Writing an MBA Resume

This document covers the steps to take to prepare an MBA-level resume. This is based on feedback from employers as well as the experience of the Rockwell Career Center career specialists. We encourage you to meet with one of our career specialists at the Rockwell Career Center in Melcher Hall 713-743-4590 -- to review your resume once it is drafted. Tips for a Competitive MBA Resume: For every skill on your resume, ask yourself, is this relevant to the position/field/industry for which I am applying? If the answer is no, take it out. 1. Look at a typical job description that would be of interest to you. Does your resume clearly given examples (not just laundry lists) of the skills and experience being sought for those types of jobs? 2. Does each bullet point on your resume highlight a specific accomplishment that would be of interest in your chosen field, or does it just list duties? Laundry lists of duties dont sell well unless youre looking for a job doing what youre already doing. Accomplishments, especially those you can measure, are the most marketable things to put on resumes. 3. Remove all unnecessary items from your resume such as subjective lists of skills, reference information, vague objective statements, laundry lists of irrelevant duties, personal interests that arent terribly interesting, personal data such as marital status, age or health. 4. Have a friend or career counselor go over it with a fine toothed comb for grammatical & spelling errors. Getting Started This is the data gathering process for your resume writing. Do not be concerned about the look of your resume or the amount of material you are writing down. 1. Gather past performance evaluations and past job descriptions (if available). 2. Take notes beginning with your first, full-time professional position. Include as much detail as possible, such as: Actual title Industry and environment Key responsibilities Special assignments Skills used and developed Groups/departments interacted or collaborated with People, processes or tasks supervised Achievements and impact related to monetary value, numerical figures, percentage increases/decreases Focus on your impact instead of your tasks Include any promotions, special recognitions received 3. Recall and write down as many numbers as possible. Size of teams, length of project, number of people impacted Size of clients, value of transaction, etc. 4. Quantify results and key lessons learned. 5. List activities you do aside from work that might make an interesting conversation point with a recruiter. Include volunteer groups you have been involved in.
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1st Draft With the notes prepared in the previous section, you can now begin to piece together your resume draft 1. The Summary Section is at the top of the page but you typically want to write after you have written the rest of your resume to tie everything together. See page 5. 2. In the education section, list degrees, graduation dates and GPA. See example on page 4. 3. In the experience section, list (in reverse chronological order) internships, independent consulting and full time positions. See page 6 and 7 on how to develop your accomplishment statements. 4. In the personal section, list languages you speak, volunteer programs you participate in, hobbies, and U.S. work authorization (if your name or work experience appear international) 5. Be clear about dates and locations. 6. Avoid gaps in the chronological dates if possible. If unavoidable, explain (in cover letter) what you were doing during that time. 7. Use sample resumes to create a clean and concise resume format Fine Tuning Packaging is crucial to a successful resume 1. Review sample resume for format parameters on page 4. 2. Keep it to one page for resume books and not more than two for other uses. 3. Use a format that presents information clearly Use phrases, not full sentences Write in third person, never use I, me, or my Avoid using abbreviations, unless necessary (ex: IBM is O.K.) Restrict information to facts only Make sure to check for spelling and grammatical errors 4. Focus on your accomplishments, not your tasks 5. Professional summaries are positioned at beginning of resume in lieu of the objective statement but should not exceed 4 sentences 6. Avoid having any chronological gaps in your work experience section 7. Be concise and eliminate unnecessary words often used as fillers 8. See the MBA Standard Resume Specifications on page 3.

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C.T Bauer College of Business, MBA Standard Resume Specifications

The Rockwell Career Center is dedicated to meeting the needs of MBA students by enhancing your visibility to a stellar group of employers through MBA Focus. MBA Focus is a well respected and highly utilized website by more than 50 top ranking graduate schools and 3,000 recruiters. So what does this mean for you? This partnership will enhance your visibility to premier employers, grant access to exciting job postings, and a great opportunity to market your resume through the searchable MBA resume book. This is in addition to your resume in Bauer Career Gateway. Please note that your resume must meet all C.T Bauer College of Business MBA standards to be included in the resume book. What is the Resume Book? It is a resource tool that highlights the qualifications and accomplishments of C.T. Bauer MBA students. The book provides increased visibility to corporations for recruiting purposes. Resumes are required to meet the C.T Bauer College of Business MBA standards to be included in the resume book. Format Requirements for Inclusions: Single page resume Times New Roman font All in 10.5 12.0 font except for your name in 12 point, blocked font No less than .5 margins Headings will be Caps all other is a mix of upper and lower case even names and headings (except for abbreviations like TX/HP) Name, address, email and contact numbers are centered at the top of resume Summary (no Profile or Objective) should be aligned far left, bolded (THE WORD SUMMARY ONLY) in a 12 point Time New Roman font All resume text should be aligned directly below the headings ONLY use round bullet points displaying short and concise accomplishments instead of long paragraphs Use action verbs to quantify and highlight accomplishments, e.g., cost savings, return on investment, etc. No dark lines crossing the page and no shading Job titles are italicized and reside on their own lines, just under the employer name Dates should be to the right of employer and the actual job title There must be a half or full space between different sections, schools and employers All text should be left-aligned, not in block format All other content is plain type no other bolding or italics Resume sections should always appear in this order: Name, Contact Information, Summary Education Experience and Additional could include honors, certificates, computer skills or activities Your school name is University of Houston, C.T. Bauer College of Business All degree names should be written out, such as Master of Business Administration The name of the first degree listed on the page should read as follows: Master of Business Administration The term Master should not be pluralized. List dates of graduation in month year format Include GPA (if a minimum of 3.00) Do not use the term Candidate in the education section. Also eliminate phrases such as Anticipated Graduation or Expected Graduation Instead, simply list the month and year of your anticipated graduation (aligned to the right of the page) Do not include personal information such as date of birth, marital status, religion or pictures. You may include appropriate personal activities, interests, achievements, honors, and languages spoken in the additional section Be consistent with the use or non-use of periods at the end of bullets
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Robert Marley
122 W. Main St. Houston, TX 77002 H: (713) 555-1234 C: (713) 555-6789 bobmarley@uh.edu

Sample Resume

SUMMARY Business development and consulting professional with global expertise. Analytical, strategic planner who is committed and focused. Creative and resourceful in development and implementation as well as problem resolution. Knowledgeable and results-oriented leader with strong work ethic and personal integrity. EDUCATION University of Houston, C. T. Bauer College of Business Master of Business Administration, May 2011 Universidad Simn Bolvar Caracas, Venezuela Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Information Technology, January 2000 Graduated cum laude GPA 4.76/5.0 Class Rank 4/165 EXPERIENCE Big EnerG, Inc. (2006-present) Houston, TX Program Manager (2007-present) Promoted from Bus. Dev. after less than one year in a track that typically takes three years to promotion. Led team of 5 engineers and marketing professionals to bring new online customer service tool to market. Implemented changes to testing process, decreased error rates, and completed project ahead of schedule. Developed online communication process that increased the marketing reach and stayed 15% under budget. Led implementation of in house and vendor systems. Coordinated teams of developers and vendors. Business Development Manager (2006-2007) Conducted insight analysis of international customer and consumer data. Presented promotion and pricing recommendations to the marketing and operations departments, resulting in strategic changes in these areas. Initiated and implemented customer insight analysis protocol to VPs of Marketing, Development, and IT. Developed processes for mining data from old customer databases to prepare for transition to new system. Butcher, Baker and Witt, Inc. (Marketing Consultant to Fortune 1000 Clients) (2003-2006) Houston, TX Sr. Consultant (2005-2006)/Consultant (2003-2005) Evaluated, staffed and managed 6-18 month projects with budgets of $200K - $4M and 2-12 personnel. Increased profitability for clients as much as 35% by recommending direct mail / online marketing changes. Designed and implemented customer research programs based on independent research conducted for clients primarily in the petroleum and energy industries. Worked extensively with focus groups, surveys and data warehouse research for a variety of clients. Developed online database systems, using SQL, Access and FrontPage, for tracking and improving efficiency of client services groups in global petroleum and utility companies. Global Corp. Oilfield Services (2000-2003) Venezuela, Peru, Brazil System Technician Assisted in saving millions of dollars by developing a complex database system that tracked projects, supplies, costs and time lost throughout the South American drilling and oilfield operations. System exposed significant inefficiencies and was used as a model for other divisions around the world. ADDITIONAL Permanent work authorization for the United States. Fluent in English and Spanish. Bauer MBA Society, member, 2009 Soccer coach for children ages 5-7 (2006-present). Completed the Houston Marathon (2008). Microsoft Certified Professional 2008
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Develop Your Summary Statement

A summary is a brief statement of three to five lines that gives insight into who you are and what strengths you will bring to the job. The major points to include are your specific strengths, personality traits and characteristics important to the job, and professional experience and skills.
Template (Adjective), (adjective), (title or function) with over (insert number) years of experience in (insert a key requirement of the job desired). Known for ability to (2-3 relevant and specific abilities). Excellent (adjective) with (explanation). Skills Section To include the Skills Section, simply add a lead in sentence at the end of your Summary Statement and list your skills in bullets. Additional strengths and expertise in: Relevant skill you are trained in Relevant skill you are trained in Relevant skill you are trained in Relevant skill you are trained in Relevant skill you are trained in Relevant skill you are trained in Summary Examples

Motivated and team-oriented project manager with over 3 years of experience in project design, standard implementation, budgeting and database management. Known for an ability to improve logistic efficiencies, collaborate across multiple departments, and analyze from a functional and technical viewpoint.
Highly motivated, creative and versatile real estate professional with seven years of experience in property acquisition, development and construction, as well as the management of large apartment complexes. Especially skilled at building effective, productive working relationships with clients and staff. Excellent management, negotiation and public relations skills. Seeking a challenging management position in the real estate field that offers extensive contact with the public. Results-oriented financial professional pursuing MBA with five years of experience in cash flow analysis, finance operations, and trend analysis. Demonstrated ability to establish priorities, work independently and execute complex projects. Highly developed organizational and time management skills. Excellent team player with demonstrated experience of working efficiently and collaboratively with all levels of staff to ensure successful implementation of projects. Results-oriented professional with over 7 years experience in all phases of employee benefits including designing and implementing new benefits programs, analyzing benefit data, and training executives and managers on latest benefit trends. Known for an ability to provide innovative ideas that decrease employee turnover, cut costs through efficiency, and successfully supervise eight professionals.

Sales and marketing professional with global expertise. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Ability to work comfortably at multiple organizational levels. Accomplished team leader. Analytical, strategic planner and presenter. Goal and detail oriented with high energy level and integrity. committed and focused.
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Develop Your Accomplishments

Accomplishment Statements When you develop these statements, you will identify specific skills, traits, and values that will strengthen your resume. Elaborating upon these statements in an interview or at an informational meeting will help you to better articulate your value to a potential employer. Identify Your Accomplishments Outline 10 to 20 incidents, situations, or projects in which you did something that gave your career (or life) meaning. What made you feel good about yourself or others feel good about you? What awards, promotions, bonuses, or other forms of recognition did you receive? Why? How did you efficiently manage others? In what decision making or planning did you participate? What problems did you identify and solve? What new program, product or system did you introduce? How did you save the company money or time? How much?

You may choose to focus on accomplishments outside your current employment, but which relate to your new career objectives. Clearly identify the specific things you did or actions that you took. 1. Summarize the situation, incident, or project in one sentence. 2. What actions did you take? With whom did you interact? Was this your idea? Did you identify a problem and/or recommend a solution? Did you have to persuade anyone to participate or cooperate with you? 3. What were the results of these actions? How were they successful? Who benefited from them? Quantify the benefits. Identify Your Skills Now go back and highlight the verbs in your stories. The verbs describe the skills you have used to get things done. Think about specific things you can do and functions you can perform such as manage large construction projects or develop marketing strategies. Keep a copy of this exercise, because you are going to want to transfer these skills for use in the next section. Writing Accomplishment Statements 1. Remember that most of what we do at work can be categorized in one of four ways: Making Money Saving Money Increasing Efficiency Serving Customers 2. Quantify your results using numbers (1,2,3), percentages (%), and dollar signs ($). 3. Avoid using adverbs (effectively or significantly). Numbers speak louder than adjectives. Create a bullet list, beginning each entry with a powerful verb that refers specifically to a result. accomplished achieved consolidated converted coordinated designed earned eliminated established founded implemented invented launched produced redesigned reorganized simplified solved streamlined strengthened structured transformed won wrote
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Develop Your Skills Database

Formal Skills Formal skills are specific to a particular discipline, such as accounting, finance, marketing, or supply chain management. Examples of disciplines requiring formal skills include: employee relations expense control financial analysis IT marketing policy development process development project management quality assurance recruiting research & analysis risk management regulatory reporting strategic planning systems design

Compile a list of 15 to 20 formal skills from your Accomplishments exercise. Transferable Skills Transferable skills can be used by any company or organization in any industry. These are very important if you are transitioning into a new industry or function. analyze advise administer budget coach counsel compose collaborate direct develop evaluate examine execute facilitate lead mentor monitor negotiate research schedule speak supervise teach write

Build a list of 15 to 20 transferable skills. Managerial Skills action orientation adaptability business knowledge creativity customer focus decision quality

delegation developing people directing others ethics & values hiring & staffing information sharing

integrity interpersonal skills managing diversity measuring work personal learning results orientation

Build a list of 8 to 10 managerial skills. Focus on those that you do best. While it may seem important to demonstrate a wide range of skills, you should emphasize quality over quantity. Knowledge Identify the functional, industry or business expertise you have developed such as management training techniques or energy industry or paper product market. Traits To identify personal traits that differentiate from others, consider recent performance reviews and ask coworkers and friends. Identify 10 traits that you possess and write a short justification. accountable collaborative focused resourceful accessible creative influential responsive adaptable dynamic innovative resourceful confident energetic inventive versatile
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