FAQ之七：common resume mistakes

chipmunk

Dear MBA applicants,
After reviewing hundreds of resume that get submitted for review through my website, I have seen a pattern of common mistakes. I thought that I should put them here so that people can avoid the same mistakes in their resumes.
1. Resume is for highlighting your achievements and not to list whatever you did in your jobs. Most people do not get this. They use this important tool to talk about their day-to-day activities on the job. Please understand that your resume is your chance to sell yourself in the best possible way. Do not list the mundane details of your job and waste invaluable space which you can use to highlight your abilities.
2. Another common mistake is to use vague and generic language in your resume. B-schools (or anybody who is reading your resume) want to know what specifically was your contribution in terms of cost savings or increase in revenues or better process etc. Mention specifically what was your role and give them concrete numbers to make your point with emphasis.
3. Many people use very dry words instead of using strong action words in their resumes. Words like 'participated', 'coordinated', 'helped' etc are very weak. Use strong words like 'Build', 'Created', 'Improved', 'Reorganized' etc to give due credit to your work. If you just participated, its not a big achievement, think about something more than participation.
4. Use clear bullet points rather than writing your achievements in a big paragraph. Paragraphs bury your achievements and kill the purpose of your resume.
5. Prioritize what you want to sell. Resume should not exceed one page. In their quest to say everything in one single page, people crowd their resume with so much detail that the reader gets turned off just by looking at the resume. Please know what is really important and say only that. Use white spaces to give effect to those important points. Don't bury them in a lot of words.
6. Avoid your industry jargons. This is most common with people applying with IT backgrounds. People on the adcom do not know what is 'middle layer OO design". Keep it to yourself. Please simplify what you did for them in their language and more importantly - give them results.
For more information about MBA admissions, resume and essay writing, visitwww.askshabz.com
The website also offers free resume and essay reviews, take advantage of it.
Good Luck

lewis

几个今年的录取人一致认为RESUME在MBA申请中至关重要.
resume就象是一个职业人士的着装;如果拉力邋遢, 别人和你谈事情的心情首先坏了.
CBSF的奥斯汀MBA admit: feifeifeifei就认为她能成功申请并获得数万美刀的奖学金,在很大程度上归结于通过RESUME给admission officer留下深刻的印象.

k2

thanks. very helpful.

victorcorleone

resume有什么格式要求吗？
或者谁有一个比较好的模版，参考一下！

speter

非常实用~谢谢!

catherinecwang

Hi Steper,

Looks like you are looking for a good resume template as well. Have you found one yet?

cc

lewis

以下是引用catherinecwang在2003-8-26 7:25:00的发言：
Hi Steper,

Looks like you are looking for a good resume template as well. Have you found one yet?

cc

Here it is:

8月3日更新：
申请MBA用的RESUME样本数据库 (12.8M)  点击下载 （感谢SinoBoy提供的宝贵资料！）
注：包括237名MBA学生的RESUME！

http://forum.chasedream.com/dispbbs.asp?boardID=33&ID=5917

catherinecwang

以下是引用lewis在2003-8-26 10:00:00的发言：
Here it is:



http://forum.chasedream.com/dispbbs.asp?boardID=33&ID=5917

Lewis,

Sorry for the late response. I just got a chance to have the Darden resume downloaded, it works. Thank you very much.

cc

lewis

以下是引用catherinecwang在2003-8-31 21:06:00的发言：

Lewis,

Sorry for the late response. I just got a chance to have the Darden resume downloaded, it works. Thank you very much.

cc

Welcome. There are some Chinese students in the data base. Have you noticed that? The resumes in the data base are very useful.

Good luck to your application!

moonhawk

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