Resume for an internship application to BCG as a "Visiting Climate Activist" (Visiting Associate in their Climate and Sustainability Practice). What are my chances?

Question

Hello guys,

I would like to join BCG as a Visiting Associate in their Climate and Sustainability Practice in Germany. They call it "Visiting Climate Activist". Here is a Link about it.

I have crafted a resume for this, as I am personally very interested and motivated to join BCG and this area of topic is personally very appealing and interesting to me.

Here is my anonymous resume.

My questions:

How can I get my resume to 1 page? I just cant find a way to do so. This resume is longer than page. I can choose another resume template, without a picture, then it would need less space than it does with this format, still not exactly 1 page though. But: I am applying to the German Office of BCG, so a picture is culturally a necessity, right?
What are my chances that I will be invited to an interview?

Please dont hold back and rip it apart as badly as you can.

Thank you :)

Answer 1

Hi,

I took a quick glance - couple of high level pointers:

Quantify impact → good if you can quantify the impact so your points are substantiated
Formatting → probably can save some space by compressing/combining some aspects e.g. putting your grades in the same line as the sub-header
Reducing words → Opportunity to be more succinct e.g. your thesis is not directly related to sustainability, so can consider reducing the words there

All the best!

Answer 2

Hi there,

Love that you're happy to receive direct, open feedback :)

The very honest answer is I think your chances are low right now for a few key reasons:

You need a completely revamped template
None/few of your experience bullet points highlight skills/expertise that are related to the role
You experience bullet points are short statements and very lacklustre
There is a fair amount of “weird” stuff here (Languages section on LHS, skills list, etc)

Definitely recommend a complete revamp to look much stronger as well as talk to the role itself :)

(Yes, in Germany you need a photo. But a new resume template doesn't just suddenly mean you have to remove the photo…they're not inherently intertwined actions)

Answer 3

Hi there,

Happy to provide the 10s version on it but to be fair you'd just get more value from doing a proper review.

The ROI is great on it.

So here it is:

Change the format dramatically - e.g., don't have this left side bar. It should all be section under section
Seen lots of CVs in the DACH region without photos. It's not culturally necessary. Take it out.
Cut the profile pitch. Whoever you are should come across from your experiences (show, don't tell)
Aim to have 2-3 bullet points per experienece, each of 1.5-2 rows long
Quantify for every bullet point

Best,
Cristian