Resume / CV Reviews: How to make a killer CV?

This section of my blog is called: “The Free Advice Section”

As you will notice, in the next few articles (and the preceding few as well), I will be / have been disbursing free advice. There are two reasons why I am doing so. One, I am jobless. Two, as Baz Luhrmann says, “Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it’s worth.”

First of all, why do you need a killer CV? Remember, Consulting is the most sought after career at ISB, and any decent consulting job posting will have 300 odd applicants. Obviously, not all 300 would be interviewed. A shortlist of around 40 people would be released – who would eventually be interviewed on the D-Day. A killer CV gets you this shortlist.

So how do you make a killer CV? If you are studying at ISB, you will be fortunate enough to be guided by the strong Alumni network that will help you constantly to shape up your CV. Sometimes so much that you might feel a little bugged. While getting your resume reviewed by an Alum, remember one thing – every individual has a point of view which is based on how things have worked out for him, and hence could be entirely different from someone else’s. There is only so much that can be done to a particular resume. Once you start getting cosmetic recommendations for your CV, it is time to stop getting your CV reviewed anymore.

In this article all I will try to do is to give some broad pointers that you should keep in mind while preparing a CV. And yes, I am referring to a Consulting CV in particular – because that’s the only type of CV I prepared, and hence my area of expertise. However, most of the points are very generic in nature and should apply to any CV in general. These points are a recollection of things I remember from the numerous resume review sessions I attended at ISB.

 There are three elements to a great CV:

1. Aesthetics
2. Structure
3. Content

Aesthetics

In simple words, the CV should look good when printed on an A4 size sheet. Stick to the ISB format, i.e. have three sections – Education, Work Experience and Extra Curricular. I would recommend the Times New Roman font, with a font size no less than 10.5. Needless to say, the alignment of sections across the resume should be uniform. For the CV to look good there has to be sufficient amount of white space in the CV, i.e. leave sufficient margins on the sides and sufficient space in between sections. Also, ensure that the three sections are clearly demarcated from one another. You may wish to bold/ italic certain sections in your resume, but remember not to overuse it. Only bold/ italic those points that you do not want the interviewer to miss.

Structure

Of course the CV needs to be structured – it’s a CV for a consulting job! First thing to keep in mind is the relative size of the three sections in your resume. The longest section should be the section that you want to highlight the most. The resume should be based around a theme and each point should highlight one element in the theme. I would recommend adding an “Achievements” sub-section to include points that you want the interviewer to take note of. For the Work Experience part of the resume, you should definitely have a synthesis statement – which is essentially a two line brief of what roles you have performed and what is the key message you want to convey.

Content

A cliché – Last but not the Least! Content is the “Meat” of the resume (okay, for my vegetarian friends, “Tofu” of the resume). Make sure the content clearly highlights three qualities about you that you want the interviewer to note. Once you have made your resume, take feedback from people on what are the qualities that are actually being highlighted by your resume. The sequence of the bullet points in each section is also very important. Always start with the strongest point – even if that means sacrificing the chronological order of events. Remember, the CV is not a dessert – never leave good things for the end! You must also try to ensure that all the bullet points follow the C-A-R or the R-A-C structure (C=Complexity, A=Action, R=Result). My preference has always been towards the R-A-C structure, which essentially means that you state the result upfront, then elaborate on what all you did to achieve the result and finally state the complexity of the task at hand. Always make an attempt to quantify the result – if not in terms of money, then in terms of some other proxy such as time. Lastly, avoid using jargon/ technical terms that people may not understand. As a thumb rule, avoid using terms that a person outside your industry/ domain is unlikely to know.

PS: If any of you have a specific query or want to get your CV reviewed, do write to me. I will try to do my best / bit.