Guide to Rsums

In revising your resume to be submitted with your business school application, your overall goal is to create a
document that showcases your major accomplishments and career progress for the admissions committee in an
effective and compelling way. Your resume is not a "throwaway" but rather an opportunity to tell your professional
and even your personal story in a concise form. We strongly caution you not to underestimate the value of this
documentthe admissions committees in fact review applicants' resumes carefully, because they serve as a road
map of each candidate's career. So, you should ensure that your resume is constructed for maximum impact, while
still meeting the specific expectations of your target school's admissions committee. Your goal should be to create a
resume that is simple and consistent in style as well as brief and powerful in substance.
One of the most common errors that candidates make is leaving their resume in an industry-specific format, filled with
jargon and acronyms recognizable only to an expert in their field. Remember, the admissions committee is not hiring
you for a task, but is trying to understand your progress, accomplishments and even your character. Each bullet point
in your resume needs to highlight achievement more than positional expertise.
As you prepare your resume to be included in your application, think about your audience and recognize that your
resume can be a strategic tool in reinforcing certain characteristics that are important to youcharacteristics that may
complement information provided in other parts of your application. For example, if you aspire to a career that is
international in nature, you may place more emphasis on your international experience in your resume. Or, if you
come from a field that is not known for its management orientationyou were a teacher who administered a school's
$50,000 student activities budget, for exampleyou may use your resume to emphasize disciplines that are
important to an MBA admissions audience.
In your resume, make sure that you are showcasing your accomplishments, not merely stating responsibilities. When
only your responsibilities are presentedwith no accompanying resultsthe reader has no understanding of whether
you were effective in your position. For example, consider the following entry, in which only responsibilities are
offered:
2005-Present Flocter & Gramble

Cincinnati, Ohio

Brand Manager

Responsible for managing a $10M media campaign, supervising a staff of five junior brand managers, monitoring
daily sales volumes and ensuring the consistent supply of product from five production facilities in three
countries.

The reader is left wondering, "Was the media campaign successful? Did the staff of five progress? Did sales volumes
increase? Did the supply of products reach its destination?" When this one large bullet point is instead broken down
into individual bulleted entries that elaborate on each task and show clear results, the reader learns not just about the
candidate's responsibilities, but also about his/her effectiveness and successes:
2008-Present Flocter & Gramble

Cincinnati, Ohio

Brand Manager

Initiated $10M television/Internet "Island Vacation" promotion introducing new Shine brand detergent, surpassing
first-year sales targets within three months.

Mentored and supervised five Junior Brand Managers, each of whom was promoted to Brand Manager
(company traditionally promotes 25%).

Analyzed daily sales volumes and identified opportunity to increase price point in Midwest, resulting in 26%
margin improvement and $35M in new profits.

Secured "safety supply" of vital chemicals from alternative suppliers, ensuring 99% order fulfillment.

By comparing the first Flocter & Gramble entry with the second, you can see how much more effective an
accomplishment-driven resume is than one that simply states responsibilities.
Ideally, your resume should be only one page long; admissions committees generally expect and appreciate the
conciseness of this format. If you choose to submit a two-page or longer resume, your reader may have difficulty
scanning it and identifying (and remembering) important facts. With these space constraints in mind, we offer two
fairly straightforward "space saver" ideas:

Do not include a mission statement at the beginning of your resume. Your mission in this case is to get into the
MBA program to which you are applyingand, of course, the admissions committee already knows this!

Only your name should appear at the top of your resume. You do not need to include your address, email
address, gender, marital status, etc., because this data will already be provided in your application form.

Kaplan students may apply for a free 30-minute consultation with mbaMission athttp://www.mbamission.com/kaplan.