consulting cv scoring self assessment guide 26 02 10

J-P Martins, Associate Director Consulting Careers

www.problemssolved.org

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Consulting Careers

Strategy Consulting CV Self-Assessment Tool

Introduction

Using this tool, you can assess your own CV for your ‘hirability’ for strategy consulting. The tool is a beta – a work in progress, and relies on many subjective assessments. Its results cannot be relied upon, except when applied by an expert. The main benefit of using the tool is to go through the process of self-analysis of your CV. I urge you to review your own CV against those of your ‘competition’ – people in your class, school, or who you know have (or have not) succeeded in getting consulting interviews.

Recent studies1 show the approach has some statistical relevance when used appropriately, by an experienced consulting recruiter. The tool produces a ‘CV Score’ out of 10. My personal ‘shortlisting’ cutoff is 8 out of 10 – students scoring 9 or 10/10 were recently found to have a 46% chance of securing an offer for a consulting summer internship, with those scoring 8/10 having a 35% chance. This figure drops to 8% for 6 or 7/10, 6% for 4 or 5/10, and 0% below that. However, I repeat that the approach is dependent on subjective assessment and discretion – I am trying to codify the know-how but there is a long way to go before the tool is bullet-proof for untrained use.

Please read and consider the following sections:

Academic Rate your academic performance out of 4 Professional Rate your professional experience out of 4 ‘Other’ Rate your ‘other’ information out of 2 Exceptions Consider what specific exceptions might apply in your case

1 Study not yet complete, on sample of MBA first year students applying for summer

internships in 2010



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Academic

Allocate your score out of 4 Consider:

What subject was your undergraduate degree in?

How good was your school?

How good was your undergraduate performance?

What is your GMAT?

Are you on the Dean’s list for your MBA?

Do you have other evidence of outstanding academic performance?

How do these things add up to a score out of 4?

My thoughts… Some suggestions based on how I score these: (very much a work in progress, and UK-centric so you will have to calibrate for other educational systems, institutions etc)

Undergraduate degree subjects

Subjects Category

‘Softer’, non quant subjects, including business, commerce, management Less good

Maths, science, engineering, economics Good

Double majors as above Very good

Undergraduate School

Schools Category

Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, LSE Top school

Other Russell Group Good School

All others Unheard of School



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My thoughts contd…

Undergraduate degree performance

Result

First, or

Dean's list, top few %, great scholarships

2/1

Top school Outstanding Very good

Good school Very good Good School

Unheard of school Good OK

Scoring

Performance Outstanding Very good Good OK

Very good 4 4 4 2

Good 4 4 3 2 Subjects

Less good 3 3 2 1

Modify this base scoring by:

Extra mark: GMAT >729 (max still 4 marks), or Dean’s list at business school

Discretionary extra mark: GMAT 700-729 (based on gut feel)

Discretionary extra mark: very good subjects or other evidence of academic excellence eg multiple 'A-levels', finishing high school/graduating early, amazing prizes, scholarships... based on gut feel, but benefit of doubt NOT given)



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Professional


Have you the right length of experience?

Do you have recognisable brand names on your CV?

Have you experienced rapid (fast-track) career progression?

How do these things add up to a score out of 4?

Remember to compare with your peers/competitors. Review other applicants’ (or past applicants’) CVs. If you are a student at London Business School, you can see other students’ CVs on Career Central.

My thoughts… Some suggestions on how I score these:

Outstanding (4 out of 4)

3-5 years' experience, including:

Recognisable/leading brand names (blue chip);

Rapid career progression;

Major achievements (eg special strategy projects, solved tough analytical problems etc)

Very good (3 out of 4)

Most but not all the above

Good (2 out of 4)

Some of the above

Modifiers

Modify this scoring by:

Discount 1 mark: purely sales and marketing, accounting, other non-problem solving technical roles (not including scientific, engineering, statistical or ops roles here)

Discretionary discount 1 mark: very narrow geographic span (ie experience confined to just one country – especially if not Western Europe/North America)



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‘Other’


How does your CV rate you as ‘an interesting person to talk to’?

Do you demonstrate exceptional drive or accomplishment?

Are you a passionate person?

How do these things translate into a score out of 2?

My thoughts… Few people score 2 out of 2

This is very hard to systematise!

No marks for:

Lists of activities, interests or clubs (eg cycling, photography, food or Consulting Club, Finance Club, Women in Business Club)

Executive positions in business school clubs

Charity, pro bono activities per se

Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro

One mark for regular competitive sport, clear passion, drive, commitment, success

Two marks for exceptional, out of the ordinary, recent examples include

Representing your country at sport

Climbing peaks on 5 continents

Writing a blog in search of regional cuisine in a foreign country

Pilot’s licence (except if your profession!)

Winning national photography competition



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Exceptions

Of course, there are many exceptions to the above ‘rules’. You can ‘boost’ your score, or you can ‘wreck’ it depending on to whom and where you apply. With all of the following exceptions, you really need to understand your potential strengths and weaknesses as well as the demands of the particular recruiters to whom you are thinking of applying.

Languages

You must meet the language requirements of the firms/offices you are applying for. Especially in Europe, firms without widespread office networks in particular will value fluency in numerous regional languages (ie in Europe – European languages).

Geographic ‘connection’

Increasingly, firms are seeking strong geographic connection with the offices to which you apply. This means either being a national, or having lived and worked in the country for a substantial period previously. Specific requirements vary greatly, by recruiter and country. A good guideline is McKinsey’s stated general policy (even they make exceptions though): if you were educated in a country, you need at least 1 year’s experience working there. If you were not educated in a country, you need 2.

Sector or functional specialisation

Too many to mention, but examples of experiences that are highly sought after by recent recruiters from London Business School include:

Defence

Public Sector

Aerospace

Pharmaceuticals

Telecommunications

Supply chain

Lean/operations improvement

Sales and marketing

Previous consulting experience

This is nearly irrelevant to most strategy consulting recruiters. However some, in particular smaller, firms may place particularly high value on previous consulting experience.

consulting cv scoring self assessment guide 26 02 10

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