UPDATE: This article was originally posted on May 14, 2018. It has been updated with new information and tips below.
This time of year, we talk to countless clients who are rushing around to get their Round 2 applications in by the January deadline. Most international MBA applicants spend so much time and energy taking the GMAT, agonizing over writing perfect admissions essays, chasing after recommenders, and networking with schools that they neglect to give their CV the attention it deserves. This is a mistake.
Your MBA CV is a sales document that helps you sell your profile to the admissions committee.
Done well, your CV primes the admissions committee, and tells them, “Hey! I’m a great candidate with amazing accomplishments, so pay attention!”. A bad CV can fail to get the attention of the person reading your application, which can be deadly for your application!
To make sure your CV is working for you, not against you, we’ve compiled a list of the top 7 mistakes we see business school applicants making, along with advice on how to fix these mistakes on your own CV.
1. Put work experience first, education second
This really isn’t a place to be creative or to try to stand out. Business schools like CVs that have professional experience first, and educational information second. Period. If you leave education first, they will consider this a mistake.
Note: when you enter a business school and begin to search for internships, move the education section back to the top of your CV, now with your business school information right at the top!
2. Use Bullet format, not sentences or paragraphs
Even if there is a lot you want to say, don’t use full sentences or, worse, paragraphs. You should be able to break your experience at each company down into a few bullets that describe what you were doing and what you accomplished during your time there.
3. Remove personal information
Remember, you are applying for business school, so information like your height, weight, marital status, citizenship, etc., is not appropriate. You should also avoid putting a picture on your CV. If the schools really want this information, they will ask you for it in the application form.
4. Remove recommenders
You will formally register your recommenders through the school’s online application. You should not include references or any mention of references on your MBA CV.
5. One page means one page
This doesn’t mean three pages of information put in tiny font on a page with tiny margins.
This means: You have only had a few years of work experience and you should be able to be concise and to the point about describing what you have done since starting your career. This should easily fit onto one page.
If you’re having trouble cutting your CV down, show it to a trusted friend or to an admissions consultant. Their “outsider view” is a great asset when deciding what to cut!
6. Remove high school information
We know that you worked very hard to attend a top high school and that attending that school opened a lot of doors for you. However, now that you are applying for a graduate degree, something that happened so long ago is no longer relevant to the person you are today.
The only exception here is if you did something truly amazing during high school. A colleague of mine at university invented a nuclear reactor in his basement at the age of 17. This is still impressive today! If you did something like this, you can break this rule and include it. If not, please leave it out!
7. Focus on quantifiable results and outcomes
If you only make one correction on this list, make this one!
Imagine I am trying to sell you a new sports car. Which car would you buy?
CAR ONE: This car was driven on some of the best roads in the country and was very reliable when used on a daily basis. The car can hold two people and has really nice design. Once, when this car was being driven, it started to rain, which can cause the roads to become dangerous and slick, but this car was really good at handling the difficult situation without causing an accident. For a sports car, this is very good.
CAR TWO: 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds. Named best sports car in the world for the third year running.
I would buy the second car!!! It tells me what the car can do in clear, concise, quantifiable terms. I know exactly what it means to go from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds. I know that winning awards is good. I have no idea what it means that the car “has really nice design.”
Do the same for your profile. Here’s an example:
- Led the execution of several equity offerings in Region X, with extensive client interaction.
- Relevant transactions include:
- Company X in its landmark follow-on offering (US$50 bn)
- Company Y in its initial public offering and follow-on offering (US$2 bn)
By focusing on quantifiable outcomes, your CV demonstrates just why your profile is stronger than others in your pool, helping you secure admission to top MBA programs!
TOP TIP: Looking for more examples of data-driven CV bullets? Check out our article on the topic here!
Make sure your CV is perfect
Many hopeful applicants send off their MBA application CVs thinking they are perfect, when, in fact, they have failed to create clear, compelling sales documents that will ensure their profile stands out from the crowd.
For this reason, it can be a good idea to make sure one of our highly-trained experts reviews your CV in advance. Not only can we help you correct any errors that may have slipped through the cracks, but we can also help you customize your CV and ensure it stands out at elite MBA programs!
Real MBA Essays That Got People In
School-specific sample essays that got our clients accepted
