MBA Application Resume Review

Hey everyone,

Will be applying for the MBA in a year or two...most of my targets are top 20 b-schools in the US & Europe.
Did my undergrad from a top 5 undergrad b-school in the US...Definitely looking at a career in finance:ibanking/private equity/VC....

The resume used to be two pages with longer descriptions of both jobs and internships....had to cut it down significantly to bring it down to one page.

Please feel free to tear my resume apart and go into as much detail as required. The last line has a gap in it...that is not how it is in my version. All input is much appreciated!

RESUME LINK: Link removed. Contact Poster for link.

 
Best Response

For B school, you should try to focus on quality, results, and presenting a diverse picture of yourself (ECs, Education and Work Experience):

  1. Don't bullet the name of your school - treat is as a work experience entry - line, line, bullets.

  2. you have too many line spacers in your education section - it looks so clumped together that I don't even want to read it - add some bullets - separate concentration and minor on one line (bullet point), cumulative and concentration GPA next line, Dean's List and GMAT score (if you have it - don't need SAT) on the next line, and Relevant coursework on the next line - but I don't even know if I'd insert this as what is this coursework relevant to? You want to go to business school - this coursework is saying that you've already taken a ton of business classes - it's relevant to a profession, not B school. If you keep the coursework in there, keep it to 1 line.

  3. Add a space between your school and study abroad - just to add a little breathing room.

  4. I would try to avoid using industry phrases and acronyms as the reviewer might not know what the hell you are talking about. Also, try to throw in some results/some ways of describing the impact you've made, rather than listing only what you've done.

  5. Take out Beginner Spanish.

  6. If you have any non-profit work, EC activities/club, hobbies, pursued interests, etc, I would include that in there as well to add some of who you are to the mix.

  7. You can get rid of your oldest experience (internship) if you need more room. Also, regarding your internships, don't put "Summer 200X", put start month and year - end month and year as you've done everywhere else. Make sure you are spacing your date dashes properly (I can't tell, but it looks a little off) - "Month Year - Month Year"

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BankonBanking:
  1. Take out Beginner Spanish.

  2. If you have any non-profit work, EC activities/club, hobbies, pursued interests, etc, I would include that in there as well to add some of who you are to the mix.

About that...is it appropriate to put in the leadership/volunteer stuff from college (2004-2008)?? Also...as you have seen, the resume is already one page...can i go to the second page with all that?..If not, what would you recommend cutting?

 

The comment I made in http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/mba-resume-college-internship-exp… is relevant to you. That is, it may be worthwhile to look into submitting a 2 pg CV w/ your b-school app. Some schools allow it, some want 1 pg Res. In any case (as BankonBanknig pointed out), you really need some EC's. Non-profit work, volunteering, leadership programs, etc... As is, your resume won't stand a chance in a Top-5 B-School app pool.

 
WegmansTuna:
The comment I made in http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/mba-resume-college-internship-exp… is relevant to you. That is, it may be worthwhile to look into submitting a 2 pg CV w/ your b-school app. Some schools allow it, some want 1 pg Res. In any case (as BankonBanknig pointed out), you really need some EC's. Non-profit work, volunteering, leadership programs, etc... As is, your resume won't stand a chance in a Top-5 B-School app pool.

Is it appropriate for me to list extracurriculars/volunteer work/leadership work from college (2004-2008) as well as now?

Also...what is the consensus on the 1pg vs 2 pg resume for MBA Applications? If 1 page, what would you recommend cutting to fit in the ECs etc?

 
big_dreams_banker:
Is it appropriate for me to list extracurriculars/volunteer work/leadership work from college (2004-2008) as well as now?

ECs from college are ok to put on. Although it would be better if you have any non-profit/volunteering work that you are doing now that you could put on there.....

big_dreams_banker:
Also...what is the consensus on the 1pg vs 2 pg resume for MBA Applications? If 1 page, what would you recommend cutting to fit in the ECs etc?

You really need to do the research. For example, I know MIT allows 2 pg CVs, whereas Wharton doesn't. If you need to cut to 1 pg, I suggest you cut down your experience (maybe a bullet or two on each India & ML). In addition, you may want to reduce the spacings between each respective experience (i.e. make font of blank line between India & ML like 5pt)...

 

Is the name of your investment bank really supposed to end with "Capitals?" There's really supposed to be an "s" there at the end?

What do you do for fun? What are you passionate about? What drives you? Bschools want well-rounded people, but your resume portrays you as a soul-less drone who's had some run-of-the-mill experience in logistics, PWM, and investment banking. Do you have any interesting skills or hobbies that you can speak of? Saying something canned and trite like "guitar, traveling, cooking" is a surefire way to get dinged. Bring some life to your activities and make them sound interesting.

I'd get rid of the Word, Excel, and Powerpoint mentions in your software skills section. By themselves, they are not very impressive b/c many people know how to use them. Furthermore, their inclusion with the other software skills that you listed makes you look like a one-dimensional geek. You're basically saying that you don't have other accomplishments to speak of, so in an effort to impress you bombard the reader with a list of programs, some of which aren't worth mentioning.

 

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