Critque Resume, Cover letter and essay for APD candidate for McKinsey.
Hey Guys,
This is a draft version of my resume, cover letter and essay. I removed a lot of identifiable information, so the formatting got messed up. But I am wondering if you guys could give me any suggestions regarding the content. I am still editing all the documents, and I will update these clean versions, to reflect those changes as I make it.
This is a resume for a APD candidate, so has publications, conference papers, as directed by the recruiter at McKinsey & Company. (spelled correctly with a capital K :) ).
I have enabled comments in the document, so you can leave your comments there as well.
Go ahead humiliate me. Pretty please. :)
Thanks
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| resume_7_18_2014_clean_wso.docx_.pdf 402.77 KB | 402.77 KB |
| Conflict resolution essay_ clean.pdf 178.64 KB | 178.64 KB |
| cover letter_7_18_2014_clean_wso.pdf 70.42 KB | 70.42 KB |
even though I didn’t understand everything, I was humbled by the diversity of knowledge and talent that is present at McKinsey. >>> why would you want to say you can't even understand their publication? being humble doesn't get you a job.
Your conflict essay doesn't really explain how you solved a conflict. It shows how you went behind someone's back and got someone side to sort it out for you. In my mind they are looking for your social and persuasion skills in a question like that, even if it is coming out and telling a guy who is not pulling his weight, to pull his socks up.
I think that's a problem with your CV as well, you come across as a little boring and socially inept in terms of your activities being engineering and consulting clubs. You don't seem like the guy to pass the airplane test - would someone want to spend 10 hours on a plane next to you. You've got to come across as more interesting and fun. Obviously I am not intending to insult you, nor do I think what you write on a resume is a reflection of your character necessarily.
Also I am not an expert on PhD resumes. However mine is one page. I found yours a bit boring to read and got a bit lost. A recruiter probably has much less time than that. True, I once read a partner's CV from Bain and it was like 3/4 pages long...but he was like a super senior dude, and I'm a grunt guy. If you're not being headhunted, I think 1 page, maybe 2 is sufficient. But I'm sure others will differ on that.
The cover letter is also weak and boring because you ramble on about your motivation the whole time and don't substantiate your skills, you say, go look in my resume. Um....that long thing...you know no recruiter is going to pin point any times in that doc where you've been under pressure. They don't have time. I don't think firms care much about your motivation, obviously they want people who want to work there and will ask you at interview, it's important; but more important is you adding to their bottom line. You demonstrating a couple of good examples of your skills in your resume might be a good idea. Cut your motivation down.
Just my opinion dude.
I'm not familiar with APD resumes but I would echo @"sugarlovingtime" in that you should reduce your resume to a page. Delete all of the excess and just include what's most important.
Try making your whole resume without the publications 1 page and then add a page for your publications. I recommend reading Victor Cheng's comments on APD resumes.
Your conflict resolution essay is just as wordy as your resume. Try making your answer concise by using a what-why-how format... what is the problem, why is it significant, and how did you solve it? Most important thing the reader will want to know is if you can get along with your peers and if you can work in a team.
The formatting needs to be fixed. Makes me want to tear my eyes out. Google for better looking formats. Scan WSO for formats of other people that have posted their resumes.
Way too long. 1 page, maybe 1 page plus publications is enough. Your research has way too much real estate. You're not going to get an interview because you "Designed and performed an experiment". You're a phd student, so I'm pretty sure that was part of your role, so you can remove/consolidate a ton of those bullet points. No need ot get very technical. A non-technical person should be able to understand roughly what you did after reading your resume. Leadership can be consolidated. One bullet for each leadership activity.
Et aut suscipit quia molestiae non. Voluptatem et alias ea et. Qui laudantium qui rerum. Facilis aut et autem esse maxime officiis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...