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"Walk me through your resume"

Interview Resume
New answer on Aug 15, 2019
4 Answers
3.9 k Views
Ivan asked on Aug 15, 2019

Hi guys

are there any bullet-proof tactics to answer the question: "Walk me through your resume?

- acceptable time to answer the question,

- level of detail,

- opening/closing,

- ...

Cheers

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Aug 15, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

I would recommend the following structure:

1) Start with a 1 sentence summary of your background, why you are relevant for McKinsey and what's your unique selling point

2) Talk about 3-4 of your roles (may be professional, education, extracurricular), 3 sentences each. The more experienced you are the more you should speak about professional roles. It can be also the distinct roles within the same organization. Typical structure:

  • What was the company
  • What you were responsible
  • Greatest achievement in that role, that will stay in the memory of the interviewer (E.g. While working at Adidas supply chain I was personally responsible for the delivery of soccer balls to the Worldcup in Africa)

3) The main reason why consulting (or particular company if you were a consultant before) is the next logical career step for you

Best!

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John
Expert
replied on Aug 15, 2019
Ex Bain Case Team Leader I Focus on Private Equity I +80 interviews conducted at Bain I All cases based on real life cases

Hey Ivan,

there is no bullet-proof because there is no wrong or right here. It's also more about how you deliver that section than what you say.

For the how:

  • Display energy - show that you have drive and that you want to achieve something in your life
  • Communication style - smile a lot, talk slowly and clearly
  • Gestures - use gesturing and keep eye contact

Practice tip: Get a fried to videotype your intro to practice how you deliver it.

For the what:

- ~2-3 minutes

- you can do it chronologically from beginning or from the most recent point on your CV - I personally favor do it chronologically from the start for entry level positions; for experienced hires I would start with the last position

- make sure to include hobbies - Consultants are not machines ;)

- stay quite high level but always include reasoning (Not good: Then I went to Imperial. Better: I decided to go to Imperial because...

- finish with how what you have done in your life translates in why you are applying for the job

Practice tip: Write that part down (at least with bullet points) and then practice delivering it

I hope you find this helpful.

Best

John

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Robert
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Aug 15, 2019
McKinsey offers w/o final round interviews - 100% risk-free - 10+ years MBB coaching experience - Multiple book author

Hi Ivan,

One of the aspects I am missing in the existing answers is a more strategic view on this question, which I would like to point out and add: demonstrating your strategic career planning and how all of your career steps contribute to being a strong consultant.

From this perspective you need to demonstrate a clear rationale of why you did all those things in your past, by clearly laying out how they fit to each other/logically lead to the next step, and as a total provide you with an exhaustive skill-set for making an excellent hire!

Hope that helps as an additional perspective to consider!

Robert

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Udayan
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Aug 15, 2019
Top rated Case & PEI coach/Multiple real offers/McKinsey EM in New York /12 years recruiting experience

Hi Ivan,

A few things that stand out for me when candidates answer this question

1. Preparedness - they don't only focus on what is in the resume but they talk about the projects in vivid detail and are clear about their achievements

2. Story telling - they are able to weave together a coherent and interesting story that explains their career path and various interests. (This requires a fair amount of self reflection and thinking)

3. Energy - They are truly excited to talk about their resume and what they have to offer. A strong happy personality conveys a lot more than words

WIth regards to time stick to 2-4 minutes, too short leaves you with less time to flesh out details and too long makes it boring. A good way to judge is to ask others to listen and comment on the length

Opening - focus on high energy and making it interesting as opposed to doing a chronological walk through (experiment with what you need to say when)

Hope this helps,

Udayan

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Vlad gave the best answer

Vlad

McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School
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