Most MBA programs require the submission of a resume as part of the written application. This one-page document should highlight important aspects of an individual and is often an untapped opportunity for an applicant to stand out.
The details of your resume can serve as an icebreaker or fuel the conversation during an interview at a business school.
“For me, the curriculum is as important as your essays”, Soojin Kwon, director of admissions of the University of Michigan Ross School of Businesshe blogged last fall. Summarize your experiences in a few meaningful lines of text, regardless of whether you submit a separate CV or transfer that information to the app.
When creating this version of your resume, keep in mind that this audience is unique. The reader of your MBA resume will be different than the person who will hire you for an investment banking job or an engineering position.
Rather than focusing on specifics, admissions reps want people to become successful leaders in highly collaborative work environments. They want to see skills that are transferable to almost any industry. Review your resume to highlight the aspects that are important to an MBA program.
For example, a typical resume for a leading engineering position should demonstrate competency in JavaScript, an essential skill for this specific job. But an MBA interviewer at Harvard Business School it doesn’t care if you can write code. That skill won’t help you excel in leading organizations, build great companies, or create innovative products and services.
Similarly, when interviewing for a transactional banking position, many candidates will list specific deal names with dollar amounts. However, this kind of detail will not be helpful to the Northwestern University admissions committee. Kellogg School of Management. Kellogg will be much more interested in understanding how you worked with a team to close these deals.
Schools want to check your general quantitative skills. Beyond that, the fact that you have collaborated with an international team, or developed and trained others in a new technical analysis will be much more relevant.
Avoid a jargon-laden resume. Speak the same language as the admissions committee, and don’t expect them to be experts in your particular niche.
Many applicants include an objective at the top of their resume. However, in the context of the MBA application process, everyone has the same goal: to go to business school. Therefore, the mission statement is irrelevant and a loss of valuable real estate.
As you consider what details to emphasize, remember the general qualities that most business school programs look for. In addition to telling the chronological story of your academic and professional career, focus on supporting three things: demonstrating growth and progression, showing leadership, and highlighting other “MBA relevant” skills. These include traits like strong teamwork, collaboration, and innovation.
Applicants who have been in the workforce for several years, possibly in multiple companies, may need to be selective when detailing career advancement. When deciding which experiences to include and which to eliminate, ask yourself if the work was meaningful and if it can be used to illustrate a specific skill set or significant achievement. Consider whether it supports your career path, as well as your future goals, and include it only if it makes sense for your overall story.
Show that throughout your career you have acquired new skills, assumed new responsibilities, and developed as an individual. Emphasize that others have recognized this growth.
If done effectively, the resume reviewer can develop a good understanding of your skills and responsibilities and understand how you have progressed in your career.
Sometimes you can illustrate your leadership or other important skills through examples that are tangential to your basic job responsibilities. When considering how to describe a certain job, be sure to think about some of the following activities, which are all important even if they were not part of your main job.
It is important to consider if you are administering to one or more people. Even if you’re informally supervising and mentoring someone, it’s worth putting it on your resume. Mention if you have taken the initiative in hiring as it means that you are acting as the face of your company. This shows that your company leaders respect you and trust you to represent them well.
Perhaps you spearheaded that new filing system, created an essential new report template, facilitated relationships with an important partner, or simplified routine processes. Anything that illustrates how you identified an opportunity and took the initiative is a great thing to include. All of these examples highlight the skills that MBA programs value.
Don’t underestimate the power of a well-executed resume. As Ross’s director of admissions puts it, “How you describe your experiences is important. What you choose to highlight is important. Think of it as a trailer for the movie about yourself.”