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Hi everyone. I think my cv and cover letter are limiting me from joining a consulting firm. Help please?

I am trying to get into consulting from a banking background with 3 years of experience. I have applied to plenty however, i dont reach the interview stage so it must be that my resume and cover letter are not that good?

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Deleted
Coach
on Jun 18, 2020
McK interviewer, Ph.D (advanced degree) | Experienced coach (150+) | Practical tips, confidence-based approach

Hi ! 

It may be that you are not highlighting your experiences enough. 

Check the following: 

  1. Impact. Instead of listing the job description, do you talk about the value you added to the role (initiatives you took, results you obtained, etc.?)
  2. Strengths. Consulting firms want to see leadership, results, challenge. Are you displaying these traits in your resume?
  3. Precise. Are you too generic in your phrasing? Do you quantify the size of projects you worked on? do you list specific work?
  4. Readibility. Are you trying to say too much and list too much information on the resume? You need to prioritize and make it easy for the reader to get the big picture in a 10-sec view, a 30-sec view and a 1-min more thorough read  
  5. Overall layout. Is everything consistent, aligned, well formatted ? It takes a lot of time to review format, but is critical to do it right! 

Lots of other things to look at, so don't hesitate to reach out if you want more specific feedback on your documents. 

Best of luck! 

Julie

Anonymous A
on Jun 19, 2020
Thank you :)
Clara
Coach
on Jun 18, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

You should post it here like someone did last week, and people can give you input! (Sanitized with no name, etc.)

Cheers

on Jun 18, 2020

Hi there,

Current MBB Consultant here.

Happy to have a look and share some points.

Best

1
Deleted
Coach
on Jun 18, 2020
Associate at McKinsey & Company|3-year working experience in consulting|Peer Leader Consulting at London Business School

Hi there. 

If you do not get to the interview stage, it may be that your CV and Cover Letter are limiting you. Some suggestions to improve them: 

1. Keep both CV and Cover Letter of 1 pag max each, it is a key aspect 

2. In the CV (i) use bullet points and for each bullet point write 2 line max, (ii) use action verbs to show what you have done (e.g., lead a 10+ people team, developed a 3y business plane, ...), (iii) use numbers (e.g., generated 30m+ synergies, analysed 5 indirect costs category across 13 countries, ...), (iv) show you have analytical and people skills 

3. In terms of background, international experiences and showing the abilty to be able to interact with people from different culture and background matters a lot, much more than hard skills 

3. In the Cover Letter be clear on (i) what the position you are applying for, (ii) why do you like the company - look at the company website and use same terminology of their philosohy, (iii) explain why you are the right person for that position explaining your skills but without repeating what you mentioned in your CV and by using more personal/private expamples (typical skills that are appreciated by consulting are: problem solving/solution oriented, relationship management and oral/written communication)

Hope it helps! :) 

Giulia

Anonymous A
on Jun 19, 2020
this helps thank you :)
Ian
Coach
on Jun 18, 2020
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate

Hi there, 

Please send it through to me and I'll take a look!

Robert
Coach
on Jun 21, 2020
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Anonymous,

Difficult to say, based on this generalized statement without specific information at hand.

Main issue to consider in current turbulent economic times is also the decline in recruiting activity - more or less the same supply of candidates meets less demand, so consequently the bar is raising.

Also, 3 years of banking background is good and will help, but in general it's not something which makes you unique and a must-hire for MBB.

In addition - networking your way into consulting firms is always the safest method, and something you might want to consider.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Deleted user
edited on Jun 19, 2020

Hi,

Happy to have a look early next week if it's still necessary

Best

0
Luca
Coach
on Jun 20, 2020
BCG |NASA | SDA Bocconi & Cattolica partner | GMAT expert 780/800 score | 200+ students coached

I would be happy to help!

Deleted user
on Aug 21, 2020

Dear A,

It's very difficult to assess you cv and cover letter without having a look on them. Could you please share them with me that I can provide a feedback. 

Also, I would strongly recommend you to apply with referrals, that significantly maximizes your chances of being invited for the interview. 

If you need any help with you documents or networking, feel free to reach me out. 

Best,
André

0
Gaurav
Coach
on Oct 23, 2020
#1 MBB Coach(Placed 750+ in MBBs & 1250+ in Tier2)| The Only 360° coach(Ex-McKinsey+Certified Coach+Active recruiter)

Feel free to send me, so that I can have a look at it and provide you with some comments

GB

Deleted user
on Oct 23, 2020

You can always post a sanitized version of your documents here and ask for feedback. People will typically be very responsive.

0
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