Five Essential Elements Of A Perfect MBA Resume

 

I recently reviewed and updated my resume from applying to Tuck last year. After gathering great resources on resumes, I was able to identify and eliminate any issues with my current resume.

In addition, I was able to identify and “core-out” the five essential elements of a perfect MBA resume. (This is by no means a comprehensive list, so please make sure to check out the resources for the finer details.) Here they are:

1. easy to read

Make it easy for adcom to read your resume. This includes applying spacing between sections, allowing enough white space in your resume, using bullets, using bold/italics effectively and having ~1″ margins. Allow the readers eyes to have a visual break.

2. list accomplishments, not responsibilities

Utilize action verbs on your resume to showcase how you drive results. Make sure that you also quantify your results, and if possible, make them relative with the entire organization. (Example, “Captured $3M of sales, which is 40% of the total revenue for the division”)

3. show career progression

Clearly show how you have upward mobility or are on the fast track with your career. Make sure you show a trend of increasing responsibilities, and showing dates will be really important in this area.

4. show leadership / extracurricular

Including a leadership section is important to showcase leadership attributes outside of your job. You should also make sure to list any awards or other extracurricular activities that are RELEVANT to your candidacy. Showing how long you have been participating in different opportunities will really highlight your dedication for these causes.

5. no grammatical errors

Make sure you proofread your essay, and make sure you get your friends to proofread your essay. You should be ABSOLUTELY sure there are no errors, as often times this is the first element of your application that many admissions committee members view.

AGAIN, this is by no means a comprehensive list of all that it takes to have a perfect MBA resume, but rather five key attributes that EVERY resume should have. If you have any other tips, please add them to the comments below.

GrantMeAdmission is a young corporate (Fortune 50) finance guy for a Fortune 50 company who blogs at GrantMeAdmission!  https://poetsandquants.com/2014/05/21/after-getting-waitlisted-at-tuck-heres-what-i-would-do-differently/A graduate of a leadership rotation program, he’s dreamed of going to a top MBA program and has structured his life to support that journey (making plenty of mistakes along the way). After graduating from a college in California and working for two years, he found transferred to the East Coast so he could visit schools and complete his research. He applied to one school (Tuck at Dartmouth College) and was wait listed for five agonizing months. The process totally caught him off guard, leaving him dazed and confused. 

Previous Posts On Poets&Quants:

How I Got A 710 GMAT On The First Try 

After Getting Waitlisted At Tuck, Here’s What I Would Do Differently

Eight Questions Every Prospective MBA Should Ask Before Applying