Resumes

HBS round 1 application has already come and gone... it was two weeks earlier this year than last year. For those of you who already submitted, best of luck! To those of you still finishing up applications for round 2 or for other schools, also best of luck!

I don' t have any new huge application insight for you, but rather a small administrative note that might save you hours down the road: Apply to b-school with the resume format of the b-school you wish to attend most.

Why I do bring this up now? Resumes are being collected for the HBS resume book this week, and many students are working to not only update and polish their resume, but also to convert it to the HBS format. Luckily I already used the HBS format when I applied, which saved me a few extra hours of time here working on my resume, and a few hours of extra time here are almost priceless.

If HBS is your first choice, I think it would be of a minor advantage to use their template. First, if you get in, you don't have to reformat your resume to their format come resume book time. Second, school officials might be a little more familiar with that format, which might buy you an extra few seconds of resume review time. I'm not trying to start a rumor implying that using an HBS resume format increases your chance of admission! I know that applicants will jump on any piece of information they think will give them an advantage... so please don't take it that way. It's just a small tip.

A collection of b-school resume templates can be found here. If your top school of choice appears on that list, consider using their resume template for your application.