The Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible – Management Consulted

The Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible

Will your resume get you noticed…in a good way?

Do your closest advisers really know what it takes to create and submit a great resume/cover letter specifically for consulting?

Do you think you have a good resume, but wonder just how good it really is?

Are you aware that you’re up against literally hundreds of other supremely qualified candidates?

Introducing our Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible — 73 power-packed pages and 24 templates with specific details to answer all the questions you need to apply successfully, including:

Resume

• What does results-oriented really mean?
• Should my education or experience go first?
• Font size: how small is too small?
• I’m a Ph.D./J.D./I-banker/Experienced hire — can I have a longer resume?

Cover Letter

• Should my cover letter have paragraphs or bullets? Should it be long or short and to-the-point?
• Should I talk more about me, or about the position I want?
• Do consulting reviewers even read cover letters?

Applications

• I am open to working anywhere in the world — how do I choose my office preferences?
• I already have an interview scheduled — how can networking help me now?
• Are there firms other than M/B/B that I should think about applying to?

Why the Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible?

I used to work at Bain in its Atlanta office, and I experienced biannual (full-time and internship recruiting) 450+ resume/cover letter review sessions. All told, over my career, I’ve assessed thousands of applicants. I know what the top consulting firms are looking for…and perhaps more importantly, things NOT TO DO that otherwise will get your application quickly tossed aside.

While I’ve served hundreds of customers with resume and cover letter editing services, and I love personally editing your consulting resumes and cover letters, some of you – especially our student segment – have said that even our super-competitive prices are just too high.

As I’ve conducted extensive line-by-line edits of your resumes, I’ve been developing insights and expertise that I am now putting in your hands, so that you have everything you need to rock your resume and cover letter on your own. It’s like talking directly to me and using my tailored editing services wrapped into one…all for a fraction of the price of the full editing package!

You need to know this up front: getting consulting interviews is hard. What might be right for that corporate or technical role will not fit what consultants are expecting — and they are expecting a lot. You’ll need every edge that you can get.

Oh, and one more HUGE deal (we’re so excited!): we’ve included 12 tailored resume templates and 12 tailored cover letter templates for specific roles. We received so many unbelievably terrible documents through our resume/cover letter editing services that we knew we had to make these available to give you a point of excellence to start from. Here are the types of templates we’ve created:

• Undergrad
• Undergrad with Leadership
• Undergrad Intern
• Finance Guru/I-banking crossover
• MBA
• MBA/Experienced Pro
• Experienced Pro (technical)
• Experienced Lawyer
• Workshop Application
• Max content
• Entrepreneurial
• Ph.D./Advanced degree

We’ve power-packed the pages of the new Bible, making it the only guide you need to create and submit successful consulting applications. We’re sure you want to know more about what’s inside, which is why we created a primer…

Creating a killer consulting resume

• 11 resume mistakes that will cost you your dream interview
• Our deepest innermost secrets – like 8 ways we get all that detail onto 1 page without creating a word wall
• The method to our madness – the step-by-step of editing and why you must explain that scholarship you won
• Word tips – how to use specific words to create a results-driven consulting resume
• 12 templates to format your consulting resume into a pleasing visual presentation

Writing a resounding cover letter

• Formats and elements that work every time, with 12 templates to get you started
• Consulting cover letter structure and style: How to DIY
• Our tricks-of-the-trade – such as using insider consulting lingo that will woo your readers
• How to send subliminal messages – such as why you should tell a story vs. list your accomplishments
• And ultimately…the key difference between a winner and a loser

Sailing through the application process

• Basic tips and tricks that every top candidate knows
• Customizing resumes and cover letters – how to tailor your story for different firms
• Applying off-cycle or from a non-target – secrets to making the most of your opportunity
• Secrets of the online application systems, and how not to get lost in a black hole of nothingness
• How to use your interview at one top firm (or bank) to your advantage – and how to totally ruin your chances
• Tips for getting started on preparing for interviews

What makes The Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible the best resume guide on the market? The guide not only provides specific tips on what reviewers are looking for, but it explains HOW they review and HOW step-by-step to create consulting resumes and cover letters that convey exactly what they are looking for. The 24 real-life MS Word templates also set the guide apart — they don’t just show you what yours should look like and leave you to recreate in the dark, but they give you best-in-class examples that will give you a brand new resume and cover letter in under an hour.

Here are 5 pages — the Table of Contents, a page from the Preface, a sample resume page, a sample consulting cover letter page, and a sample submission strategies page:

Wow, it looks pretty good. What else can you tell me?

Because you’ve read all the way here, I know you’re curious about the exact insights that the Bible offers. Here they are –

For the application review process…

• The secret ranking system of consultant reviewers (pg. 5)
• The process for the call — who is in, who is out, and how they decide between those on the fence (pg. 6-7)

For resume editing…

• 11 resume mistakes that will cost you your dream interview (pg. 9-12)
• Presenting proactive language that will demonstrate your leadership qualities in every situation (pg. 13)
• How to quantify competitive accomplishments so you can stand out from your peers (pg. 13)
• Adding specific metrics to make your resume more readable, believable and memorable (pg. 14)
• How to pick the perfect number of bullets for every resume entry, and why violating this rule will cost you (pg. 14)
• The 21 top action verbs for consulting resumes, and 212 total verbs that you can use for variety! (pg. 17-18)
• The only margin you need to know how to use – and why we use it for every resume we edit (pg. 19)
• The only 8 fonts to use – and when and why to use them (pg. 19)
• What your email address says about you – and why it’s imperative to choose the right one (or sign up for a new one!) (pg. 20)
• The 3 key sections that absolutely must be on every resume (pg. 21)
• The 12 month abbreviations that you should never deviate from (pg. 22)
• How to decide on 1 or 2 spaces between sentences, and why it really does matter (pg. 23)
• How using the date of graduation instead of the years of attendance could save your whole application (pg. 24)
• 2 examples of Personal sections that got interviews for candidates, and how to write your own (pg. 25)
• Why an overview and an objective are absolutely not created equal, and which one to choose (pg. 26)
• When to put your education vs. experience first, and why the answer isn’t as obvious as you might think (pg. 27)
• How to avoid ruining your chances by addressing gaps in the wrong way (pg. 29-30)
• Why the GPA cutoff is real – and what to do if you don’t meet it (pg. 31)
• When relevant coursework is actually relevant, and how to include it constructively (pg. 32)
• How to get up to 4 extra lines on every page, and 11 other tips on condensing your resume into a readable one-pager (pg. 35-36)
• 12 TEMPLATES that you can use to start creating an amazing resume in less than 5 minutes!

For cover letter editing…

• Specific tactics on striking the balance between covering key points and recapping your resume (pg. 39)
• Why “I believe,” “I feel” and “I think” should never be found in your consulting cover letter (pg. 40)
• Why using the mailing address for a firm is a waste of time, and what you should do instead (pg. 41)
• How explaining away terrible results violates an unwritten consulting code, and how to choose alternatives (pg. 42)
• Why consulting firms even have you submit a cover letter, and the top 2 functions the cover letter plays in the process (pg. 43)
• Why matching the cover letter style to your resume is important, and how to do that effectively (pg. 44)
• Where to put your office of choice, and why it absolutely must be on the cover letter (pg. 45)
• The 9 classifications of career stages you can use to know which role you should apply for (pg. 46)
• Proper (and improper) headings for the consulting cover letter – and why anonymous starts are okay (pg. 46)
• 5 key factors you should use to choose which experiences to highlight in your cover letter (pg. 49-50)
• The only 3 cover letter styles that matter – and why they should matter to you (pg. 50-52)
• One unspoken rule that must never be broken for any cover letter at any time (pg. 52)
• 10-part anatomy of a consulting cover letter – a DIY guide (pg. 53)
• The make-or-break way to name-drop in the consulting cover letter (pg. 55)
• 12 TEMPLATES that you can use to start creating an amazing cover letter in less than 5 minutes!

For submission strategies…

• The right way and the wrong way to name your documents — and why the firms even give a darn (pg. 59)
• How to get noticed from an off-cycle or non-target school (pg. 60)
• 3 questions you absolutely must answer before submitting your application online (pg. 61-62)
• 4 ways to ensure you never end up in application oblivion (pg. 62-64)
• 3 tips for contacting recruiters that will double your chances of getting a response (pg. 63-66)
• 100+ firms that are worth applying to (pg. 68-73)

The Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible goes way beyond building the latest and greatest resume that far surpasses those of your friends, peers, and other candidates — it teaches you how to present yourself in a direct and confident way that will carry over through your entire interview process.

Of course, our Consulting Resume and Cover Letter Bible could go from “great” to “crazy-great.”