What should my MBA application resume look like? With the launch of the 2017-2018 MBA admissions season, this is a critical question applicants around the world will be asking themselves over the next 6-8 months. The good news is the answer is simple: your resume should be a forward-thinking advertisement that markets your strengths. Your essays should elaborate the strengths. The execution of that simple design, however, comes with a number of important caveats:
Structure & Format
1. Subheadings should be as follows: work experience, education, and additional. Objective is an outmoded practice still en vogue with some resume-writing services; however, it is not the standard of top MBA programs or elite corporate recruiting.
2. Applicants with limited or no work experience should find other ways to express leadership impact through a new subheading, such as extracurricular or nonprofit leadership. To learn what aspects of leadership should be highlighted, read Winning MBA Essay Guide from Chapter 18.
3. Font: Size 10, Times New Roman. Margins should be close to 0.7-1 inch.
4. Length: for most applicants, even those with 5-8 yrs of professional experience, a 1 page resume is sufficient and preferred.
Bullets
1. Each role should have no more than 4 bullets, and most well-developed bullets should occupy two lines.
2. Lead with strong, active verbs. ‘Was responsible for’ might be replaced with ‘spearheaded,’ ‘facilitated,’ or ‘managed.’ Keep verbs in present tense for current roles and ongoing responsibilities, past tense for past roles and projects.
3. Each bullet should reflect situation, action and result. What was the situation? What action did you perform to solve it? What was the outcome?
4. Quantify and qualify your impact. Include % and $ signs where possible, which are also great visual cues for your reader.
5. Key questions to ask yourself: do your bullets present the full dimension of your job function and business skills? Do they seem overblown or convincing?
Strategy
1. If you have only one professional role to draw from, consider bucketing project experience to show leadership development and multi-dimensional business expertise.
2. What type of career goals have you detailed in your essays? Your resume can reinforce this brand and your full application package, and show your readiness for the next step or even career transition.
3. Capture leadership roles, academic accomplishments, and extracurricular activities under your college education. This will show the type of student you’ll be.
4. Additional: this is a great place to include more humanizing details and strengths. Most applicants will include languages, advanced computer skills, volunteer work, and hobbies.
Of course, many applicants will also deliberate on the differences between a resume and a CV, and which to submit for their MBA application. At one time, CV’s were more prevalent in European countries (they are still the standard in academia as well), but in a more global, fast-paced business culture, that convention is beginning to shift. A recruiter or admissions committee member may spend 30-45 seconds, at most, evaluating your resume. Through crisp language, straightforward design, and some strategic thinking around capturing your strengths, your resume can catch their eye, strengthen your MBA candidacy, and get your foot in the door.
Related: Learn how to promote your Leadership & Emotional Intelligence (Two Qualities that Business Schools measure) by using Contexts, Persuasion Techniques and Storytelling.
About Janson Woodlee
Janson Woodlee graduated from Yale University, his studies focusing on cognitive science and music. As a college student, he was a Senior Editor with EssayEdge immediately after graduation, he worked with Katzenbach Partners, a management consulting firm and McKinsey offshoot. Ivy Eyes Editing was founded on the elements from his diverse background--including grammatical rigor and client collaboration--as well as a distinctive commitment to strategic admissions guidance, writing with style and authenticity, and deep ethical standards
About the Author
I am Atul Jose, Founding Consultant of F1GMAT, an MBA admissions consultancy that has worked with applicants since 2009.
For the past 15 years I have edited the application files of admits to the M7 programs: Harvard Business School, Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Wharton School, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School, together with admits to Berkeley Haas, Yale School of Management, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua, Darden, Tuck, IMD, London Business School, INSEAD, SDA Bocconi, IESE Business School, HEC Paris, McCombs, and Tepper, plus other programs inside the global top 30.
My work covers the full MBA application deliverable: career planning and profile evaluation, application essay editing, recommendation letter editing, mock interviews and interview preparation, scholarship and fellowship essay editing, and cover letter editing for funding applications. Full bio with credentials and admit history is here.
I am the author of the Winning MBA Essay Guide, the best-selling essay guide covering M7 MBA programs. I have written and updated the guide annually since 2013, which makes the 2026 edition the thirteenth.
The reason I still write and edit essays every cycle: a good MBA essay carries a real applicant's voice. Writing essays for F1GMAT's Books and Editing essays weekly is how I stay calibrated to what current admissions committees respond to.
Contact me for school selection, career planning, essay strategy, narrative development, essay editing, interview preparation, scholarship essay editing, or guidance documents for recommendation letters.