Week 9: July 2, 2022
When did you last look at your resume?
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Dust off your resume this upcoming week and give it another look, especially as you look to connect with potential recruiters over the summer. We'll help you consider what should stay and what should go, as well as how to continue improving your resume as you accelerate your career.
  
The 100 Week Sprint team
To-do's this week
Got 5 minutes? Add your MBA program and expected graduation year on your resume as a starting point. Scan through resume wording and add 3-5 words that convey excitement and energy!
Got 30 minutes? Use our resume table exercise to review each of your current bullets to identify the mix of skills you’re showcasing.
Got an hour? Do a thorough scan to check if you have these common MBA resume mistakes. What do you anticipate to accomplish during your MBA? Find resources that could help you accomplish what you've set out to do in your green bullets.
Three ways to prepare your resume for b-school

We know you worked incredibly hard perfecting your resume before you submitted your business school applications - and it worked out for you! Even so, take some time this week to prepare your resume for the new experiences and achievements you will enjoy in the upcoming year. Also keep in mind the competition to make yourself stand out only increases from here, as you're competing with other successful business school applicants. Here are some resume items that may change once your MBA experience begins. 
 
1. Standard formatting: your school will have its own suggested resume format which you will need to follow to include your resume in their database. Adapting to this format will likely mean that you lose even more space compared to what you have now; be prepared to trim your content in the resume that you use for on-campus recruiting. 

2. Make room for education: as you network over the summer and at the beginning of school, you'll want people to know where you are matriculating. You'll want to include more than the single line, "[X] Business School, MBA expected [YYYY]." If you've been awarded any grants or scholarships, those should be included, as they will be a great way to differentiate yourself early on. What's more, you'll want to leave space for any accomplishments you expect to achieve while at school (such as making the Dean's List, taking on a leadership role, or winning a case competition). We suggest including green bullet points for such items - that will both ensure that you leave enough space for them and, every time you look at your resume, remind you of what you hope to accomplish.

Running out of space on your 1-page resume? Remove extracurriculars from your undergraduate college experience (unless they're directly related to your career goals).

3. Update your skills and responsibilities: What has changed since you applied to school? You may have completed a major project, headed up a new committee, or begun a new volunteer role in the time since you submitted your application. For each detail you add, engage the resume reader and include demonstrable results. Try using our Resume Table Exercise to help you consider each individual bullet's efficacy, along with how effectively your resume as a whole represents your skills and accomplishments.
Ten MBA resume mistakes to avoid

With other talented candidates vying for the same position, a ding on your resume could cost you an internship! Here are some common mistakes that we've seen on MBA resumes.
 
1. Word wall: does your resume look like a big block of text? Make sure to include some white space to make it easier for readers to digest. 
 
2. Small font: size 9 font (especially when paired with the above) is definitely not a sight for sore eyes. We understand that it can feel simply impossible to fit anything else into this document, even after you wordsmithed every bullet to squeeze everything onto one page. This is a good time to think through everything that you included as part of your resume and consider what is really speaking to the skills and experiences that will help you succeed in your next role.

3. Confusing dates: did you do more than one role at a time? Have a gap? Include all dates that you need to make it easy for the reader to reach a clear understanding of where you've been and when.

4. Curiously missing data: did you list your GPA for one degree, but not with another? Old test scores but not new ones? Make sure to address these inconsistencies.

5. Inconsistent punctuation: ";" and "." should not be used interchangeably. Be consistent.

6. Overstating accomplishments: would you be able to quickly back up each and every bullet on your resume? Did you supervise 10 people but have cross-functional responsibility for two dozen more? Think about how you would explain a number before including a statement that you supervised 35 people.

7. Not providing enough context: Did you work for a company that no one has heard of? Include a short statement below (one line) providing context about what they do.

8. Including too much information about college: When you were applying for your MBA, you likely wanted to provide a lot of context about your college experience, including student leadership. This is the time now to trim it back. Make sure that you make room for new activities in the MBA section of your resume.

9. Listing interests that are too generic: The interests section of your resume (or additional information) is the last thing that your interviewer is likely to see before you walk into the room. Get their attention! Travel, cooking and reading are not going to generate great conversation ("so... you like to travel"), but including specifics will. Hiking in national parks is a great alternative to "travel", testing out new recipes with friends in cooking class is a great alternative to cooking, and "a fan of XYZ author" is a nice alternative to reading. Of course your interests may be WAY more interesting than what we've just listed.

10. Not clearly including work authorizations (if you have them): if you have spent a lot of time working in different countries but have authorization to work in the US, make sure it is clearly stated on your resume. If anyone has asked about where you can work when they proofread your resume, that means that it's time for clarification.
Add some excitement to your resume

We're not suggesting bright colors or graphics, but read through your resume and ask yourself if someone would get excited by what was there. Could "managed" become "transformed", “designed” become “initiated”, or "led" become "piloted"? Small tweaks in wording will help catch the reader's attention and highlight your creativity and energy that will increase the chance people will want to talk to you. After all, that is the goal of any resume!
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