How to write a résumé, and why

RESUME BONSAI

Résumés are like bonsai - you must craft your knowledge, skills and accomplishments to fit into the confines of a single sheet of paper. Please watch this video to learn more. 

I advise all of my clients to create a resume at the start of their MBA admissions process. Some of you may already have an English resume, but I think it is good to redo it before you begin writing your "Why MBA?" goals essay

Creating your resume is one of the best ways I know to learn about you. 

The process also helps you clarify your strengths, which you need to highlight in order to prove to adcom readers and interviewers that you have the potential to realize your future goals. 

As you prepare for our first resume counseling session, please read the resume tips below.

Then, create a list of your professional and academic accomplishments. 

Do not worry about the formatting, and do not create a table. Just use simple text in MS Word, and send it to Vince. 

As we finalize your content, I will use one of my time-tested resume templates to make your responsibilities, accomplishments and qualifications look professional and appealing.

The resume can be completed in one or two counseling sessions. We will continue to update it until (and even after) you submit your applications. 

Remember: think "bonsai" when creating (and editing) your resume. Our work is never finished. A world-class resume requires and deserves constant care and attention to truly stand out. 

In order to help applicants create competitive resumes, I ask questions covering three main topics:

EDUCATION

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE


ARE YOU FYOB?

Here are some follow-up questions that I ask my clients to help them demonstrate their qualitative impact and quantitative results:

The keywords from the four points above are "first, youngest, only, best." As you can see, the first letters of these four keywords form a convenient acronym, FYOB.

In short, when revising your resume draft, try to demonstrate "FYOBness". In other words, always show impact and prove it with numbers whenever possible. 

ADDITIONAL

RESUME TIPS

I suggest you read the following resume advice, which I have gathered from several trusted sources.

Harvard: 4 Tips for a Résumé that Survives Scrutiny

http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/managementtip.php?date=081809

 

Use these four tips to boost your résumé's chance of survival:


MIT

http://web.mit.edu/career/www/guide/resumes.html

Your resume should be a concise summary of the high points of your education, work experience, and other qualifications relevant to your audience’s needs and to your employment interests, not a complete history of your life. It communicates your professional qualifications to employers, to interest them in interviewing you, and it creates their first impression of you. It is a marketing tool and an introduction to you and your experiences. Do enough research about the employer and the field to decide which messages are most important to your audience, and communicate these messages succinctly and clearly in a visually appealing format. Here are some guidelines to help you do this:

 

Style

 

Format

 

Content

 

Use "Resume English"

Ignore some of the standard English rules of usage that you would otherwise follow in essays 

To save space, we suggest you

 

Think "MECE"

I encourage clients to think of a resume as a "greatest hits" compilation. Can you include only the best examples of each achievement? Can you highlight the breadth and depth of your technical, analytical and interpersonal skills?

If music metaphors fail to move you, I encourage you to analyze your resume using the MECE principle.

(ME) Mutually Exclusive - "must ensure that a list of items is mutually exclusive, or that every item is separate and distinct"

(CE) Collectively Exhaustive - "it must also be collectively exhaustive, that it includes every issue relevant to the problem"

The MECE principle, pronounced 'meesee', mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, is a groupingprinciple. It says that when data from a category is desired to be broken into subcategories, the choice of subcategories should be

This is desirable for the purpose of analysis: mutual exclusivity avoids the risk of double countinginformation, and collective exhaustion avoids the risk of overlooking information.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MECE_principle 

Sources and more hints here http://bit.ly/MECE_res

RESUME GUIDELINES

My client recently sent me the Resume Format Guidelines he received from Kellogg's Career Management Center. I suggest you follow these helpful tips to make your resume clear and convincing to your future application readers and interviewers.

 

WHY A STANDARD FORMAT?

•The Kellogg format allows on-campus recruiters to focus on your resume’s content rather than stylistic differences

•We get consistently positive feedback from employers on our format

Employer testimonial:

•“The Kellogg format is ideal. It is a concise one-page snapshot of a Kellogg student’s previous achievements, which allows us to review resumes thoughtfully and efficiently.” -McKinsey and Company

 

RESUME FORMAT GUIDELINES

Length

• Resumes may be no longer than ONE PAGE (A4 or 8 ½ x 11)

 

Tables

• DO NOT use tables on your resume

• Tables cause difficulty both with the Kellogg resume database and company application websites.

 

Margins

• Margins can not be smaller than .7 inches on all sides

 

Tabs and Alignment

• Locations should be right-aligned

• Bullets should be left-aligned and should not spread to the right margin

 

Font

• Size: 10 or 11 point Times New Roman. Do not make your name larger than the rest of your resume

• Caps and Bold: The following should be in BOLD CAPS. Do not use bold in other places on your resume

• Your name

• Section Headings

• School Names

• Company Names

• Italics: Job titles should be in italics.

Publications may be italicized if appropriate

• Lines/Underline: There should be no lines or underlining on your resume, except if you are listing “selected transaction experience” in your experience section

 

EDUCATION SECTION

•Include the month and year you received your degree

 

OTHER DATA SECTION

•Capitalize the first letter of languages spoken if included

•You may want to include any certifications you have obtained

•Be specific in this section – do not just say “enjoy traveling and cooking” – instead say something like, “enjoy adventure travel” or “recently traveled to Ecuador and Indonesia” and “enjoy cooking Northern Italian cuisine”

 

Header

•Your header should contain three lines

•Your name

•All CAPS and Bold

•Your address

•Street, City, State, and Zip

•Your phone number and email address

•Use your Kellogg email address

•Include only one phone number

 

Footer

•Include the date of your most recent update in the lower right corner

•Recruiters may receive multiple versions of your resume – help them determine which one is most current.

•The date should be Month/Day/Year

 

Experience Section

• Dates should be flush with the left margin

• Company names should be in CAPS and bold

• Job titles should be in italics

• Specific dates for different positions within the same company should be listed after the job title — the dates in the left margin for that company should reflect your entire term of employment at that company

• Don’t include internships completed in undergrad as part of this section. They should be included under Education as one bullet

 

Objective Statements

•DO NOT include an objective on your resume

 

Use chronological format

•List education and business experience in REVERSE chronological order (most recent first)

•The “Education” section should be at the top of your resume

 

Dates

•Write out all years fully

•“2005-2009” – NOT “05-09”

•Do not include months

•Internship dates should be identified by season, e.g. “Summer 2009”

 

Locations

•Abbreviate all states for locations of employer and school, e.g. “IL” not “Illinois”

•Spell out names of foreign countries

•Spell out addresses

 

Numbers

•Write out number one through nine.

•Use numerals starting with 10

 

Personal Information

•Do not include personal information on your resume (e.g. marital status, children, etc)

 

IMPACT STATEMENTS

Your bullets should not read like a job description. They should feature skills, actions and results. Consider following this formula:

Strong Lead Action Verb + What You Did = Results

 

Quantify: “Designed and implemented new volunteer model in Tanzania, expanding volunteer base by 30%

•Increased (sales, profits, margins, value)

•Decreased (costs, inefficiencies, errors)

 

Scope: “Managed $82M divestiture of division with over $30M in revenue and 100 employees.”

•Define size (team, budget, business)

•Number impacted (people, businesses)

 

Qualify: “Presented final recommendation to CFO, recommendation ultimately implemented by client.” •Presented to (senior management, client)

•Delivered (on time, early, under budget) •Implemented recommendation

•A company first

•Adopted across business units

 

Action Verbs

accelerated developed made revived accomplished devised maintained saved achieved discovered managed scheduled acquired discharged marketed secured adapted distributed mediated selected addressed documented minimized served administered doubled mobilized set up advanced earned modernized settled allocated edited modified shaped analyzed eliminated monitored showed anticipated employed motivated simplified applied enforced negotiated sold appointed established obtained solved approved estimated operated sponsored arranged evaluated ordered staffed assisted examined organized standardized assigned exceeded originated started attained exercised overcame stimulated audited expanded overhauled streamlined augmented extended oversaw strengthened brought financed participated stretched broadened forecasted performed structured built formed pinpointed studied calculated formulated planned suggested centralized founded prepared summarized clarified fulfilled presented supervised collaborated generated prevented supported combined guided processed surpassed completed halved produced surveyed conceived handled programmed sustained concluded helped projected tailored condensed headed promoted taught conducted hired proposed terminated consolidated identified proved tested constructed implemented published traded consulted improved realized transacted contracted increased recommended transferred contributed influenced reconciled transformed controlled initiated recruited translated converted inspected reduced trimmed coordinated installed re-established tripled corrected instituted regulated uncovered created instructed reinforced undertook cut integrated reorganized unified decentralized interviewed reported used decreased introduced represented utilized defined invented researched verified delivered investigated reshaped widened demonstrated launched resolved withdrew designated liquidated restored won designed located reviewed worked determined revised wrote

 

Synonyms

 

http://bit.ly/auhFe1

First, you need to know how far back in time to detail in this document. As a general rule, if you are applying to graduate school and have at least two years of work experience, your high school activities should not be included in your resume. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, if you won a prestigious national award in high school, you may certainly consider including this important recognition.

Other general rules for the resume:

Limit the number of bullet points describing your early entry-level roles and instead expand the space dedicated to those in which you made the most impact. For instance, if you were promoted from an entry-level programming position with your company, then you don’t even need to dedicate a separate line to describe that first role. Instead, you can simply impress the reader by describing the fast pace of promotion in a line of the job description, like this:

 

Team Lead, IT Consulting Company                    2007-Present

Twice promoted from Analyst (2007-2008) to Senior Analyst (2008) and then Team Lead in record 12 months, a full 4 times faster than the average rate of promotion.

What if one position has allowed you significant leadership opportunities and impact? Or what if you have been in your current role for several years? How can you detail all that you have accomplished in just four bullet points? The trick is to break that down into sections, like this for example:

Private Equity Associate, PE Firm                         2008-Present

Lines of job description here…

Leadership Accomplishments Include:

Financial Impacts Include:

Keep in mind that the majority – if not all – of those bullet points should include quantifiable impact that you had on the organization. Breaking up a bulk of text with numbers and section headings makes the entire document more compelling.

Finally, to ensure that your document is easy to read and keeps the admissions officer’s attention, you need to include ample white space. To add some white space above each position in Microsoft Word, highlight the title line of each row (hold the Ctrl button down as you click to keep them all highlighted), then click on Format, Paragraph, then in the Spacing Before box try at least 4 pt. (if you have more space left on the page at the end you can go to 6 pt.). Do the same Ctrl highlighting for the bullet points throughout the document and try 2 pt. or 3 pt. spacing before each of those lines.

Check out this pdf file (viewable in Adobe Reader) to see the difference this little formatting trick can make.

 Jennifer Bloom

Action Verbs by Category 

Management Skills

Administered

Analyzed

Assigned

Chaired

Consolidated

Contracted

Coordinated

Delegated

Developed

Directed

Evaluated

Executed

Organized

Oversaw

Planned

Prioritized

Produced

Recommended

Reorganized

Reviewed

Scheduled

Supervised

Communication Skills

Addressed

Arbitrated

Arranged

Authored

Co-authored

Collaborated

Corresponded

Developed

Directed

Drafted

Enlisted

Formulated

Influenced

Interpreted

Lectured

Mediated

Moderated

Negotiated

Persuaded

Promoted

Proposed

Publicized

Reconciled

Recruited

Spoke

Translated

Wrote

Research Skills

Clarified

Collected

Critiqued

Diagnosed

Evaluated

Examined

Extracted

Identified

Inspected

Interpreted

Interviewed

Investigated

Organized

Reviewed

Summarized

Surveyed

Systematized

Technical Skills

Assembled

Built

Calculated

Computed

Designed

Devised

Engineered

Fabricated

Maintained

Operated

Pinpointed

Programmed

Remodeled

Repaired

Solved

Operated

Pinpointed

Programmed

Remodeled

Repaired

Solved

Teaching Skills

Adapted

Advised

Clarified

Coached

Communicated

Conducted

Coordinated

Developed

Enabled

Encouraged

Evaluated

Explained

Facilitated

Guided

Informed

Instructed

Lectured

Persuaded

Set goals

Stimulated

Taught

Trained


Financial Skills

Administered

Allocated

Analyzed

Appraised

Audited

Balanced

Budgeted

Calculated

Computed

Developed

Managed

Planned

Projected

Researched

Creative Skills

Acted

Conceptualized

Created

Customized

Designed

Developed

Directed

Established

Fashioned

Illustrated

Instituted

Integrated

Performed

Planned

Proved

Revised

Revitalized

Set up

Shaped

Streamlined

Structured

Helping Skills

Assessed

Assisted

Clarified

Coached

Counseled

Demonstrated

Diagnosed

Educated

Facilitated

Familiarized

Guided

Inspired

Motivated

Participated

Provided

Referred

Rehabilitated

Represented

Reinforced

Supported

Taught

Trained

Verified

Clerical or Detail Skills

Approved

Arranged

Catalogued

Classified

Collected

Compiled

Dispatched

Executed

Filed

Generated

Implemented

Inspected

Monitored

Operated

Ordered

Organized

Prepared

Processed

Purchased

Recorded

Retrieved

Screened

Specified

Systematized

Tabulated

Validated

Stronger Verbs for Accomplishments

Accelerated

Achieved

Attained

Completed

Conceived

Convinced

Discovered

Doubled

Effected

Eliminated

Expanded

Expedited

Founded

Improved

Increased

Initiated

Innovated

Introduced

Invented

Launched

Mastered

Originated

Overcame

Overhauled

Pioneered

Reduced

Resolved

Revitalized

Spearheaded

Strengthened

Transformed

Upgraded

Power Verbs

The use of action words/power verbs is essential in promoting your skills and experience. Using these words at the start of each bullet point under the details of your employment will assist the reader in noticing your key achievements. 

The words you use will depend upon your experience/industry, so try not to stuff your CV full of powerful words in the hope that this will look good. For example, a candidate applying for a managerial position will want to use words such as "oversaw, developed, improved and reduced." In contrast, someone looking for a more creative role will want to use words such as "designed, compiled and created."

Power verbs to accentuate organizational skills

Arranged

Categorized

Collected

Compiled

Corrected

Distributed

Filed

Incorporated

Logged

Maintained

Monitored

Observed

Ordered

Organized

Prepared

Recorded

Registered

Reserved

Responded

Reviewed

Scheduled

Screened

Supplied

Updated

Power verbs used to highlight achievements

Achieved

Built

Created

Developed

Established

Expanded

Founded

Identified

Implemented

Increased

Initiated

Instigated

Launched

Lead

Managed

Reduced

Solved

Streamlined

Other power verbs

Administered

Advised

Analyzed

Approved

Completed

Conducted

Controlled

Coordinated

Defined

Delivered

Demonstrated

Designed

Instructed

Introduced

Maintained

Negotiated

Oversaw

Performed

Planned

Presented

Supervised

Supported