resume question

Question

I am in the process of (re-)doing my resume and would appreciate informed and experienced opinions from this forum.

This question may sound overly simplistic but I had heard (from a thread here) that one should not use words like "responsibilities included ..." or "duties included so so.." in the resume and should instead use "lead". However many resumes in the Tuck resume book seem to use "responsibilities". What is the bias against "responsbility"?

Also, how can one obtain resume books for h s w etc?

Thanks..

cheetarah1980 · Answer

I don't know where you can obtain resume books for schools.

As for the bias against the words "responsibilities include" is because it's wasted words. The business school resume should be accomplishment focused. Leading, creating, initiating, reducing, increasing, managing etc. If you want to have at least one bullet stating your job responsibilities that's fine too. However, you can just state them without wasting words on "responsible for" or something like that. If you're responsible for being a liason between two departments then simply say, "Liason between marketing and finance departments for $200MM product lines including technology and services" or something like that. Even better if you could say something like "Foster collaboration between..." Think of the resume as your greatest hits page. You can use the employment portion of the application to delve more into your duties and responsibilities.

jk12 · Answer

thanks for the good explanation. 
How much of a hit is it to go below 10pt TNR (54 lines in one page) in resume? That would make resume look really different format than others, do not know if it a good thing. Some resume in Tuck resume book are clearly very small (about 8 pt TNR).

cheetarah1980 · Answer

Don't go under 10 pt. font. Play with the margins and line spacing. I fit 9 years of work experience+education+work experience on one page with a 10.5 font. I am going to assume that you're career hasn't been as long. You should have no problem getting everything on one page with at least 10 point font. This is about being selective and concise with what you convey to the admissions committee.

MDF · Answer

Here's a random link for a resume book I found a few years ago. Lots of good examples. https://www.scribd.com/doc/59526558/Resume-Book-GBC-2008

machichi · Answer

It's more important to show your accomplishments than your responsibilities in your resume for business school (probably for anywhere!). Maybe that's the issue you're referring to?

For example:
-Supervised 8 people (responsibility)
-Supervised a team of 8 people who increased sales by 20% (accomplishment)

MDF · Answer

^ I agree with this.

Also, if the company you worked for is relatively unknown, it is wise to put a brief description of what the company does, possibly combined with your general responsibilities, before moving onto your bullet points.

samk · Answer

Its generally better to start with a verb.

sweepit · Answer

my understanding is based on what I know from college recruiting and I would assume it's just general good resume practices. you are supposed to use action words. responsibilities included tells nothing about what you actually did, just what you were asked to do. they want to see that you coordinated or managed or processed or actually did something.

resume question

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