Preparing the consulting resume
I wanted to share with you content I developed for a consulting resume workshop I taught last year. The biggest mistake I see consulting candidates make when developing their resumes is taking a unidimensional approach, which leads to an imbalanced candidacy (and therefore a poor fit for the role). A more effective approach would be to develop and assess your resume across the multiple dimensions that the employer is assessing when filling the role. I've laid out those 4 dimensions for consulting roles in the figure below.
For example, candidates from technical backgrounds naturally have bullets that convey sophisticated analytical work that bolsters their candidacy in the Problem Solving dimension. But with the limited remaining space in their resume, they often miss making their case in one or more of the remaining three dimensions of Personal Impact, Entrepreneurial Drive and Inclusive Leadership.
Take a look at your resume and ask yourself the questions I've laid out below from the perspective of an audience who is unfamiliar with you and is reading this resume for the first time (or you may ask a friend who will be honest with you):
1. Does this candidate have experience with Personal Impact--meaning, influencing groups of people or more senior people to a particular point of view?
2. Have they shown Entrepreneurial Drive--did they take the initiative to pursue a project that, in spite of obstacles, had impact?
3. Is there any evidence here of Inclusive leadership--that this person has experience leading a group of however many people towards successfully achieving a goal?
4. Is there evidence of Problem Solving, such as strategic and/or application of sophisticated analytical or quantitative methods?
What are your honest answers? I'd love to hear any thoughts you have. Have a great 2022!