EMBA CAREER MANAGEMENT OCR Resume Format Requirements Included below are OCR format requirements for Executive MBA resumes. Students who wish to participate in on campus recruiting at Columbia Business School must adhere specifically to these requirements when submitting a resume. Please contact the EMBA Career Management team at EMBACareers@gsb.columbia.edu if you have any questions about these guidelines. Columbia Business School Format General Requirements Experiences and schools are listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first) Dates, noted in years, appear in the left hand column or flush right (on same line as employer or school name) Date ranges in both Experience and Education sections are noted in years only, not months, with the same format throughout the resume Education and Experience sections are formatted similarly schools are listed in the same format as employers, degrees in the same format as job titles Geographic locations are listed immediately after employer names and schools No graphics other than a single thin line, if desired, under the name/contact information section to separate it visually from the rest of the resume. Use bullet points or dashes, not arrows or other symbols, to begin each line of text that lists your work experience Margins should be adequate - not less than 0.75 Font is serif (Times New Roman or Garamond recommended) and between 10-12 point Maximum of 1 page for OCR resumes The resume includes 4 separate blocks of information: 1. Name Section Place name block, including address and contact information, in center or top right corner of page Your address and contact information should be placed in the center or top right corner of the page. If you need extra space however, you can also split your address across the page Make sure your contact information is current and will be valid for at least one year Use your Columbia lifetime or equivalent e-mail address. Do not use your work email address 2. Education Section Educational experience is listed in reverse chronological order (include current Columbia Business School experience first) Education and Experience sections are formatted similarly schools are listed in the same format as employers, degrees in the same format as job titles Bold the institution name and degree name. Use all caps or initial caps in a manner consistent with the Experience section of the resume (that is, educational institution names should be formatted consistently with employer names) Columbia Business School must be represented as such, not Graduate School of Business, Columbia University or otherwise Dates, noted in years, appear in the left hand column or flush right on the same line as educational institution (in same format as in Experience section) Degree must be listed as MBA, Executive Program and should be formatted consistently with other degrees (i.e. MBA, MS, BA, BA etc.) List your graduation date (month and year) to right of degree
An intended area of curriculum focus may be listed if you believe that you will be able to meet the requirements for a given concentration (see EMBA Academic Affairs for more information) For BCEMBA and EMBAG Programs: Multiple schools may be listed as one entry with one date range or as multiple entries. When listed as two entries, the same line of explanatory text appears under each (see examples below at end of this document) No curriculum focus should be listed. The Berkeley-Columbia and EMBA-Global programs do not offer concentrations, so students in those programs should not list one on their resume Education end date for the program should be your graduation date. It is acceptable to add information about when coursework is completed, since that is prior to graduation 3. Experience Section Experiences are listed in reverse chronological order (most recent first) Bold the employer name and job title Geographic locations are listed immediately after employer name If you have worked in several geographic locations for the same employer, you can also place the location immediately after the position title Dates, noted in years, appear in the left hand column or flush right (on same line as employer) Date ranges are noted in years only, not months, with the same format throughout the resume If you have held several positions with the same employer, overall date range should appear on the same line as the employer. Date ranges covering specific positions can be added immediately following your position title Recommended best practices: - Convey key responsibilities and accomplishments relevant to your intended target rather than simply listing the job description - Avoid using responsibilities include and other passive language - Use action verbs and target-appropriate words so that hiring managers don t have to guess about your experience and qualifications - Quantify results whenever possible (e.g., increased revenues 20% or saved $500,000. ) If you cannot quantify results, describe them in qualitative terms (e.g., improved customer service. ) See Accomplishment Worksheet on COIN>Career Tools>Writing Your Resume to help brainstorm your accomplishments - List job bullets in order of relevance to the job you are currently targeting and try to limit bullet points to a reasonable number (six per job or less as a rule of thumb) - If you are a career-changer, make your experience relevant by highlighting your transferable skills (see Self-Assessment section on COIN>Career Tools for more help) - If you are changing functions or industries, avoid jargon or buzz words specific to your current environment that may not be understood or valued by a prospective employer 4. Additional Information Section Only include information relevant to your target audience or that positions you in a unique way Include professional associations or licenses, language fluency, permanent work authorization or visa status, volunteer activities, and personal interests (if unique in some way) When listing languages, specify level of proficiency (such as bilingual, speak, read, write etc.) Do not include information about your age, health, marital/family status, or health if your resume is intended for the US job market Do not include general interests such as enjoy exercising, reading etc. If you list hobbies/interests, these should be specific (e.g., completed 2008 NYC Marathon or Enjoy French literature )
*** Your choice of resume content (i.e. how you write your bullets and present your skills/experiences) may vary, depending on the type of opportunities you wish to pursue. Please refer to sample resumes in the Industry Research link on COIN in the Career Tools area. Many of the industry sectors listed in this content area include links to sample resumes that will give you a sense of how Columbia Business School students position themselves for the types of entry level jobs that are available via the OCR process.
EMBA-Global Americas & Europe Education Section Examples: LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL, London, UK MBA, Joint Global Executive Program, January 2011. 2009-2011 Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, NY London Business School, London, UK MBA, Joint Global Executive Program. Graduating January 2011. MBA. Joint executive program with London Business School, January 2011. 2009-2011 LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL, London, UK MBA. Joint executive program with Columbia Business School, January 2011. MBA, Executive Program, February 2011 (coursework completion December 2010). 2009-2011 LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL, London, UK MBA, Executive Program, February 2011 (coursework completion December 2010). Berkeley-Columbia Education Section Examples: Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA MBA, Joint Executive Program. Graduating February 2011. Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, CA Dual MBA, Executive Program, February 2011 (coursework completion December 2010). 2009-2011 Columbia Business School, New York, NY Haas School of Business, Berkeley, CA MBA, Joint Executive Program. 2009-2011 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, New York, NY Columbia Business School MBA. Joint executive program with Haas School of Business, February 2011. 2009-2011 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, Berkeley, CA Haas School of Business MBA. Joint executive program with Columbia Business School, February 2011. MBA, Executive Program, Finance. 2009-2011 HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, Berkeley, CA MBA, Executive Program, Finance.
EMBA-Global Asia Education Section Samples: LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL, London, UK HONG KONG UNIVERSITY, Hong Kong MBA, Joint Global Executive Program, January 2011. 2009-2011 Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, NY London Business School, London, UK Hong Kong University, Hong Kong MBA, Joint Global Executive Program. Graduating January 2011. London Business School London, UK Hong Kong University Hong Kong MBA, Joint Global Executive Program, January 2011