How To Avoid Costly MBA Résumé Mistakes
Submitting a résumé is perhaps the most crucial part of every prospective MBA’s application process. A good résumé provides insight into who an applicant is, and what they’ve accomplished. A well-crafted, attention-grabbing résumé that captivates an admissions team can bring an applicant much closer to an acceptance letter.
But aside from a name, contact info, and educational and professional details, what should a slam-dunk MBA resume include?
What Are The Résumé Basics?
Starting with the principle basics, résumés should be short, sweet, and concise. Ideally, they should fit on one page—maybe two. Stephan Kolodiy, an admissions officer at Rutgers University, told U.S. News & World Report that long résumés are a common issue with many MBA applicants.
“Sometime we get a résumé that’s five to six pages long, and that’s way too much information,” he says.
That one-to-two pages of concise information should also be 100 percent accurate—one should never lie on a résumé. Because credibility plays a big role in the application process (MBA or otherwise), it is unwise to fabricate work or school experience. Deceitful, even exaggerated, résumés are always rejected by business schools, and admitted students who submit compromised résumés are at risk for expulsion. This is serious stuff, so don’t lie!
Carrie Marcinkevage, MBA Managing Director at the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University, told U.S. News that honesty is always the best policy.
“Authenticity allows you to find the right school and that school to find you,” Marcinkevage says. “Allow them the chance to find the real you.”
Perhaps most importantly, all MBA résumés should provide examples of success. Prospective MBAs should give admissions officers a reason to send an acceptance letter by showing concrete examples of career advancement, or of how an MBA candidate achieved results for a particular client.
“When applying to a top-tier business school, you’ll need to show admissions committee on a clear path of professional growth,” U.S. News reports.
What Are You Forgetting?
There are also some not-so-basic guidelines that MBAs are encouraged to follow when crafting a solid résumé. Investopedia published a guide reviewing some of the best resumes for MBA applicants that outlines a few tips that many prospective business students may not have previously thought of.
Without sounding like too much of a graphic design nerd, it’s important to take typeface into account with a résumé. Yes, fonts matter. It’s best practice to rely on on two typefaces: A bold sans-serif face for headers, and a standard serif face for body type. For those of you who don’t know, a serif is the tiny extension on the termination point of an individual letter, the little “hat” at the end of a letter if you will.
Serifs exist to make smaller text easier to read, so they are the best friend of admissions offices who may read hundreds of résumés per day. Sans-serif fonts—letters that don’t include serifs—are cleaner and pop easier when bolded out. Résumés should avoid using fonts that are too common, such as Times New Roman, but also avoid ridiculous fonts like Comic Sans. Nobody likes Comic Sans.
Aside from listing relevant work experience, and showing how much growth took place at each job, there are other skills that every résumé should highlight. According to U.S. News, the three skills that can best help sell an MBA applicants résumé to a business school are:
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- Leadership
- Communication
- Innovation
First and foremost, business schools want to see strong leadership skills as well as personal growth. All MBA programs focus on developing management skills, but schools wants to know that a solid foundation of leadership is already there. Good résumés provide evidence of an applicant motivating a team behind a common goal, figuring out the best use of other’s talents and skills, instilling a concrete vision, and prioritizing the needs of an organization above personal needs.
As for communication, a résumé is an applicant’s first line of communication to a business school, and should be chock-full of structured writing and thought-out word choice. U.S. News shows the different between a boring resume and beautifully worded one:
“Here’s a real example of a blah bullet point in a client’s first draft: ‘Helped with new software implementation.’
Now, a brilliant bullet point: ”Spearheaded software upgrade in the San Francisco field office by coordinating with software developer, leading training sessions, and facilitating implementation schedule.’ The second example offers a much more comprehensive understanding of the scope of the accomplishment.”
Some applicants may try to hard to impress admissions officers with technical jargon or fancy terminology. Lose it, and show that you can clearly, and simply explain headier topics in writing:
“One client listed this bullet point on his resume: ‘Created VA1 Business Acquisition.’
Once we translated that into something the MBA admissions audience would understand, the résumé said: ‘Devised and launched outbound communications plan for our premier voice activated product. Product was well received and became cash flow positive within 14 months.’
Much better.”
Lastly, a résumé that shows an applicant has helped innovate will go a long way. This piece of advice is especially handy for applicants with traditional pre-MBA jobs. All admissions officers know what a consultant or analyst is tasked with at an entry-level position. A resume is an opportunity to shed light on things that sets an applicant apart from other typical analysts. Things to keep in mind include: training a newly hired analyst, leading college recruiting efforts, or organizing an office volunteering or fundraising initiative.
Avoiding Deceptive Mistakes
Now, here’s where we can get a little dramatic: Résumés are the first impressions a prospective MBA job candidates has with a potential employer. Since no one gets a second chance to make that first impression, don’t mess it up!
Bloomberg issued a list of the “Ten Biggest Resume Blunders” that outlines exactly what not to do with an application résumé, which includes obvious items like avoid writing a bad cover letter and remove foolish typos and inconsistencies.
The list also features some gems, like how to avoid making your résumé a cluttered mess. Again, not to sound like a graphic design professor, but the look of a résumé certainly counts. Avoid using fancy graphics or designs, and provide a crisp, clean document that’s easy to read on a computer screen.
“The résumé should be presentable, not an information dump,” Chris Thomas, Global Recruiting Director of the Experienced Commercial Leadership Program at General Electric, told Bloomberg. “There should be some white space.”
A well-done résumé shouldn’t misfire on any points—bullet points, that is. Some schools offer formats for resumes, specifically on how to list past job experience. Schools like the University of Michigan Ross School of Business advise students to use the “Action Context Result” format, which describes an action they performed, where they performed it, and the results it garnered.
“‘Worked for XYZ Corp., 2008 to 2012’ says close to nothing,” Damian Zikakis, Director of Career Services at Ross, told Bloomberg. “’Led a review of supplier contracts for the technology division resulting in savings of $250,000 opens doors.”
Lastly, a résumé should never disregard an applicant’s worth, nor should it overshare information. As we mentioned earlier in this piece, a good résumé should demonstrate what an applicant has accomplished and what they can bring to a new employer. It should not feature information that, even if positive, is irrelevant to a desired position.
“Think of the résumé as a future-focused document and not an historical one,” Char Bennington, Director of Career Management at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, told Bloomberg. “Focus on what’s important to the people in the career that you want now.”
How Else Can Your Résumé Stand Out?
To help make sure a résumé stands out in the crowd, consider participating in some relevant volunteer work. David D. Schein, the Director of Graduate Programs for the Cameron School of Business at the University of St. Thomas, told MetroMBA that adding volunteer work to a résumé. With that said, not all volunteer work is equal.
For example, if you volunteer at the SPCA and play with puppies all day, that probably won’t your résumé or your application. Instead, find “responsible positions that deliver a lot of bang for the time commitment,” Schein says. Find a position that will allow you to spend time organizing a major fund-raising activity or event. It should be something that has a demonstrative impact on the organization and illustrates your leadership potential.
Including unique and interesting hobbies can also be a fun way to illustrate your skills and stand out. Schein recommends that applicants choose hobbies that “demonstrate drive and ambition. Some examples might include white water rafting or learning a difficult foreign language like Chinese or Farsi.”
Philadelphia or Boston? Where’s the Best Place to Earn a Part-Time MBA
If you are interested in pursuing a degree in a diverse East Coast city, want to be surrounded by history and culture, and still immerse yourself in growing business community, two main cities come to mind: Philadelphia and Boston.
Both cities are at the center of U.S. history, and continue to be some of its largest centers of commerce and academia, with numerous opportunities to put its stellar education to work.
Surrounded by so many possibilities for professional development, an MBA student in a city like Philadelphia or Boston may not want to put their career and income on hold to pursue a full-time degree.
Thankfully, many of the business schools in Philadelphia and Boston offer part-time MBA programs, allowing students more flexibility as they kick off their careers in these exciting cities. But how to decide which one? We’ll take a look at some of the top part-time MBA programs in each metro to help you choose the right city for you.
Location
Once the capital of the United States, Philadelphia has never stopped being a center of both business and history since the time it played host to the country’s founding fathers. Home to some of the oldest and best universities in the country, Philadelphia has experienced a renaissance in recent years as young talent has become priced out of more expensive metros like New York City and Washington DC. The cost of living in Philadelphia remains fairly low, while the ever-growing business scene in the city offers the opportunity for high earning potential. This year, 14 Philadelphia-area companies made the Fortune 500 list.
Like Philadelphia, Boston has been a center of commerce and trade since the days of the Boston Tea Party. Today, the city is home to nine Fortune 500 companies, including major established firms like GE (13th on the Fortune 500 list) and newer but thriving businesses like Wayfair. However, Boston has a much higher cost of living than Philadelphia. The city currently ranks as the third most expensive city in the country.
Programs
Between the Wharton School of Business and the Harvard Business School, Philadelphia and Boston offer two of the most highly regarded MBA programs in the country. However, both of these schools only offer full-time MBA programs. Students looking for more flexibility in their schedules still have a number of stellar programs to choose from.
Most of the part-time MBA programs in the Philadelphia metro work on a hybrid structure, allowing students to take a combination of classes both online and in person. Many programs also offer students the chance to select majors or concentrations in which to specialize their business education. With a variety of possible concentrations at some of the most highly-ranked part-time programs in the country, students from these programs have gone on to find employment at major firms like DuPont, KPMG, and JPMorgan Chase.
Part-Time MBA Programs in Philadelphia Include
- Lehigh University College of Business and Economics
- Fox School of Business – Temple University
- La Salle University
- LeBow College of Business – Drexel University
- Lerner College – University of Delaware
- Rohrer College of Business – Rowan University
- Rutgers School of Business, Camden
- Villanova School of Business
- West Chester University
Like Philadelphia, Boston’s part-time MBA programs offer more flexibility for students to complete their degree on their own time. Most courses are offered in the evening or on weekends, and can be taken over the course of just two years or up to seven. Programs like the MBA at D’Amore-McKim also give students the opportunity to concentrate in fields such as Corporate Finance, Corporate Renewal, Entrepreneurship, and more.
Part-Time MBA Programs in Boston Include
- Carroll School of Management – Boston College
- D’Amore-McKim School of Business – Northeastern University
- F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business – Babson College
- Questrom School of Business – Boston University
- Sawyer Business School – Suffolk University
- Simmons School of Management
Cost
The tuition costs can vary from program to program, and can also be cheaper if the part-time program is competed online. On average, programs in the Philadelphia metro area can range from $45,000-$65,000 for the degree. The range of costs in Boston can be slightly higher, with some students spending up to $95,000 over the course of their degree.
Jobs
Although the cost of an MBA in Boston may be slightly higher than Philadelphia, the difference in average salary between the two cities may even out concerns of cost. In Boston, the average salary for someone with an MBA degree in a field like finance is $112,000, whereas in Philadelphia it is only around $90,000 per year.
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