, a focus on results, and functional expertise.
However, the recruiters are not interested in you just stating you have those skills. Your previous achievements, which are the next important part, need to reflect your skillset. Make sure to say what you achieved in your past roles and how you influenced a change within past companies. That’s more important than just outlining your previous titles.
Finally, stick to simple language. Candidates come from various backgrounds which is why they often get too technical. Avoid jargon that an averagely educated person would not understand. You don’t know who your recruiter is and how much they understand.
Keep it short and concise.
Gather All the Information
By that, we mean gather all the relevant information about yourself. Pool all your skills, achievements, and experience together, and analyze them as a true consultant would.
You see, the process of creating a consulting resume is not as much about building it up as it is about narrowing it down. You need to ensure that only the most relevant and crucial information is displayed there. And you need to balance all that information with one another. One skill should not be more important than the other.
Once you have your list of useful skills, you need to start gathering the supporting evidence. How, when, and where did you use those skills? This leads us to the next point, and that’s achievements.
Without using your skills to achieve something, they’re just empty words on a paper. Show how useful your skills were and what you managed to achieve with them. Provide as many details and quantify as much data as you can.
Instead of just saying how you increased the company’s revenue, state by how much you’ve increased it and in what period.
Make sure that the skills you come up with match your achievements. The two need to be relatable, otherwise, the results won’t make much sense.
Putting It All Together
Now it’s time to take all your skills, achievements, and other important information and put it all together.
This section goes back to formatting your resume according to the industry standard.
And that includes:
- Your name centered at the top of the page in bold, using a larger font
- Your phone number and email address below your name
- No photo
- Headings that are bolded, in uppercase letters, and underlined
- Three bullet points per heading
- Margins between 8mm and 16mm
- One page maximum.
Keep the personal information short and limit it to your name, email address, and mobile phone number.
The next point is education. You shouldn’t focus on it too much. Generally, you should leave out anything that’s not closely related to consulting.
Important information about your education includes institution name, city, degree name, coursework, class rank, potential international exchange programs, and scholarships.
Then comes the part about your work experiences. It’s natural to not have a lot of experience if you’re just now applying for your first consulting job. Recruiters understand that, and they won’t hold it over your head.
What they will be on the lookout for is any kind of exposure to top-level management or individual work. Both can speak to the skills that you need as a consultant.
If you have work experience to show, all the better. Include everything: job title, dates, company description, and bullet points outlining your achievements there.
Then comes all the rest: volunteering, awards, accomplishments, languages, etc.
Double-Check Everything
Don’t let your chances of becoming a management consultant diminish due to a typo.
That’s the worst possible mistake that can happen to you because it’s all too easily preventable.
Make sure to check every little detail of your consulting resume a couple of times. Perhaps even have it proofread by a professional to avoid any unnecessary mistakes.
Especially pay attention to your personal information. If you mess that up, there won’t be a way for the recruiters to reach you for an interview. That would be a real waste.
Closing Words
It should be clear by now that a consulting resume is not something to be rushed. Take the time to adjust your resume to the industry standard and think carefully about the information you want to include.
Most importantly, show the recruiters you have the necessary skills to become a consultant, as well as achievements that stemmed from your use of those skills. Without clear results, your resume is just a collection of unrelated items. Make the connection between your skills and achievements and you’re certain to hear back from the company.
