A resume screening process can end in one of two results. You will be hired, or you will not be hired. Sometimes, if you are not hired, you will get some feedback regarding why this decision was made; however, it is usually fairly general. “Needs work experience.” is a common reason.
Here we will present some valuable information regarding the review process used by consultants to sort through resumes. Additionally, we will provide some insight into the difference between a finance review and a consulting review.
You may wonder who is the head of the process.
When it comes to resume review, there is a team of managers, associates and analysts. Here are some things you can count on:
1. The review team will consist of three to five people who will look at your resume individually and as a group.
Secondly, your team will be made up of MBAs, graduates, and undergraduates from your school.
Finally, the full committee will make the ultimate decisions.
Initially, senior members of the group will not be involved. Nor will finance. They will come into the process for interviewing and to make offers. While it may seem that this indicates these folks trust the junior team members, it is more likely that this situation is just a matter of budgeting both money and time.
Click here for more on differences between consulting and i-banking.
Someone who has a background similar to yours will be consulted regarding your resume. Say you are an engineering undergraduate at Columbia. An engineering undergraduate from Columbia will be asked about things like your involvement in student groups, your GPA, and so forth.
What are the steps that make up the process?
A pack of resumes is given to each individual on the review team. These packs may contain 50-300 resumes each. Often, consulting letters are taken out of the packs, so it is very important that your resume say it all.
Resumes will be reviewed for no more than thirty seconds each by finance and about a minute each by the consultants.
After the consultants have reviewed the resumes individually, the team will look at each resume as a group. The will compare notes and insights. This is the decision-making time.
They will be looking for the following:
You may remember from the article on tips for creating a consulting resume that items like work experience, leadership, and academic success can make or break a resume.
Click here for more on how to make a management consulting resume.