Consulting Resume Examples: Create a Winning Resume for MBB, Big 4, and More
Whether you are targeting MBB or a Big 4 firm, trying to enter the consulting world is competitive. You must take numerous assessments, impress your interviewer and stand out among a sea of qualified applicants.
All of these aspects are necessary steps for the consulting hiring process. However, a strong consulting resume is the most critical point during recruitment. Recruiters typically review consulting resumes in minutes.
This guide features consulting resume examples with all the tips and a personalized-to-you AI resume analyzer to help you perfect your consulting CV.
Ready to learn more? Keep reading.
A consulting resume is a structured, targeted resume used to apply for positions at a strategy or management consulting firm. Its primary goal is to emphasize your achievements, leadership skills, and problem-solving ability, as shown by quantifiable metrics, which are core traits reflected in any strong consulting resume.
Consulting Firms Include:
Whether you are applying for a consulting role as an undergraduate for an entry-level position,
MBA student or seasoned professional, you will need to create a resume that shows you possess the skills to be a successful hire in the consulting world.
Consulting firms read hundreds of resumes per day, so your resume will need to be structured, easy to scan for ATS(automatic tracking system) and highlight your most skilled achievements with quantitative data.
The goal of a management consulting resume is to demonstrate to a recruiter that you will be a great addition to the team.
When crafting a consulting resume, you must convince top firms that you are:
With a compelling resume, a candidate will convince top firms that both the soft skills and consulting skills to thrive in project management.
As aforementioned, consulting resumes are usually reviewed in mere minutes when submitted to a firm’s online portal. This presents a challenge for an applicant because it can be hard to pick which experiences and skills to highlight, and how to structure them for the largest impact.
To succeed and advance past the screening of applications, your resume for a consulting job must follow a clear format that professionally communicates your unique values and experiences to the recruiter, neatly presented in a one-page format. In addition, you must always tailor your resume to the job description.
Here’s a breakdown and structure of a consulting resume:
Before you submit, always compare your final draft to a top-tier consulting resume example to ensure alignment with industry standards.
In general, when organizing your consulting resume, use the MECE structure.
MECE stands for: Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive.
This means that each bullet point should add value, so do not be redundant, as you have limited space on your consulting resume. When writing your bullet points, remember that each bullet point should highlight a different achievement or skill. So be specific, not generic and align the bullet points to the job title. Remember, a junior consultant will typically have different responsibilities than a consulting manager.
In addition, MECE guarantees that you quantify your experience for a high-quality consulting resume. The consulting industry, in general, is numbers-based and involves extensive data analysis, which should be reflected in your resume. Use figures and numbers to give a clearer picture of your experience.
Consulting resume examples:
Conducted market analysis, identifying $2.5M in cost-saving opportunities across business development.
In short, consulting firms want to know what you did and why it mattered, better known as the results of the action. You need to show a proven track record of success and managing business processes on your consulting resume.
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At the top of the page, list your name and contact details. Do not add a photograph because it can be rejected by the Applicant Tracking System. You do not need to add a consulting resume summary, as it is considered to be an outdated practice by many recruiters.
If you are a recent graduate or have less than 7-years of experience, you should list your university education before your work experience. If you are an experienced hire, list it after your relevant experience on your consulting resume.
Note that advanced degrees from target schools (ivy-league and highly competitive universities) are highly valued during the selection process at management consulting firms. However, if you are from a non-target school, you still have a chance to succeed. If you have a high SAT, ACT or GMAT score, list it. If you were a part of honor societies, received merit-based scholarships or had leadership roles at an organization or club, add it-- these are soft skills that translate into a successful tenure as a project management professional.
In short, show your leadership and academic-based achievements-- it matters on a management consultant resume and for the recruiting process.
For the education section, list:
This is the most important section of your resume. Here you will list your internships (new graduates applying as a junior consultant) or work experience (seasoned professional applying for management roles) in reverse chronological order or starting with the most recent experience.
Of course, big companies, brand names and fancy titles are impressive to recruiters but do not be afraid to be creative. For example, entrepreneurial experiences (like running a babysitting business) or unique experiences (military, political) can make you stand out. You might be surprised how you can make a routine task into a relevant experience on your consulting resume.
Include the name of the company, the month + year you worked there (example: Oct. 2020-Aug. 2022.)
Under each listing, you should use 2-to-4 bullet points to describe your position using power verbs.
Action words or Power Verbs imply your leadership skills, innovation, impact and productivity--which are consulting skills. Action words show, not tell, the consulting firm how successful you are. Consider them the key to a successful consulting resume and the next rounds of interviews.
Quick Guide to Action Words on Consulting Resume
Be wary of weak verbs, such as ‘helped.’ You need to emphasize your leadership and teamwork abilities. Ask yourself: What was my impact and why was it important? The management consulting industry is looking for excellence and high-achievers that they can rely on to process optimization.
In addition to impactful verbs, you need to quantify your achievements, highlight experiences that demonstrate consulting-role skills like problem-solving and leadership.
Management Consultant firms are looking for resumes that are well-rounded candidates that reflect their company values.
A well-rounded candidate will have bullet points in their consulting resume that demonstrate: Leadership, Critical Thinking, Analytical Abilities, Problem-Solving Skills, Customer Success and Collaboration.
Your leadership and extracurricular section can make you stand out in a mass of similar achievers. As consulting firms highly value initiative, make sure to include any significant extracurricular involvement, volunteer work, leadership roles and awards. All these achievements show dedication to continuous learning which is highly valued by consulting recruiters.
Similar to work experience, use 2-to-4 bullet points for each point. Use the same principle of quantifying your impact.
Consulting Resume Example: Organized X charity event for 300 attendees, raising Y amount of money.
Do you think that your extracurriculars don’t matter? It certainly does because it shows drive, collaboration and a well-rounded candidate beyond work or school.
Don’t miss out on your opportunity to let the consulting firm know a little about who you are in this section, your activities show your passions and make you special.
It’s okay to make your skills and interest sections short, however, you should not forgo it on a resume submitted to a top consulting firm.
What you should include:
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A strong consulting resume should include your contact information, education, work experience, leadership & extracurriculars and skills & interests.
Consulting firms want quantifiable information in a one-page resume that shows leadership potential and analytical abilities. You should match your relevant experience to the job description and highlight technical skills and problem solving skills.
A consulting resume should be:
McKinsey, an MBB consulting firm, looks for excellence, achievement and a result-driven attitude on a resume.
A McKinsey Resume Should Show:
A consultant’s CV is always one-page, well-organized and shows results. Each bullet point uses action verbs with measured results.
Consulting Resume Example: Developed and implemented a cost-reduction strategy for a logistics client, resulting in $250K in annual savings.
In the United States, a consultant objective is not usually required for a consultant’s resume, and many top consulting firms advise against it.
If used, they should be one sentence and clear.
Any information that you would put in a consultant objective should be placed in your cover letter for the consulting firm.
