Consulting and banking screeners read hundreds of CVs in a format they know by heart: one page, education at the top, every bullet with a number, and evidence of leadership outside work. Deviating from the format costs more than it gains. This skill writes to it exactly.
Part of the pm-cv bundle.
What This Skill Produces
- A one-page CV in the sector's format
- A bullet strength check: each bullet rated for result, number and ownership
- The first-read lines: the three lines a screener sees in the first seconds, and whether they land
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- The person's experience, ideally a
career-inventoryfile - Education: institutions, degrees, grades, test scores if strong, scholarships
- The target: consulting, investment banking, private equity, or a specific firm and office
- Career stage: undergraduate, MBA, experienced hire
Framework
Order:
- Education first for students, MBAs and anyone within about three years of graduating; after experience for experienced hires.
- Experience: organisation, location, title, dates on one line. Two to four bullets per role.
- Leadership and activities: roles with responsibility, not memberships.
- Skills, languages and interests: specific interests, one line ("ultramarathons; restored a 1970s motorbike"), never generic ("travel, reading").
Bullet rule: action verb, what you did, quantified result, one line, at most two. Prefer impact a partner understands: revenue, cost, time, scale, rank.
Format rule: one page, no exceptions; consistent dates on the right; a plain serif or sans font at 10 to 11 points; no photo in the US or UK.
Output Format
Consulting or banking CV: [name], [target]
1. The CV (one page) 2. Bullet check | Bullet | Result? | Number? | Yours? | Fix | 3. First read: the top three lines as a screener sees them, and a verdict 4. Cut list: what was removed to fit one page
Quality Checks
- Exactly one page at standard margins
- Every bullet has a result; most have a number the person gave
- Education placement fits the career stage
- Interests are specific and true
- No number was invented to fill the format
Anti-Patterns
- Two pages. The sector reads it as an inability to prioritise.
- Duty bullets. "Responsible for financial models" says nothing. What did the model decide?
- Inventing precision. "Increased revenue 23.4%" with no source will be tested in the first interview.
- Generic interests. They waste the line most likely to start a conversation.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "Write my CV for consulting applications. I'm finishing my MBA."
- "Make my resume fit the banking one-page format."
- "Turn my experience into a McKinsey-style CV."
- "I need a PE CV on one page."