Resume – Alberta MBA Application Series
3 May 2021
Why should you spend time preparing your resume?
A resume provides the Admissions Committee with a snapshot of your career, education, and experience thus far. The Alberta MBA program asks for a resume as part of your application documents, and it is important that you spend sufficient time preparing this document to ensure it is clear and concise.
The Admissions Committee will spend no more than a few minutes reviewing your resume, so making it easy to read is important in leaving a positive impression on the reviewer.
Resume Do’s and Don’ts
The Do’s
- Ensure your resume is in an easy-to-read format. Design and content are both important
- Have someone proof read your resume to check for spelling, and to ensure the content is relevant and succinct
- Keep your resume length to 1- 2 pages
- List your most recent work experience at the beginning of your professional experience section and follow this chronological order when listing the rest of your work experience
- Your current or most recent job should have the most descriptive points regarding roles and responsibilities
- Think about how your work experience relates to the MBA program while you are listing your job duties. This will help in preparing to write your Statement of Intent
- Highlight your accomplishments! Include any special projects you worked on, or any achievements you would like to tell us about. Keep your achievements/special projects brief and provide 1-2 sentences maximum
- Include relevant dates
The Don’ts
- Include highly technical jargon or acronyms that the reviewer might not understand
- List your job experience out of order or list the first job you had at the top of your professional experience section
- Provide unnecessary details in your resume such as marital status, salary or education that was before your undergraduate degree (no need to list the high school or primary school you attended).
- Ask yourself if the things you are listing on your resume would be important to the Admissions Committee for entry into the MBA program
- Submit a resume that you made 2 years ago – be sure to update it!
Overall, your resume gives us a brief look into your background. By keeping things clear and simple, you’re making it easy for the reviewer to get a sense of who you are and your accomplishments.