Writing a Killer Résume

A résumé is often the first piece of information that an admissions officer or recruiter considers, because it neatly summarizes a candidate's skills, experience, and abilities.

It is the primary tool you use to market yourself. But what should it contain? What is it that recruiters are really looking for?

In its 2008 Corporate Recruiters Survey, the Graduate Management Admission Council® found that employers that select and hire graduating MBAs─across industries, company types, and locations─primarily look at the following qualities:

• Business management knowledge
• Communication skills (persuasive, presentation, written)
• Technical or quantitative skills
• Ability to apply business discipline to any job or function

Your pre-MBA résumé or CV (curriculum vitae) should demonstrate these attributes. Your GMAT record and MBA will help demonstrate the soundness of your theoretical foundation, but most employers look at your pre-MBA professional development and internships while in school to show your ability to apply your knowledge. Your résumé must be a historical record of your career achievements and education to date—and their relevance to what you plan to do once you earn your MBA.

Admissions officers look for many of the same things recruiters look for. Both want evidence that your education and experience have prepared you to fulfill your goals, whether academic or career-related. The résumé that accompanies your admissions application should communicate a compelling case for why you belong at a particular MBA program or in a particular career or function.

Your résumé should be accurate and factual, not subjective or editorialized. Include statements that are supported by evidence, particularly quantitative evidence. For example: "Managed 24 people over three years and increased employee retention 10% while also improving work productivity 15%." 

Avoid putting subjective, insupportable statements on your résumé. For example: "Exceptional people manager with extensive supervisory experience." Recruiting managers and admissions counselors might argue that your three years of experience hardly qualifies as "extensive." Also, "exceptional" is a matter of opinion. If you believe your managerial skills were exceptional because of high employee satisfaction ratings, say: "Achieved highest employee satisfaction ratings of 12 managers in my division."

Your résumé should provide details only on experience, skills, and successes that are relevant to your career goals; less relevant items should be stated briefly. Try to show that your experiences trace a direct path to the job you want. Help guide an admissions professional or recruiter to what is most important on your résumé and how these experiences make a good case for your future success.

If you were a tax accountant but transitioned into finance and want to stay in finance, don’t provide intricate details of your tax work. Instead, briefly summarize your tax work, making sure to show where you were and when (for continuity), and give a more detailed description of your finance work—the part of your experience you want the admissions professional or recruiter to focus on.

Your résumé should focus more on results and achievements than activities or situations. A strong, action- and results-based résumé is one primarily composed of statements like this: “Took over management of [situation] and achieved 10% customer retention improvement, $2 million in new sales volume, and 11% profit improvement through the following initiatives [how you did it—briefly].” That’s more compelling and convincing than saying that you managed a particular function and then listing the tasks you performed, without citing the results.

Your résumé should give your full contact information right at the top of the first page (address, phone, and email address).

Your résumé should state an objective—if you have a specific one. Otherwise, let your current or most relevant job or most recent education serve to indicate your objective.

Your résumé should list your experience, by employer (company name), including locations, dates, job titles, and roles/achievements. You can present this list in one of two formats. Your résumé can be set up in reverse chronological order (with the most recent experience listed first), or as a functional or skill- or experience-based résumé.

Most MBA candidates use the reverse chronological format, including all jobs since university years (including relevant internships). This résumé style shows the progression of experience and interests. (If reverse chronological order goes against the usual preference in the country in which you will use your résumé, use the chronological format showing your most recent experience last.)

In rare cases, a format highlighting your cross-functional experience is more relevant to your career goals than a chronological presentation of your experience. In a functional résumé, headings such as "Sales Experience," "Management Experience," "Technology Experience," and "Budgeting Experience" take the place of simply "Experience," which you would use as the heading for a chronological presentation of your experience.

Your résumé should show your educational history—degrees completed, degrees in progress, and certifications/professional courses. When you list degrees completed, be sure to include any distinctions or honors granted. For degrees in progress, make it clear that the degree isn’t complete by showing the future date of graduation. For certifications/professional courses, include such things as licenses you hold and corporate training you have had that is relevant to your goals.

Your résumé can reflect your hobbies or interests, if you think they will support your goals. You might want to list hobbies that provide insight into your interests and values (who you are), if these interests aren’t too controversial. Specific political or religious affiliations might bias certain audiences, so you might be better off listing instead your community activities and volunteer work. Mention any leadership roles you hold or have held, such as serving on a governing board of a professional society or leading a scout troop or community organization.

Certain countries or regions may have different standards and common practices for résumés, so seek advice pertaining to the locations in which you will use your résumé. How to Create a Global Résumé/CV, by Mary Anne Thompson (http://www.goinglobal.com/) has more specific advice.

Whether or not you go to business school, understand that your résumé is a dynamic document that should be updated at least annually. As you consider any decision about where to devote new energy and develop skills, such as an MBA, visualize the impact on your résumé and marketability. Ask yourself whether the pursuit will help lead you where you want to go when added to the résumé you already have.

An MBA alone cannot compensate for serious gaps in your résumé, but it can develop your knowledge and skills, making you better able to launch a fulfilling career, move up in your current career, or change careers. Examine your résumé carefully before you apply to business school. Consider ways to enhance your résumé with relevant additions before enrolling and throughout business school.

For more information on preparing for graduate business school and taking the GMAT® exam, visit www.mba.com.