Bright Network's consulting CV template

Our consulting CV template will give you a simple starting point for crafting an attention-grabbing CV. We recommend keeping to the format and subbing in your own skills and experiences, tailoring them to the job post you're applying for.

See below to download our free template and read our top tips for writing a strong consulting CV.

Your CV is often the vital first step of a consulting application process. Some employers will only spend seconds scanning each CV submitted to them, so it's important to make an impression fast!

Before we share our consulting CV template, here are several tips to keep in mind when creating your CV that will help you stand out.

Consulting employers are looking for certain skills, like communication, leadership and commercial awareness.

Be sure to put your abilities in the skills and achievements section of our consulting CV template. You should also provide evidence of your skills within your employment history. If you’ve got the experience to back up your claims, share it.

Everything that’s on your CV should be of interest to an employer, so draw attention to the most relevant aspects of your education and work experience.

If you’re applying for a consulting grad job and you’ve already done work experience in the sector, emphasise it. Having consultancy experience will help you stand out.

It’s OK if it’s your first time applying for a consulting role, though. To make your CV suit the consulting sector, mention your transferable skills. You can also explain why your existing experience and knowledge makes you a great candidate in your personal statement (even if you’ve never worked in the sector).

If you want to succeed in consultancy, you’ll need strong attention to detail. So, show your potential future employer that you’ve already got it by submitting an error-free CV.

Avoid typos by using a spell checker and proofreading your CV before you send it.

You should also take note of any file type requirements. If the job advert says you must send a CV as a PDF, don’t send a .doc file.

As we’ve mentioned, employers tend to skim CVs. So, you’ve got to get to the point – quickly.

Use clear language that makes your CV readable. If you can say something in fewer words, choose the shorter version. Having a nice CV format will also make your CV skim-friendly, so our consultancy CV template will help here.

While you should avoid jargonistic buzzwords, it’s still important to include key industry terms (particularly if they’re in the job listing) because some employers will use computer software to scan CVs. For example, if a job advert mentions you need to know how to use a certain tool, mention its name in your skills section.

While you can use our consultant CV sample template to build the bones of a strong CV, you still need to tweak it for every application.

Even if you write your CV for consultancy specifically, you’ll still have to adjust things for each opportunity. It’s not enough to target a sector with your CV. Instead, you must target an individual role. So, if the job advert emphasises teamwork, you’d want to give more weight to the collaboration skills you gained in uni sports societies than you would if applying for a remote role where you’ll work alone.

Typically, a consulting CV will be one page.

While it’s OK to have a longer CV once you’ve gained lots of experience, it’s unlikely you’ll need more space as a student or graduate entering the consulting sector.

If you’re writing a CV early on in your consulting career, try to keep it as short as possible. Employers don’t have time to read every word on every application, so be succinct.

You need various skills for consultancy, including communication, leadership and commercial awareness.

To do well in consultancy, you’ll need a mix of transferable soft skills (like problem-solving) and hard skills (like Excel knowledge).

To write a consulting CV, place all relevant information about your skills, education and work experience into a CV template.

Use our consulting CV template to begin your CV for consultancy and then tweak it accordingly. Remember, you should always adjust it every time you make a new job application, so the ideal consulting CV will vary for each role.

When writing any CV, including a consultancy CV, you should use a readable font.

Clear sans-serif fonts like Calibri and Arial are popular choices for CVs.

If you’re applying for a more traditional consultancy firm, you might lean towards a serif font like Times New Roman.

Serifs are the extending lines on a letter, which means serif fonts tend to look more formal. However, partly because of digital readability, sans-serif fonts have become incredibly popular. Sans-serif fonts are also thought to be easier to read when skimming text, which makes them an excellent choice for most CVs.

Whatever font you choose, make sure that it’s widely available. If you send over a CV in an obscure font, there’s a chance that the recipient won’t be able to see it properly (which will make it look messy or, worse, completely unreadable).