I have applied to various consulting firms, including the big 4, for management consulting positions; however, I either do not receive a response, or I will get an email stating, "thank you for your interest, but we don't have anything that matches your background". I recently graduated from a reputable school, and I am looking to make a career change out from the non-profit sector. I am sure that if given the opportunity to interview with a firm, that I would be able to sell my skills and expertise. I am flummoxed if my resume, cover letter, or my military experience is the culprit. I served 3 1/2 years in the infantry and now am a disabled vet. Any advice, network connections, or help would be an immense help.
Answers
Hi Eric,
I agree with Matt's advice that finding a personal connection to a given firm through your network can help get your foot in the door for an interview. Additionally, I would encourage you to tailor your resume for each job posting that you respond to. By that , I don't mean that you need to completely redo it for every job, but rather massage the language to highlight your skills in such a way that they align to the posting specifics while avoiding military jargon. I hope this helps!
Eric,
Congrats on graduation. Non-profit can translate to for-profit (I'm on a non-profit board and have done a non-profit project at Deloitte). Here are a couple of thoughts to the points you bring up:
- Non-profit to for profit - You will want to tailor your resume and your interview answers to address the anticipated needs of the type of work you could do (have you grown top line revenue, have you done cost optimization, have you led teams, have you presented to senior stakeholders, have organizations acted on your recommendations, etc.). Every line item in your resume should highlight/showcase a different, proven capability with quantifiable results
- On getting traction with firms - Do not underestimate the importance of personal/professional relationships you already have at these firms. Go through linkedin and look at connections you have at those firms or second hand connections you have through your network and reach out for an introduction. I submitted requests to interview with multiple consulting firms (resume and cover letter), for every firm that on my cover letter I was able to reference a current employee I received an interview, the on company where I didn't list a reference, I was not interviewed.
I hope this is helpful.
Hello Eric, First of all thanks for your service. We'll be happy to review your resume and cover letter to understand your background and skills that you have contributed towards your services in non-profit sector. Mike Bernard is a Federal Recruiting point of contact for veterans inclusions recruiting. Feel free to send your resume to me and I will batch at the end of the day and pass along to Mike. Deloitte holds regular recruiting events for veterans.
Hi Eric,
Consulting firms that have both non-profit and for-profit as their clients will be a good stepping stone.
Once in the organization, you can switch to for-profit clients.
Thanks
Ponni Anand
Eric,
You've received a lot of great advice. The only thing I would add is make a tally of your transferable skills that you gained from your non-profit position. Then align those skills with the new position that you are looking to get into.
I hope this helps.
Good luck!
Warm regards,
Jerry
Hi Eric, I would urge you to follow the advice given by Matt at Deloitte. He offers sound practical advice that, if followed, can lead to a positive outcome for you, Good luck.
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