Management Consultant Resume Example

In the article, you'll find guidance on creating a management consultant resume that showcases desirable qualities for senior management and director-level appointments. The article will equip you with tips for highlighting your long-term vision and demonstrating how your leadership has produced successful outcomes for organizations. There are also plenty of tips for presenting your resume in a way that makes a strong impact with decision makers. Continue reading to discover valuable insights from Jobseeker's career experts, to help you create a winning management consultant resume.

Main elements of a management consultant resume

It's essential to include a few core sections in your management consultant resume, while there are also a few optional sections you can make use of to strengthen your application.

You will have some choice over your resume layout and structure, but be sure to include these sections as the core of your document:

Resume Header with Contact Details

Your management consultant resume header should contain your name and contact details. These include your email address and phone number. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can also add that, to give employers the chance to learn more about your skills and experience. It's not necessary to include a photo or any other personal information. Create a clear, well-structured header that acts as the headline of your resume. Use color accents and blocks to help this section stand out and catch the eye of the reader.

Make sure your email address appears as professional as possible, and doesn't include anything like nicknames, inappropriate language or personal information. If it does, set up a new email account with an address based on your name or initials, and use that for your job applications. Always double-check your contact details are up-to-date before sending your resume.

Resume Summary

Next, write a short paragraph to introduce yourself. You could also call this section 'resume summary' or 'personal profile'. In two or three sentences, explain your professional background, achievements and key skills. If you choose to write a resume summary, this focuses on your career experience to date. On the other hand, a resume objective addresses your future plans and career ambitions. Furthermore, when writing your profile, focus on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for management consultant roles.

Alternatively, you could use this section to reference your objectives and ambitions, and how this role would fit into your career journey.

A great resume summary should highlight why you're an ideal candidate for management consultant roles by showing key skills and qualities that reflect the job description and provide evidence to support them. It should also introduce your personality and unique qualities to the reader, to help them start to form an opinion about you as a candidate. Take a look at some strong examples of how to approach a management consultant resume summary in the graphic below.

Conversely, a bad resume summary might be too generic, lacking focus on the specifics of the job description. It will also fail to provide any useful insights on what makes you a unique candidate. In the graphic above you can find some negative examples of how to write a resume summary.

Work Experience

In your work experience section, list any previous relevant roles you've worked in, as well as your key achievements as a management consultant. Mention only the most appropriate and relevant jobs you've had in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent and working backwards. Add your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the role and your dates of employment.

Under each job entry, add several bullet points highlighting your responsibilities and achievements. Consult the job description for a list of the key requirements for the role and make sure your work experience section showcases how you meet these requirements.

If you're writing a management consultant resume resume, you can afford to make your work experience section a little longer and more detailed than a traditional resume. Roles at this level require plenty of experience and examples of your achievements, so an extended work experience may be necessary. There aren't any hard and fast rules over how long to make your management consultant resume work experience section, how far back to go or how many roles to include. However, many people consider 10 to 15 years to be sufficient. For management consultant jobs, you may wish to go back further, assuming you have the experience.

An effective resume work experience section is one that constantly echoes the skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you used your skills to positive effect in each job. Each bullet point should be carefully crafted to showcase a particular skill or achievement relevant to management consultant jobs, with evidence to show the value you added. Review some strong examples of resume work experience sections in the graphic below.

The example above can give you some idea of what not to include in your resume work experience section. A poor resume work experience section would typically use vague descriptions of activities in previous jobs, while focusing too much on responsibilities rather than achievements. Failing to focus on the skills and experience that match the job description is likely to harm your chances of success.

Education

In your education section, include details of your most relevant management consultant qualifications and educational achievements.

If you're applying for management consultant positions you'll typically need to have a degree. A Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) will usually help your chances of success. You could also list any qualifications that demonstrate your financial modeling skills or project management expertise.

List every relevant qualification, including the name and level of the course, the name of the school, college or university, its location and your graduation date. You can also add some bullet points outlining any high grades, awards you won or specialist subjects you studied. Adding this information will show the employer your dedication to learning and your areas of specialist knowledge.

If you were a member of any clubs or societies, or volunteered for any causes while studying, you could also mention these in your education section.

Skills

The skills section is one of the main ways to show employers you've got the skills required for management consultant roles. Whether your skills include project management expertise, problem-solving abilities or any other useful skills for the role, you'll want to list them here. Again, include any skills that match those listed in the job description. Focus particularly on technical skills required for management consultant jobs and transferable skills that show your qualities as a management consultant.

How to include hard skills on your management consultant resume

Hard skills are the key technical skills required for management consultant positions. They include specific industry knowledge and abilities that you could learn on the job, or through a specialist qualification. Furthermore, your list of hard skills provides a strong indication to the reader of your expertise in management consultant roles, and how well you'll fit into the position. It's best to aim for four or five key hard skills that match the job description. These can really showcase your suitability for the job.

Your resume hard skills list should reflect your unique and specific industry expertise and experience, while also fulfilling the requirements listed in the job description. See the examples below for an idea of what an effective management consultant resume hard skills list looks like.

How to list soft skills on your management consultant resume

Your soft skills are the core qualities and personal characteristics that make you a good employee. They tend to apply to multiple professions and jobs, though the soft skills you'll require may change as you move from junior to senior positions. In fact, you can develop soft skills throughout your career, and they tend to be suitable for various roles and professions.

You should generally look to include up to five soft or transferable skills that match the job description. For senior management consultant candidates, it's essential to focus on leadership skills in the soft skills section of your resume.

A good soft skills section would include skills that match the job description, and also reflect your key strengths and qualities. See the graphic below for an indication of what to include in a strong soft skills section for a management consultant resume.

Relevant Certifications and Licenses

Your certifications section is the place to mention any relevant professional management consultant certifications, licenses or qualifications. These could be professional accreditations and licenses, or certifications that improve your level of suitability for the position. Therefore, add any necessary licenses and certifications in this section, along with valid dates so employers can see you're still qualified for the job.

Take a look at some example certifications for a management consultant resume below:

Optional Resume Sections

There are several additional sections you could add to a management consultant resume, to improve your chances of success. Add any of the sections below that help you showcase your key skills and experience.

Hobbies

Including your hobbies and interests can be a valuable way of showing your key skills and qualities. Consider listing hobbies and interests to help your resume stand out, or to provide the employer with some insight into your personality and wider interests. They're perfect for candidates who might lack genuine work experience as a management consultant. If you're thinking about adding hobbies and interests, just make sure they add something unique to your application, and showcase your personality and interests in unique and interesting ways.

Voluntary Work

If you're lacking relevant management consultant work experience, volunteer work can help to show you still have the relevant skills. Write your volunteer section in a similar format to your work experience, including your role, the organization name, relevant dates and the details of your contribution.

References

Standard management consultant resumes don't tend to include references, but you might find them requested occasionally. Check the job advert to see if you'll need to add references to your resume. Only include referees that you've had prior approval from, and notify them to expect contact from the employer.

Best action words for your management consultant resume

Action words can help illustrate to the hiring manager the difference you made in each of your previous jobs. The suggested action verbs below will help the reader to understand your key qualities and the impact you made on the organization.

For management consultant roles, your resume length can often be longer than the standard of one to two pages. You'll want plenty of space to prove you've got the necessary experience and standing to take on such a senior position. As such, it's not unusual to submit a resume longer than two pages. Jobseeker's clean, attractive resume formats can help your applications make a strong impression on employers. Check them out for help designing a winning resume, and see our cover letter templates to help win over recruiters and hiring managers.

Example resume for management consultant applications

Now that you know everything that needs to go into your management consultant resume, let's review an example resume that you can use as a guide when creating your own:

Making an ATS-friendly resume

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) help recruiters and employers to manage their hiring process. They can handle some of the more time-consuming and resource-intensive jobs, such as initial screening of resumes. Employers often receive hundreds of applications per vacancy, and ATS software can quickly and accurately scan and rank resumes based on their likely suitability for any role. When writing your management consultant resume, a few simple tips can help you pass the ATS stage with a higher-ranking resume, giving you a better chance of success with your applications.

Follow these simple rules when writing your resume, to make sure it's ATS compliant:

• Use a traditional resume layout, such as a reverse-chronological or functional format. This will mean your resume includes all the necessary sections, in the expected order.
• Add keywords throughout your resume that help ATS software match your application to the job description. A higher match means your application is more likely to proceed to be reviewed by human eyes.
• Add each section with clear headings that match the established resume conventions, so ATS software can easily identify each part of your resume.
• Adopt a resume design that uses clear, professional design principles and leaves white space for your content to breathe. Use the most readable fonts and incorporate subtle design elements to enhance the readability of your document.
• Adopt simple, professional language to keep your resume as concise as possible. This tends to make your document more readable, and easier for ATS software to scan.

Takeaways for a winning management consultant resume

The key to a strong resume is to showcase your relevant skills and achievements through your work experience and other activities. Choose a resume structure that makes the most of your relevant experience, whether through work or other activities, and be sure to tailor your resume to match the job description.

HR-approved resume templates and other tools by Jobseeker are the easiest way to create a winning job application. Sign up and follow the simple instructions to complete a resume that stands out from the crowd. A stylish, professional cover letter can make all the difference to your job prospects. See Jobseeker's cover letter examples, written by careers experts, to help you craft an eye-catching application.

Sources:

(1) Overcoming the Most Common Challenges in the Executive Job Search, MIT Career Development Office: https://cdo.mit.edu/blog/2024/10/15/overcoming-the-most-common-challenges-in-the-executive-job-search/

(2) How to Impress an Executive Recruiter and Break Into the C-Suite, Harvard Division of Continuing Education: https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/how-to-impress-an-executive-recruiter-and-break-into-the-c-suite/