Resumes
Your resume is one of the most important tools you will use to market yourself to potential employers. It is important to have a strong, effective resume since your resume may be the first (and only) impression an employer gets of you. The following resources will help you get started creating a resume that will increase your chances of grabbing an employer’s attention.
A Chapter from Carlson CBCC's Career Guide on resume development, including:
Guidelines for Formatting and Content
Communicating your Skills
Crafting High-Impact, Results-Oriented Bullets
Key Words and Phrases to Include
Sample Resumes
Link: Resume Development (starting on page 41)
Creating Your Resume (26 minutes)
Purpose, Preparation and Format of your Resume
Education and Experience Sections
Additional Sections
Additional Resources and
AI Tools
Carlson Resume Templates
We recommend that all Carlson students put their resume into the Carlson format, which is a one-page "reverse chronological" resume format that is considered the standard across graduate business programs.
NOTE: If you have more than 10 years of work experience, please speak with a Career Coach to determine if this is the appropriate format for you.
There are different resume templates for students in Carlson's various programs.
These templates work best in Microsoft Word. Please be sure that you are using the correct template before you begin working on your resume.
Resumes for Executive MBAs and Experienced Professionals (8+ years of experience)
For more seasoned business professionals, you might consider a 2-page executive resume format. The following resources are intended for CEMBA students, as well as MS SCM and Part-Time Students with 10+ years of work experience.
Executive Resume Best Practices - a video on preparing a standard 2-page resume for executive resume for more seasoned business professionals.
Mastering the Executive Resume - Workshop on preparing a standard 2-page executive resume for more seasoned business professionals.
VMock - YOUR Free Resume Feedback Tool
VMock is a tool the CBCC provides for current students and alumni to have their Carlson-formatted resume reviewed virtually. It provides customized feedback on formatting, grammar, and impact and is encouraged for students and alumni to use this before meeting with a coach for a resume review appointment.
To create your free VMock account, create an account with your @umn.edu email account and anticipate it may take up to 72 hours for your free account to be verified. Once verified, you will have 10 uploads per academic year.
Resumes for Careers Outside of the U.S.
Use Going Global Country Guides for advice and strategies for finding employment opportunities outside of the US. The country guides include a section on writing resumes and cover letters for each particular country.