The MBA Resume

by DJNY 03:52 0 comments

You must have heard that admissions committee members go through a single application within 18 minutes. In that time, they'll read your application including essays, recommendations and resume. And try to get a clear picture of who you are and why you want to go for an MBA.

At the end of 18 minutes, they will either walk away with a clear picture of who you are, or they’ll forget about you immediately after they’ve read your application. 

Being memorable is up to you. A great resume will help you achieve that goal.The resume is not the first thing that comes to mind when one starts applying to business school. But it should be.

One page resumes

As most top schools mention in their application instructions, a resume should not be more than one page long, maybe two if you’ve the accomplishments to justify the length.

Accomplishments not responsibilities

Also, the resume should not be about your roles and responsibilities within the organization. Rather, it should be about the ‘accomplishments and achievements’ in each position. How did you impact the organization? And can you quantify your achievements?

Customized to each school

Some business schools provide a specific resume template to be followed. Others provide a list of things that should ideally be provided in the resume. Finally, resumes should be customized by you at least somewhat since each school has a different requirement.

Focused Brand

Think about it. Obviously your resume should be highly focused. But it should also be in line with the essays and other details you provide in your application. So, say for school A, you used a story about how you won a multi-million dollar contract. Your resume should at least have a quantified mention of that story. For school B, you may have used a story about how you handled a certain crisis. Your resume should then reflect that in the resume as well. It’s not always possible to put everything on one page. So, you have to make sure you double check everything and stay focused on on your brand.

Get Time on your side

Create a readable resume. Write crisp short sentences, with quantified achievements. Use action verbs – if you don’t know which ones, simply Google “Harvard resume action verbs”. The eyes read faster when they move from top to bottom. So create a resume that can be easily traversed by the eye from top to bottom, but that still manages to capture your accomplishments.

Get Feedback

Always get feedback. If people around you tell you, “it’s great”, be very worried! You may need to find someone else to take a look. Plus, simply forget about your resume for a few days or weeks (preferably) and then take a look. You’ll see a lot of scope for improvement. Keep reworking till you are satisfied!