I’ve been offering a resume editing service since site launch. In this time, I’ve had the fortune to work with dozens of clients.
Below is a list of the Top 10 consulting resume mistakes I’ve noticed in my clients. Some are corollaries of my Top 10 resume tips, but the majority are unique.
1. Inadequate spacing throughout the resume
You don’t want someone to say your resume is “too texty”. Readers will pay less attention – not good when you’re one of 200 in their review stack.
One effective remedy is effective line spacing. Shrink and expand lines as needed (by manipulating font size).
Some areas where spacing is critical:
- Between the category title (eg, “Work experience”) and the first experience (eg, “Citibank internship”)
- Between each experience within the category
- At the end of an experience and the beginning of a new category (this space should be larger than the first two)
- At the margins – as I’ve said before, nothing less than 0.5″ (vertical and horizontal)
Ignore it and your resume will be an eye-sore.
2. Lack of numbers
Numbers are the most eye-catching parts of your resume – SAT, GPA, quantitative impact at work and in extracurriculars.
Numbers help you do the following:
- Highlight resume “takeaways” – and trust me, you need at least 2-3 of these to get an interview
- Prevent your resume from suffering the “too texty” syndrome
- Help your resume become more results-oriented
Digital numbers are the right way to go. Instead of “five”, 5. Instead of “two hundred”, 200
3. Lack of a personal interests and hobbies section
Self-explanatory – one line, make it specific, don’t put more than 3-5 interests.
4. Insignificant awards/scholarships/fellowships
Point 4 and Point 5 below fall into the umbrella of “too much content in the education section”.
Unless it’s a nationally recognized award/scholarship/fellowship, refrain from including it. If you do include, explain how selective it is. No one cares about the Sarah Day Jones Community Service Award that you received sophomore year. Unless there were 5,000 applicants and only one recipient.
5. Coursework lists
It’s great that you took “Systems Management”. Only:
- No one knows what you learned
- No one cares about what you learned
- No one will see how that applies to consulting
It’s ok to list challenging courses taken on your resume for consulting interviews (eg, Advanced Econometrics 101, Differential Equations 202). But do so only if:
- It’s clear what the course covers
- What the course covers is very challenging/technical/quantitative
- You don’t list more than 3-5 courses
Some of you include diverse course descriptions to showcase academic breadth. It’s not something I recommend, but it’s not a clear faux pas
6. Describing what you did, not what you accomplished
I’ll repeat this over and over and over and over. Keep process explanations at a minimum.
Sometimes it’s necessary. Sometimes it’s helpful. But the balance for each work or extracurricular “clunk” should be at least 50% results.
To be clear, results can also mean innovative/challenging methods utilized. A process description would be:
Used Excel to collect data from 100 websites
An innovative methods description would be:
Wrote VBasic macros in Excel to autocollect data from 100 financial websites
7. Useless computer skills
Windows, Microsoft Office, Adobe, Mac OS, and a million other software programs and operating systems are not skills. Repeat, not skills.
The only time you should include a line on computer skills is:
- You knew multiple programming languages
- You knew graphics/design/technical software that less than 5% of the general population knows how to use well
8. Sentences and paragraphs
Never use sentences or paragraphs. This is a direct symptom of the “too texty” syndrome. Write in short, grammatically-correct fragments.
Rare is the description that requires a full sentence. Non-existent is the description that requires a full paragraph
9. Using “Justify” alignment
Left alignment for content always. “Justify” alignment leads to irregular spacing, uncomfortable reading, and annoyed resume reviewers.
10. Using 2 words when 1 will do
Another symptom of the “too texty” syndrome.
“Planned and coordinated” a conference? “Led and managed” a team? “Completed and processed” 5,000 documents?
Bonus. Incorrect usage of tense
If you’re describing a past work experience, you “created” models and “wrote business plans”. You aren’t still “managing 5 employees” from that software firm you left 2 years ago.
Same rule applies for your extracurricular activities and educational background.
Click here to read my posts on consulting cover letters and management consulting resumes
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
would you mind posting an example of a good resume?
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@Chris – there are a few on my “Resume editing” page. I’m adding several more to The Consulting Bible as well.
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great post! didn’t know I had to include (3) interests and hobbies section.
I got a certificate in business administration from an extension program 2 yrs after a PhD in Mech Engg – should I mention the certificate first in the education section of a consulting resume?
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@sigmo – yes. keep it short.
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What’s wrong with not including interests? (I’m from Aus, where 2-page resumes INCLUDING interests are the norm… I’ve been thinking of leaving off interests, though, judging by the ‘isn’t that a solitary pursuit’ BS I encounter when I list ‘writing’).
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@Paul – just answered precisely that in my latest reader question round-up.
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Thanks!
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Whoops, in Aus 2 pages resumes are norm ? that’s interesting !
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Hi,
I am interested in your services, but I would like to know if they would be of benefit to me, firstly, I am looking to apply to a mgmt consulting firm , I graduated in 2006, I have approx 3 – 4 experience in project leadership…I dont have any internal contact at the firm, just wanted to understand how I could get an interview ?
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Amar,
It’s probably best if we setup a call. Feel free to email me first and we can arrange it. Cheers.
Kevin
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Hi,
Awesome Post…!!
I am still not sure that what
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Prateek,
My view is that the benefit of establishing a personal connection/human dimension outweighs the benefit of having one additional line for “real” experiences.
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What do you feel about a coursework section like this?
Selected Coursework: Corporate Finance, Financial Markets, Financial Accounting, Enterprise Finance, Financial Risk Management, Global Business Strategy, Economic and Business Forecasting
too many courses listed? what would be considered important?
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Anmol, that feels a bit lengthy for a consulting-focused resume. With respect to which are important, stay away from the more generic descriptions and focus on ones that clearly emphasize quantitative/analytical skills.
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Do you think it helps to include a LinkedIn URL on the resume?
Most of the information is included on the resume anyways, but recruiters can always take a look at recommendations and the types of networks we belong to.
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Albert,
It’s an interesting idea. I could go both ways with this – if you do include a LinkedIn URL (or any other URL, for that matter), make sure:
-The link itself is short
-It’s correct and working
-You manage your profile carefully
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I am very interested in paying for the CV help. However, what if everything I have done is just not good enough to get into the consulting firms I want to, regardless of how you word it? Would you look at my CV and then say, yes, there is definite scope for improvements that would lead to a competitive CV, or no, sorry, I cannot help you?
Thanks for your comments.
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MC Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Hi Laurens,
Sure, please go ahead and send us your resume and/or cover letter (products@managementconsulted.com), and we’ll let you know how we would improve it.
Warm Regards,
MC
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Hahahah! I loved your tone in this post! It’s like a slap in the face for people who can’t do resumes, and a few times you slapped mine :)
Thanks for the info!
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Great list. Would you recommend including GRE and/or GMAT scores? If yes, in the education section?
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MC Reply:
January 29th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Hi Jaydub,
Yes, you should include GRE and GMAT score in the education section, especially if you got a good score. One place to add it is after the GPA with a semicolon, for example:
GPA: 3.6/4.0; GMAT: 720 (V:94% | M:92%)
If you got a mediocre or bad score, you can leave it off of your resume in most cases.
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