Below is part 1 of a series on the biggest 10 mistakes in management consulting resumes. Some overlap with my post on the top 10 management consulting resume tips, but most are unique to this article.
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 method that helps is careful line spacing. Expand and shrink empty lines in your resume by manipulating the default font size.
A few areas where good spacing is critical:
-Between the section title (eg, “Professional experience”) and the first description (eg, “Google internship”)
-Between each experience within the category
-At the end of a clunk and the beginning of a separate section
-At the page margins - nothing less than 0.5″ (vertical and horizontal)
Ignore it and your resume will be a sore sight for the eyes.
2. Insufficient data and numbers
Data and numbers are the most visible and eye-catching part of your resume - like your SAT score, GPA, quantitative results at work.
Numbers help your resume 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 full of text” disease
-Help your resume be more results-focused
3. Missing a personal hobbies section
Use only one line, avoid generic hobby descriptions, don’t put more than five.
4. Meaningless, generic awards/scholarships
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.
5. Long lists of classes taken
It’s great that you took “Technology Management”. Only:
-No one knows what that class is about
-No consultant cares about what you covered
-No reviewer will understand how that applies to consulting
It’s alright to list tough coursework on your resume (eg, Advanced Statistics 303). But do so only if:
-It’s clear what the course covers
-What the course is about is very technical and challenging
-You don’t list more than 3-5 courses
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