MBA RESUME TIPS FOR THE PERFECT B-SCHOOL APPLICATION

First things first- Are CV and Resume the same thing?

Well although people use them interchangeably, it is not so. CV (curriculum vitae) is a long summary of your personal and professional profile. A Resume, on the other hand, s a concise summary of your professional career. It is asked for more frequently in USA and Canada. But the rest of the world kind of expects a mish-mash of the two. But what matters most is what business colleges look for in a resume and what you must use in your CV or Resume. So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of it all!

An MBA resume is different from a job resume since job resumes are limited to knowing about your professional story, the jobs and internships you did, what you contributed to your workplace. While MBA like other academic applications expects a lot more from your resume. They wish to see how you’d make a good student and a prospective alumnus for their university.  So, it must be precise yet impactful and should express who you are in a jiffy!

1. Formatting

• Do not make your font very small. 12 is the ideal and often standard size.
• Do not use italics or bold very regularly. Use it sparsely to highlight important information.
• Do not use random font styles. Not all places see them in a professional way, plus not all printers print all styles!
• Indentation and spacing needs to be uniform throughout
• White space helps highlight the important places so ensure that you give enough space.
• Separate sections carefully to maintain a chronological and consistent order.

2. Language

• Try to keep the speech formal with words that let the admissions officer know of your intelligence and skill level.
• Highlight positions of responsibility (Led a team, achieved set targets, collaborated with multiple teams etc.)
• Do not use very tech specific/ occupation specific jargon. Keep your resume simple to understand. Do not leave it open to misinterpretation. Explain if you use a specific word. Multiple industry specific acronyms need to be avoided.

How long should the MBA resume be?

A resume is, in most circumstances, just 1 page long.  Only if you have long years of experience can it be justified to go to the next page. CVs on the other hand, can be longer than a single page.

Sections

There are at least 3 main sections- work experience, education and extracurricular. You must list your achievement in each under the same head. You can either go chronologically or skill-wise in your work experience area.

Remember that your resume must compliment your essays and are also accommodate recommendations which play a big role in the selection process.