After reviewing hundreds of resume that get submitted for review through my website, I have seen a pattern of common mistakes. I thought that I should put them here so that people can avoid the same mistakes in their resumes.
1. Resume is for highlighting your achievements and not to list whatever you did in your jobs. Most people do not get this. They use this important tool to talk about their day-to-day activities on the job. Please understand that your resume is your chance to sell yourself in the best possible way. Do not list the mundane details of your job and waste invaluable space which you can use to highlight your abilities.
2. Another common mistake is to use vague and generic language in your resume. B-schools (or anybody who is reading your resume) want to know what specifically was your contribution in terms of cost savings or increase in revenues or better process etc. Mention specifically what was your role and give them concrete numbers to make your point with emphasis.
3. Many people use very dry words instead of using strong action words in their resumes. Words like 'participated', 'coordinated', 'helped' etc are very weak. Use strong words like 'Build', 'Created', 'Improved', 'Reorganized' etc to give due credit to your work. If you just participated, its not a big achievement, think about something more than participation.
4. Use clear bullet points rather than writing your achievements in a big paragraph. Paragraphs bury your achievements and kill the purpose of your resume.
5. Prioritize what you want to sell. Resume should not exceed one page. In their quest to say everything in one single page, people crowd their resume with so much detail that the reader gets turned off just by looking at the resume. Please know what is really important and say only that. Use white spaces to give effect to those important points. Don't bury them in a lot of words.
6. Avoid your industry jargons. This is most common with people applying with IT backgrounds. People on the adcom do not know what is 'middle layer OO design". Keep it to yourself. Please simplify what you did for them in their language and more importantly - give them results.
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