Application Instructions: Providing a Comprehensive Resume
We take a holistic approach in evaluating your application, looking beyond your grades and test scores to get to know you as a person and as a professional.
That’s why we ask you to submit a professional resume as part of your admissions application. Along with the personal statement and letters of recommendation, the resume gives us a chance to learn more about your skills, your background, your interests and your goals.
If you haven’t updated your resume in a while—or even if you have!—here are five insights to help you present yourself in the best possible light:
1. Highlight your skills and experiences.
The resume is your chance to showcase your professional and educational accomplishments, as well as your experiences in other areas of your life. Specifically, we want to know about:
- Your functional job skills
- The breadth and depth of your experience
- Your demonstrated leadership
- Volunteer experience
- Your experiences (if any) with online learning and certifications
2. Keep it short.
Ideally, your resume should be one or two pages. We’ll accept up to five pages, but we encourage you to pare it down as much as possible to the most important facts. A concise resume makes it easy for us to see at a glance what you’ve accomplished—and why you’ll be a good fit for our program.
3. Organize it clearly.
Use headlines and subheadings to organize your resume into clear categories such as education, job history, volunteer experience, and online learning. Within each category, keep the text short and scannable, using short phrases and bullet points to get your message across.
4. Focus on what’s relevant to your application.
Are there gaps in your resume from when you were between jobs or raising your kids? Not a problem. We’re interested in your experiences that are relevant to the program, not whether you’ve been continuously employed. Highlight your experiences with online learning (if any) and anything else that suggests you’ll thrive in our program.
Note for MCIT Online applicants—this would be a good place to highlight additional coursework that relates to your quantitative ability.
5. Research best practices.
We don’t require you to follow a particular format or style when writing your resume. But if it’s been a while since you updated it, we encourage you to do some research to make sure you’re following today’s best practices. There are plenty of online resources where you can find examples and tips.
Learn More
Get more tips on the application process by watching this Admissions Webinar, checking our MCIT Online or MSE-DS Online admission pages, or contacting us.