3 Essential MBA Application Resume Tips

You can browse Accepted.com (or the internet at large) for an endless number of MBA resume tips on formatting and designing your resume. In this post, we’re going to provide three essential tips on how to present the content of your resume.

Before we outline the three tips, though, it’s important to understand what your MBA resume is and what purpose it serves in the MBA application process.

The MBA resume is first and foremost an outline of your educational and employment history. It is not a place to talk about your personal life, your MBA goals, or your hobbies. In many cases, your MBA resume serves as the adcom’s first impression of you, and as such, you should make sure that it is short, thorough, and well-written.

And now for the three tips on content:

1. Be specific – Your job descriptions should include quantifiable data that illustrate your performance in the position. Instead of saying, “Raised money during the annual Disaster Relief benefit,” say “Raised $1.6 million during the annual Disaster Relief benefit.” You may also want to detail your role in putting together the benefit. Concrete facts and figures will help prove  that you can deliver.

2. Don’t lie – This should be obvious, but many applicants feel like a little fudging on the resume is normal, or even to be expected. Rounding up the amount of time you worked in a particular position or inflating your accomplishments or your level of responsibility is never okay. Besides the fact that it’s unethical, the adcom member reviewing your resume may decide to follow up with one of your references or do a background check and then your fudging could lead to rejection or the withdrawal of an admissions offer.

3. Know your skills and accomplishments – What skills are you particularly good at? What accomplishments are you proudest of? What have you achieved that gained you the most recognition? Interview yourself and inventory your previous jobs, the skills you acquired, and your “greatest hits” as a professional — the times when you impacted your organization the most.

Please visit Accepted’s new MBA Resume 101 for more tips on how to create a powerful MBA application resume.

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