A consulting screener does not grade your aesthetic. In under two minutes they ask whether the page proves you can own a problem, move a number, and explain why this firm. Most candidates spend a week rearranging fonts. The better move is a single 90-minute working session that turns a blank page into a submittable résumé and letter pair under the same checks that person applies.
That sitting is what this article is for. Ned built CoachNed's free public resume and cover letter starter kit as the timer and the fill-ins: before-and-after bullets, a letter skeleton, and the end-of-session checklist. The long templates live on the resume and cover letter pillars. Use those when you need depth. Use this page when you need the packet done by lunch.
After you finish, you should have one page of evidence, one letter that does not restate the résumé in paragraphs, and a grade from the free resume grader. Then stop polishing and start applying.
What a screener actually checks
I have sat on both sides of this process. The sheet is blunt. Nobody awards points for "passionate about making an impact." They look for stealable proof, clean chronology, and a reason this office is not a lottery pick.
| Check | Pass | Fail |
|---|---|---|
| Length | One page (undergrad / early career); two only if every line earns it | Two pages of duties, objective statements, photo |
| Ownership | Verb + what you owned + scale | "Assisted with," "helped support," "was involved in" |
| Numbers | At least three bullets with a clock, count, rate, or £/$ figure | Soft adjectives with no unit |
| Story match | Letter and résumé share two or three proof points | Résumé says ops; letter invents social impact |
| Firm line | Office, practice, or public initiative named with a reason | Prestige sentence that works for any firm |
| Hygiene | Dates aligned, PDF opens, filename sane | Password-protected file, wrong firm name |
McKinsey's own careers guidance tells candidates to quantify results, show what they led or created, and keep the résumé concise and honest. For most McKinsey positions, a cover letter is not required. Bain's consultant hiring page still asks for a résumé or CV in Word or PDF, plus education, work history, and relevant scores. BCG's U.S. Associate FAQ states cover letters are not required for summer or full-time Associate applications, though you may upload one under Other Documents. Treat the letter as optional insurance when the portal accepts it, and as mandatory when the office page says so.
Demand for people who do this kind of work is not imaginary. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of management analysts to grow 9 percent from 2024 to 2034, with about 98,100 openings a year on average and 2024 median pay of $101,190. Consulting recruiting is still selective. Volume is not your friend. Clarity is.
The 90-minute clock
Do not open ten templates. Print what you have, rewrite three bullets, draft the letter on paper, then run the checklist. The kit page sequences the same blocks.
| Block | Minutes | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Print and circle | 0–10 | One page; every numberless bullet marked |
| Three bullets | 10–50 | Verb + owned + scale + number + so-what |
| Letter | 50–75 | Three paragraphs, 250–350 words |
| Checklist and grade | 75–90 | Screener pass, then grader |
If a block overflows, cut scope. Three strong bullets beat twelve polite ones. A letter under 350 words beats a page of biography.
Minutes 0–10. Print what you have
One page. If it is two, cut until it is one. Delete the objective statement. Circle every bullet that has no number. Those are the ones you rewrite next.
This pass is diagnostic, not creative. You are counting failures the way a screener will: missing ownership, missing units, dates that drift. Write the firm name and office on a sticky note so the letter cannot wander into tourism.
Minutes 10–50. Three bullets a partner would steal
Formula: verb + what you owned + scale + number + so-what.
Pick your most recent role. Rewrite the three weakest circled lines. Invent nothing. If you cannot find a currency figure, use a clock, a headcount, or a rate. "Four people, ten days, still hit the date" is a number.
Worked example: Mira, ops analyst at Northline Foods
Mira had nine months in a UK ready-meals plant and a blank application for Bain London. Her draft bullets read like a job description. Here is the before-and-after for the three she circled.
| Before (empty) | After (stealable) |
|---|---|
| Assisted with financial analysis for senior leadership | Built a one-page margin bridge that showed a 2-point drop was £17m, not "mix," and put it as slide 1 for the CFO |
| Worked cross-functionally to improve processes | Cut the weekly ops huddle from 45 minutes to 15 by moving status to a pre-read; on-time ship rose from 82% to 91% in six weeks |
| Conducted market research to support a go-to-market strategy | Sized UK SAM at £40m and recommended no-go when the only reachable slice was £6m at a price customers had already rejected |
Reproduce the arithmetic. A 2-point margin drop on £850m of category revenue is 0.02 × 850 = £17m. That is the so-what. Screeners remember the £17m; they forget "assisted with financial analysis."
If Mira had no revenue figure, she could still have written "cut huddle from 45 to 15 minutes; on-time ship +9 points in six weeks." Units beat adjectives.
Ned's rule. If a partner could paste your bullet into a client email without rewriting the verb, keep it. If they would have to invent the number, rewrite it before you apply.
Minutes 50–75. The letter that is not a second résumé
Three paragraphs. 250–350 words. Write on paper first. Typing too early makes you polite.
- Role, office, one proof you know the place. Not "top firm." Name the office, a public practice line, or a campus event you attended.
- Why consulting (story + number). Why this firm (not prestige). One concrete reason that would fail if you swapped the firm name.
- Why you (one stealable result). Close. Pull the strongest résumé bullet. Do not list three more.
Mira's middle paragraph, compressed: she saw plant decisions fail when the P&L story was wrong; consulting is where that judgment compounds; Bain London because of the consumer goods work she heard at a campus session, not because of a ranking table.
Harvard's career services warn that AI-generated application copy often becomes generic; see their guidance on AI for résumés and cover letters. Use a model to check structure if you must. Do not let it invent your firm paragraph.
Full fill-ins live on the cover letter template. The starter kit keeps you inside the 25-minute letter block so you do not spend the evening drafting essays.
Minutes 75–90. Screener checklist, then grade
Run this list aloud. If any line fails, fix it before you open the portal.
- One page
- Dates aligned left-to-right
- Three bullets a partner could steal
- Office line that is not tourism
- One number in the letter
- No "passionate," no "synergies," no second page
- File opens as PDF or Word; not password-protected (Bain specifies Word or PDF for consultant applications)
Then run the grader. One free review. Fix what it names. Put firms and deadlines on the application tracker.
When the letter is optional and when it is not
Firm pages differ, and folklore fills the gaps. Use the firm's page for the office you are applying to.
| Firm signal (public) | Practical move |
|---|---|
| McKinsey: cover letter not required for most positions | Spend the time on quantified résumé bullets; attach a short letter only if you have a real office hook |
| BCG U.S. Associate: letter not required; optional under Other Documents | Same; attach only if it adds a proof the résumé cannot |
| Bain consultant application: résumé/CV required in Word or PDF | Confirm local office extras; some markets ask for a motivation statement |
| Office page says letter required or "recommended" | Write the three-paragraph version from this session |
CoachNed is not affiliated with McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Deloitte, or any firm named here. Office rules change; check the careers page dated to your cycle.
Do this sitting once, then apply
Open the starter kit. Set a 90-minute timer. Do not collect more templates mid-session. When the checklist passes, submit the first application the same day if a deadline is live.
If interviews are already booked, shift the next hour to a live case: the five-minute first rep at /start (three typed turns, instant scores, no account) or the ~18-minute voice case at /interview. Everything on CoachNed is open for seven days with no card; then $120 for a recruiting season or $49 a month.
Frequently asked questions
What is in CoachNed's free resume and cover letter starter kit?
A 90-minute session on one page: print-and-circle diagnostics, three before-and-after bullet rewrites, a three-paragraph letter block, and the screener checklist that ends with the free resume grader. Ned wrote it. The deeper fill-ins sit on the resume and cover letter template pages.
Should I write the resume or the cover letter first?
Résumé first. The letter is a story about evidence you already have. If you draft the letter first, you invent themes the résumé cannot support, and a screener will notice the mismatch in under a minute.
How long should a consulting cover letter be?
Aim for 250–350 words in three paragraphs. Longer letters usually restate the résumé. Shorter ones often skip the office-specific reason. If the firm does not require a letter, do not pad one for sport.
Can the same 90-minute packet work for undergrad, MBA, and experienced hire?
Yes on structure: one page of quantified ownership, one short letter with a firm-specific middle. The content shifts. Undergrads lead with academic and internship proof. MBAs lead with pre-MBA results and direction. Experienced hires translate industry outcomes into client-facing judgment without pretending they have already been consultants.
When should I stop editing and start applying?
Firm pages differ, and folklore fills the gaps. Use the firm's page for the office you are applying to.
When three bullets are stealable, the letter and résumé share the same two or three proof points, and the checklist passes. Perfect is a delay tactic. A coherent packet that ships beats a prettier one that misses the portal close.?
Pick your most recent role. Rewrite the three weakest circled lines. Invent nothing.
Sources
- What (not) to do: your resume when applying for McKinsey — quantify results, leadership and entrepreneurship signals, cover letter usually not required. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Bain Careers, Consultant hiring process — résumé/CV in Word or PDF plus education, experience, and scores. Checked 2026-09-24.
- BCG Careers, United States Associate job opportunities — cover letters not required for summer or full-time Associate applications. Checked 2026-09-24.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Management Analysts — 9% projected growth 2024–34, ~98,100 annual openings, 2024 median pay $101,190. Checked 2026-09-24.
- Harvard Mignone Center, AI for Resumes and Cover Letters — AI-generated application copy often becomes generic. Checked 2026-09-24.