How To Write a Management Consultant Resume
As a management consultant, each role you undertake is a unique chapter in your professional journey, and your resume should reflect this narrative. Potential employers need to know you can work with local and global companies to identify and solve problems on all levels – business, operational, and organizational. In this guide, we’ll examine the nuances of crafting a document that resonates with hiring managers and provide strategies to help you write your best resume.
- Entry-level
- Mid-career
- Senior-level
1. Create a profile by summarizing your management consultant qualifications
Your profile should catch hiring managers’ attention and convince them your resume is worth reading. Give a snapshot of your work experience by mentioning how many years you’ve worked as a management consultant. Provide your job title and a few achievements to emphasize your expertise and value to potential clients or employers.
For instance, share any certifications or training that make you an expert in a particular field or industry, such as health care, finance, or technology. If you excel in data analysis, mention how you’ve used data-driven insights to inform strategic decisions and drive business improvements.
Senior-Level Profile Example:
Accomplished management consultancy principal with over 10 years at globally recognized firms. Specialize in guiding operational change for aviation and auto industry clients. Drove positive client results, including $5 million in annual savings, 20% reduced wait times, and 35% higher client satisfaction scores.
Entry-Level Profile Example:
Hardworking management consultant with two years of experience. Information technology (IT) expert and former systems analyst with an MBA in Business Technology Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Recognized for work speed, quality, and reliability at both McKinsey and Highmark.
2. Outline your management consultant experience in a compelling list
Businesses need management consultants who can help transform and grow an organization. Show your talent for setting high-impact business strategies with an accomplishment-driven professional experience section. Use specific metrics and data to validate your skills and assure employers that you can deliver the outcomes they’re looking for.
Highlight your capacity to work with executives and senior team members to define success and ensure everyone has the skills and resources necessary to achieve it. Show how you used mindset and methodology to improve processes and get results.
Senior-Level Professional Experience Example:
Principal
Bain & Company, Seattle, WA | September 2017 to present
- Oversee production of and present research to aviation client executives
- Cultivate strong client relationships by providing consistent service quality
Highlights:
- Introduced lean principles for various aviation clients’ baggage check-in, reducing wait times by up to 50%
- Partnered with senior leadership to help American Airlines improve flight operations, reducing departure delays by 23%
Entry-Level Professional Experience Example:
Management Consultant – Technology
McKinsey & Company, Pittsburgh, PA | December 2020 to present
- Design strategies for companies looking to grow or compete in the global electronic economy
- Pinpoint and assess complex business and technology risks, create performance indicators, and plan for transitions to new processes
- Named “Business Technology Management Consultant of the Year” at McKinsey’s Pittsburgh Branch in 2020 for consistently positive project outcomes
- Frequently requested by clients for work on IT solutions to common business problems
3. List any education and certifications relevant to management consultants
Post-secondary education is often a baseline requirement for management consultant roles, but if you have certifications pertinent to management consulting, feature those as well. While clients or employers may not require credentials for the role, these specializations can help you stand out from other applicants. They show your commitment to staying up-to-date on industry trends and best practices.
You instantly add credibility to your resume with a designation like Certified Management Consultant (CMC). This credential is recognized in over 50 countries and can open up opportunities for you to work on international projects.
Education
Template
- [Degree Name]
- [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example
- Bachelor of Science (BS) in Information Technology
- University of Missouri, Columbia, MO | 2016
Certifications
Template
- [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization] | [Completion Year]
Example
- Certified Management Consultant (CMC), Institute of Management Consultants | 2016
4. List management consultant-related skills and proficiencies
Display your qualifications and unique consultant expertise with a dedicated key skills section. Review the job posting to identify what abilities the employer is looking for. Then, craft your skills section to align with these requirements, demonstrating your fit for the position and optimizing your resume for applicant tracking systems (ATS). Explore our list of examples below to get familiar with the types of skills you can expect to see in your search for a management consultant position:
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Business strategy | Change management |
| Conflict resolution | Data analysis |
| Financial analysis | Presentations |
| Problem-solving | Process optimization |
| Project management | Relationship building |
| Stakeholder management | Statistical analysis |
| Strategic planning | Supply chain management |
5. Highlight your industry knowledge
Clients or employers in different industries often have unique challenges and regulations. Show your industry knowledge to assure hiring managers that you grasp these intricacies and can offer custom solutions.
How To Pick the Best Management Consultant Resume Template
As you search for the right template, look for a clean and organized layout. Your document should be easy to navigate and read. Opt for a design with ample white space, clear sections, and consistent formatting. Also, ensure the template is easy to customize. While templates provide structure, they should still let you adjust headings, fonts, and colors to match your personal brand.
Management Consultant Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
- Entry-level
- Mid-career
- Senior-level
Cindy Redmon
(123) 456-7891
[email protected]
2544 Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27615
Profile
Certified Management Consultant and Certified Public Accountant who excels as a leader in L.E.K Consulting’s change management division. Valued consultant and industry expert in financial services. Strong technical writing skills and adaptability to dynamic work environments. Master of Business Administration.
Professional Experience
Manager, L.E.K. Consulting, Raleigh, NC | August 2018 to Present
- Coach senior executives on Agile method at 15 Fortune 500 firms
- Contribute to white papers on common goods, services, and solutions for finance corporations
- Lead and guide junior consultants within Financial Services
Highlight:
- Broke office’s record for most client project acquisitions in a quarter
Senior Consultant, L.E.K. Consulting, Durham, NC | August 2016 to July 2018
- Presented risk assessments and recommendations to client executives
- Pinpointed key data needs and instituted suitable collection processes, analytical techniques, and reporting formats
- Helped client develop new organizational structure that lowered labor costs and raised staff productivity
- Assisted in set-up and maintenance of Oracle professional communities for multiple clients
Staff Accountant, KPMG, Charlotte, NC | September 2014 to July 2016
- Helped produce tax returns for various corporations
- Prepared license renewals for businesses, including fee calculations
Highlights:
- Updated training program, enabling new accountants to complete the course in 3 weeks rather than 6
- Completed ~450 sales tax returns
Education
Master of Business Administration, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | 2014
Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Sierra Nevada University, Incline Village, NV | 2012
Key Skills
- Financial Analysis
- Spreadsheets
- Data Collection
- Decision-Making
- Business Strategy
Certifications
Certified Management Consultant (CMC), Institute of Management Consultants | 2016
Certified Public Accountant (CPA), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants | 2010
Frequently Asked Questions: Management Consultant Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for management consultant resumes?-
As you write your resume, it may be hard to find the right words to describe your work. Action verbs can help you illustrate your achievements and energize your writing. Consider using some of the action verbs below as you write the professional experience section of your management consultant resume:
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Analyzed | Assessed |
| Collaborated | Developed |
| Drove | Facilitated |
| Led | Managed |
| Optimized | Oversaw |
| Planned | Presented |
| Recommended | Strategized |
| Streamlined | Synthesized |
| Transformed | Validated |
| Visualized | |
How do you align your resume with a job posting?-
Jobs for management consultants, also known as management analysts, are projected to grow by 11% between 2021 and 2031. While new management consulting jobs are numerous, so are qualified candidates. Applicants seeking the field's top roles will likely face stiff competition.
To align your resume with each job posting, reflect on your experiences and highlight skills and achievements from your background that overlap with the role. Demonstrate how you've successfully tackled similar challenges. For instance, if a health care facility seeks a consultant with experience leading a cross-functional team, showcase your ability to lead doctors, nurses, and other medical staff. Describe how you led teams to implement quality improvement projects, execute clinical trials, or optimize revenue cycle processes.
What is the best management consultant resume format?-
Most management consultants should use the combination (or hybrid) format. True to its name, this format combines two important features of other resume formats: the chronological format’s experience section and the functional format’s profile section.
A combination resume offers the best of both worlds by fusing these two sections. The experience section lets you outline your recent work history – essential information for most employers. At the same time, the profile section lets you display your career highlights at the top, regardless if they’re from that work history or another part of your background.
The resulting resume is straightforward yet strategic. It gives hiring managers the clearest possible view of your background and relevant skills, so they can decide to proceed with your candidacy.
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