Most of the b-schools ask for a resume. Amongst the plethora of activities that need to be done for b-school admissions, resume making usually takes a back seat. Because many think it is not that important and most think it is easy to make one. Resume making, believe me, is as tough as essay writing. Here are some tips for resume making

1. The resume can go into the second page only if you are the president of the United States 🙂

I remember of the days when I used to send four pager resumes to prospective employers. It is pain to read those many pages, if at all one can get the employer to read. The resume has to be one page. Period.

2. If you have put in some years of workex, start with experience and that in the reverse chronological order. Education can come next. Activities and Personal interests in the last.
3. Cover profile and achievements in your work. Always give numbers to quantify achievements.
4. Use active verbs which catch attention. Try not to repeat the same verbs in a resume.
5. Edit resume every two days over 15 days to one month.
6. Let someone else read your resume.
7. Spell check. Don’t rely on MS word to do it. Do this manually. Let someone else also do this.
8. Read resume aloud. See if you have written something that ‘sounds’ odd.
9. DO NOT write in the resume what cannot be properly explained or substantiated.
10. Do include undergrad grades if they are good.
11. There can be one or two hobbies. Don’t list too many. Please be sure to update yourself on what is happening related to your hobby. For instance, if reading books interests you, then be ready with an answer on what the recent book you read was and what the learning from that book was. what types of books u read, etc.
12. If you have any volunteer activity, do include. Be ready with answers on this.
13. Personal details such as married, Indian national, male, age/DOB, father’s name, religion, et al are better avoided.
14. Ensure proper formatting.
15. Try to convert it into acrobat before e-mailing (adobe allows five free trials). If a hard copy is going, ensure the paper it is printed on has quality. Try not to fold it.
16. Finally, be prepared to answer ‘any’ question that relates to the resume.

Post Scriptum:

I write topics related to MBA admission because I think these may help some prospective applicants for their applications, which they must be working on now.
Have had two interesting Leadership Development Program sessions. Am not able to find time to get my thoughts together and put them to paper.

This weekend was a nightmare with four assignments, all of which were difficult. End term exams are a week away:-(