Maximize Your Potential: Enhance Your Resume with an MBA

There’s no doubt that earning an MBA can give your career a boost. Research shows that a graduate degree in business can increase your earnings potential by 50 percent or more, and many employers will only consider candidates with an MBA or similar degree.

However, the MBA has become the most popular graduate degree, with about 200,000 people earning the credential every year. So, while your business education is certainly valuable, it doesn’t always make you stand out from the competition as much as you would like to. Therefore, when you are writing your resume, you need to find ways to demonstrate the real value of your degree and your experience.

List Your MBA Properly on Your Resume

The first thing to consider is how you list your business education on your resume. In the education section, which will most likely go after the skills and experience sections if you have a few years of work experience under your belt, you need to list the degree you earned and where it was earned. Which comes first depends on what you want to highlight.

If you went to a top-tier school, you’ll list that first, then the degree you earned, i.e.: “Prestigious Business School, City, State – Masters of Business Administration.” If you want to highlight the fact that you earned the degree rather than the school, reverse the order, noting the degree first then the school.  If you concentrated on a particular specialty, mention it only if it is related to the job you’re applying for.

Focus on Skills

Employers care more about your skills than your degree, so be sure to showcase them in your resume. Highlight the mix of hard and soft skills you developed during your MBA studies, demonstrating problem-solving, analytical thinking, and teamwork – qualities in high demand. Consider your MBA program’s focus, whether it’s on problem-solving, finance, innovation, or leadership, and how it prepared you for new opportunities. Don’t forget to include relevant skills developed through class assignments, case studies, group projects, and presentations.

“Whether you’re just starting out with your career decisions, and you’re not sure what you want to do, or you’re looking at ways to further your current career, or even if you’re hoping to make a career change sometime soon, you may want to look into what education can do for you.” – What Can Education Do For Your Career?

Get Specific

If, during the course of your MBA studies, you took courses or completed projects that are especially relevant to employers in your field, include them on your resume. Keep in mind that the keyword here is relevant; your resume shouldn’t be a copy of your transcript, but rather highlight specific areas where you’ve received education and training.

5 Resume Writing Books You Should Read

Learn to write a killer resume with our top picks of 5 must-read books on resume writing. Land your dream job today!

Update Your Resume

We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Graduate projects are a great way to showcase your skills. Include them under your education or academic experience section, and be careful not to imply professional experience if you didn’t have any. List the course name, project title, and a few bullet points describing your role and project outcome. If your project won an award or was featured at a conference, make sure to highlight that on your resume. Showcasing your graduate projects can set you apart from other candidates and demonstrate your ability to tackle real-world challenges.

Streamline Your Achievements

Your resume should make it obvious to an employer why they should hire you. That means you need to focus on what makes you the right candidate. Many people make the mistake of listing all their achievements on their resume, thinking that it will impress employers. However, this can often have the opposite effect, as employers may not know where to focus and may not get a clear idea of who you are and what you can do. For this reason, you need to streamline your achievements, skills, and experience so that only the most relevant and impressive information appears on your resume. Use your MBA experience to highlight your skills and accomplishments, and you will stand out from the competition.

Although the job market has improved in recent years, competition for top positions is still fierce. By highlighting the right experience and aspects of your MBA education on your resume, you will increase your chances of landing your dream job.

Great Resumes Fast

Impress Employers with a Professionally-Written Resume. Your resume will include the right words, information, format and design employers want on your resume. Learn how to outsmart applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Impress Employers

We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.