Business Consultant Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Business Consultant resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Business consultants help their clients identify and solve problems. They work with companies of all sizes to develop strategies for growth and improvement, identify areas of opportunity, and implement solutions. And because consulting firms tend to work with a wide range of clients in different industries, business consultants are often exposed to a diverse range of challenges and opportunities.
As a business consultant, you might help a company develop a new product or service, implement a sales strategy, or find ways to cut costs. You could also advise an organization on how to grow their market share or improve their bottom line. Business consultants work closely with clients to understand their needs and goals, identify potential solutions, and implement recommendations.
Before you can begin doing all this great work, you need a stellar resume that will help you land the job. Here are some tips plus an example for reference when writing yours.
How to Write a Business Consultant Resume
Here’s how to write a business consultant resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Bullet points are the most important part of your resume because they’re the first thing recruiters and hiring managers will see. And they’re the best way to showcase your experience and qualifications.
So it’s crucial that you use them to your advantage. And the best way to do that is to use them to tell a story about your experience. So rather than just listing your responsibilities, you can describe the results of your work.
For example, rather than saying you “conducted market research and analyzed data to identify opportunities for growth,” you could say you “conducted market research and analyzed data to identify opportunities for growth, resulting in a 15% increase in sales for new product line.”
Related: What Is a Business Consultant? How to Become One
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you submit your resume online, it’s likely that it will be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. These programs search for certain terms related to the job opening to determine whether your skills and experience are a match. If your resume doesn’t include enough of the right terms, the ATS might not rank it high enough for a recruiter to see.
One way to make sure your resume includes the right keywords is to take a look at some of the job postings you’re applying for and take note of the terms that are used most frequently. Then, use those same terms throughout your resume by including them in your work experience, skills, summary, and cover letter. Here are some of the most commonly used keywords for business consultant positions:
- Business Consulting
- Business Strategy
- Strategic Planning
- Business Process Improvement
- Business Analysis
- Management Consulting
- Marketing Strategy
- Team Leadership
- Consulting
- Digital Marketing
- Leadership
- Change Management
- Sales
- Project Management
- Marketing
- Business Development
- Negotiation
- Financial Analysis
- Account Management
- Public Relations
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Business Transformation
- Customer Experience
- Strategy
- Microsoft Access
- Management
- Research
- Employee Engagement
- Project Planning
- Organizational Development
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As a business consultant, you are responsible for providing advice and guidance to your clients on a wide range of business-related topics. In order to be successful in this role, you need to be proficient in the use of a variety of software and systems. This might include programs like Microsoft Office Suite, Salesforce, and QuickBooks. Additionally, business consultants need to be familiar with business concepts and practices, like marketing, accounting, and human resources.
So if you have experience with any of these programs or concepts, be sure to list them on your resume. And if you’re not familiar with them, now is the time to learn them!
Related: How Much Does a Business Consultant Make?
Remember The Basics
As you’re writing your resume, you’ll want to keep a few basic guidelines in mind.
Make Your Resume Easy to Scan
There are a few things you can do to make your resume more readable and easier to scan. First, use left-aligned text, a standard font type and size, and bullets instead of paragraphs to list your experiences. You should also use all-caps and bold sparingly, and keep your bullets under two lines. Additionally, you can include some white space on the page to make the document easier to scan.
Be Concise
A resume should typically be one page long if you have less than five to eight years of professional experience. For those with more experience or an extensive academic background, a two-page resume would be ideal. When trimming down a resume, remove irrelevant information, filler words, and unnecessary details.
Proofread
Proofreading your resume is important to ensure that it looks its best. Spelling mistakes, punctuation mistakes, and grammatical mistakes can all be easily corrected with a careful eye. Having someone else proofread your resume is also helpful, as they can catch mistakes that you may have missed.
Consider a Summary
As a job seeker, you can use a resume summary statement to provide context for your experience and explain how your skills might translate into a new role. This statement can be a great way to play up your relevant soft skills, mention your most highly transferable experiences, and clearly state your intentions. When executed well, a summary statement can help to bridge the gap between your past experience and future goals, giving recruiters a better understanding of how you can contribute to their organization.
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