Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday.
We at mbaMission try to encourage business school candidates to get as much “noise” out of the way as possible before the schools begin releasing their essay questions for the next admissions season. We want our applicants to have the freedom to reflect on their experiences, formally and thoroughly brainstorm, choose ideas, prepare outlines, and then focus on crafting powerful essays. Essentially, we want them to be unfettered as they engage in what is, for many, one of the most significant creative challenges they will ever face.
Using this time to address a task such as preparing your resume—a process that often requires several rounds of revisions—will allow you to focus better on the other elements of your application later. By revising your resume now, you can dedicate the time needed to do so at a more leisurely pace, before “crunch time” hits. Further, you will lay the foundation for brainstorming for your essays later, by reminding yourself of your most significant accomplishments.
If you prepare your resume now, you will definitely thank yourself later for having completed this task early.
Note: We recognize that you may achieve additional accomplishments in the next few months. We nonetheless suggest that you update your resume now, however, and then revisit and amend your most recent entry one to two weeks before your application deadlines.
