The consulting industry is one of the most competitive industries out there. Only the best ones end up getting a job offer. Most candidates are not aware that the resume and cover letter screening test is the step where they fail.
Usually, consulting resumes are viewed for less than a minute since the recruiting teams have too many applicants. That’s why your consulting resume needs to be perfect.
So, how you do it? How to write a perfect resume that gets you interviews?
In this article, we will help you craft your resume by giving you all the magical tips and tricks.
Let’s dive in!
What Are They Looking for?
Before you even start with crafting your consulting resume, you need to understand what consulting companies are searching for. Always try to find more insights.
Officially, all the best consulting firms are looking for the same skills. Problem-solving, personal impact, entrepreneurial drive, and leadership abilities are top skills that every consultant needs to have.
However, unofficially, top consulting first will also look for big brand names while going through your CV.
If you didn’t attend some of the target schools, in order to get noticed, you should have big companies mentioned in your resume.
It’s a bit unfair, but this is how it works. One of the reasons for that is the fact that consulting companies receive a lot of applications every year. According to Writezillas Big companies don’t have time to interview all of those candidates.
In a way, those big brand names are like a shortcut.
Don’t worry if you don’t have big brand names in your resume. It doesn’t mean you can’t get a job – you will just need to work a bit harder.
Now, when you are aware of what consulting firms are looking for, let’s focus on your resume.
Five Key Sections
Every consulting resume needs to include 5 key sections.
The first one is your name and contact information. Use big font, approximately sized 16-18, on a typical resume with the 11-12pt font. You need to make sure your name stands out.
Don’t forget to include your email, phone number, and address.
The next sections suppose to be about your educational background. The education section should include your school name, GPA, graduation year, and of course, location.
Professional experience is the next section and the most important one. Most of your management resume should be about your professional experiences, whether they were full-time jobs or internships.
If you are already an experienced consultant, your next section should be about leadership and activities.
Here, you should concentrate on your most impressive leadership abilities.
Even though interests and skills are usually overlooked section in a CV, you should still include it. Include all the interests you are passionate about.
At the end of the day, interviewers are just humans, and they all want to talk to interesting people.
Keep it Simple
Even though it’s challenging, you should keep your resume simple and short. Your resume shouldn’t be longer than a page.
Try to mention only your biggest achievements. No one wants to read about everything you’ve done in your life.
Don’t use any kind of special format or unusual font. Maybe it looks like a good idea to stand out, but actually, you may look weird.
Remember, the content of your resume should stand out, not the format.
Don’t Forget To Use Action Verbs
No one is going to read your resume carefully. You have basically 10 seconds to make a good impression and to stand out.
That’s why you need to include words that your interview screener is looking for. Action verbs are perfect for that. You should start every sentence with an action verb that highlights the skills that companies are looking for.
If you use the right ones, your resume screener will probably think right away that you have what it needs.
Use Simple Language
If you have written a Master thesis and a Ph.D., your resume screener probably won’t understand it and, they also don’t have time to Google it.
You are the one who needs to make it simple and understandable. If you are not sure whether you are clear enough, you can always give it to someone close to you to see if they understand it.
No one likes complicated things, but also simplifying them is not an easy job. That’s why you should start this whole process early.
Be Unique
As we mentioned before, the competition is huge. Also, remember that before they look at your CV, they have looked at hundreds of others.
Try to include anything that is at least a little bit unique in your resume. Even if it’s not related to consulting. For instance, if you speak more languages, emphasize it.
Or maybe you had done an exciting internship in South Africa. Remember, everything that makes you stand out should be mentioned.
Double-check
Proofreading is the last step of crafting your consulting resume and it’s very important. You need to proof-read multiple times everything before you hand it in.
Mistakes in your resume are not allowed, so make sure you triple check everything.
Also, before you hand it in, don’t forget to ask for feedback. Reach someone from the same industry and ask for feedback.
They can help you not only to notice flag typos and inconsistencies, but they can also tell what should be different.
Wrapping up
A consulting resume, just like any other, is basically the first impression you make, and without a good first impression, nothing else is possible.
That’s why make sure you did everything right. Use active verbs at the beginning of every sentence, use the right format, highlight only the most important achievements, and don’t make it too long.
If you have any specific and interesting skills that will make you stand out, don’t hesitate to mention.
Remember, the competition is big, but there is always something that can help you stand out.
Always double-check everything and start early, so you don’t have to be in a hurry.
Don’t worry, you got this!
