Hbs Resume Guide

MBA Career Services Harvard BS

Guide to Writing Resumes and Letters 2006–07

Copyright 2006 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Harvard Business School must reserve the right to make changes at any time affecting policies, fees, curricula, courses, degrees, and programs offered (including the modification or possible elimination of degrees and programs);rules pertaining to conduct or discipline; or any other matters cited in this publication. While every effort has been made to ensure that this publication is accurate and up to date, it may include typographical or other errors.

Table of Contents
RESUMES Introduction Resumes Before You Begin The HBS Resume Format Technical Specifications Content Guidelines Action Verbs Sample of Standard HBSResume Format Resume FAQs Common Concerns Awards and Extracurricular Activities Earlier Graduate Degree Joint Degrees Multiple Undergraduate Institutions Education Time Gap Multiple Short-Term Jobs Government or Military Experience Experience from Another Professional Degree Company Name Change Experience with One Company Early Career Experience Career Change Small Company Experience EntrepreneurialExperience Part-Time Experience Personal and Other Categories Before You Submit Your Resume Sample Resumes Letters Before You Begin Objectives Organization Cover Letter Model Letter Writing Mistakes, Tips, and FAQs Analyzing an Ineffective Cover Letter Sample Letters Additional Resources 3 4 6 6 6 8 9 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 16 17 17 18 19

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2Introduction
You have written resumes and numerous cover letters in the past, so why is this guide important? This guide: • • • explains the HBS resume format; provides helpful resume and cover letter writing information relevant to the MBA student; includes samples of well-written career search communications provided by students and MBA Career Services staff.

The 2006–07 Guide to WritingResumes and Letters is designed to help you prepare your resume for the HBS Resume Book and write effective letters, two skills you will use during your job search at HBS and throughout your career. It consists of two separate parts, Resumes and Letters, each of which includes step-by-step instructions, helpful hints, and sample documents. The information presented in this guide is also available onthe Careers tab on myHBS (http://my.hbs.edu/mbadocs/admin/ career_services/resumes_letters). If at any time you have additional questions, please contact MBA Career Services (telephone: 617.495.6232 or e-mail: mbacs@hbs.edu). MBA Career Services provides resume and cover letter editing sessions to help you prepare your resume for the HBS Resume Book and subsequent job applications. Individualcoaching sessions, walk-in office hours, and workshops are offered as additional career support. The HBS Resume Book To help increase your exposure to recruiters, each year MBA Career Services publishes resume books as both an on-line searchable tool and in hardcopy. Each resume is indexed by career interests, prior career experience, undergraduate degrees, other graduate degrees, other languageskills, and geographic preferences. This book is purchased by more than 250 companies worldwide and is used by employers to find or prescreen candidates. On the following page is a partial list of the companies that have purchased resume books in the past. Abercrombie & Fitch Amazon.com American Express Apax Partners A.T. Kearney Banc of America Securities Bain & Company Bear Stearns Bertelsmann Booz •Allen & Hamilton Boston Consulting Group Broadview Associates Capital One Charles River Associates Citigroup Comcast Corning, Inc. Credit Suisse Dell Computer Deloitte Consulting Deutsche Bank Draper Atlantic EDS Eli Lilly and Company Emerson Electric Federal Bureau of Investigation Fidelity Investments Fisher Scientific General Atlantic Partners General Mills General Motors Goldman Sachs...