When you submit your resume for a screening process, you know that you will hear one of two things, “You’re hired!” or “We regret to inform you”. Occasionally, you will be told why you did not get the position you wanted, but it is usually not very specific feedback. “Not a good fit.” is frequently used.

We hope to be able to clarify, in this article, how resumes are read by consultants. Additionally, we want to point out some big differences between finance and consulting.

You may wonder who is the head of the process.

For resume review, there is usually a team that consists of associates, analysts, and managers. There are a few things that will always stay the same:

1. The review team will consist of three to five people who will look at your resume individually and as a group.

Second, undergraduates, graduates, and MBAs from your school will comprise the team.

Third, the final decision will be made by the committee.

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 business consulting and banking.

Questions regarding your involvement in student groups, your GPA, and other such matters will be fielded by someone whose background is similar to yours. If you are an engineering undergraduate from Columbia, an engineering undergraduate from Columbia will surely be involved in the review process.

What happens in the process?

The members of the review team each get a packet of resumes. They may each get anywhere from fifty to three hundred resumes. Many times the consulting letters are removed from the packs. That’s another reason why you should put your greatest efforts into producing an excellent resume.

Resumes will be reviewed for no more than thirty seconds each by finance and about a minute each by the consultants.

Following individual review, the consultants will get together as a group to look the resumes over. Then they will discuss the resumes, compare notes, and make decisions.

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.