How to write a resume for admission to a university abroad

Secrets of admission to foreign universities / Travel notes for students

Every day I go through and re-read several resumes of students who apply to universities abroad. I am always happy when a competent resume falls into my hands, without errors with consistently presented information. Such documents always create a positive impression about the student. And so, I thought, since I can draw a conclusion about a student from a resume and compile his profile, then it will not be difficult for specialists in the admissions committee of a university in England, USA, Canada or any other country to determine how seriously this or that applicant is about admission and what is his academic potential.

Over the years of working in the academic field and in education abroad, leafing through hundreds of documents for enrollment and re-reading hundreds of resumes for admission to a university abroad, I have identified several major mistakes that students make. My recommendations are more about writing a resume in English, so later in the article I will analyze exclusively the use of phrases, phrases and specialized words in English.

It is very easy to make a mistake in a resume, but sometimes it is simply impossible to correct it. Therefore, be extremely careful in presenting information about yourself.

1. Misprints and grammatical errors
Your resume that you submit to the university admissions office abroad must be grammatically perfect, without a single typo or error. I don’t want to be judged by your resume that you write illiterately, or are not at all interested in studying at the university.

One of the selection criteria is your knowledge of the English language, so the resume directly reflects your literacy and knowledge of English.
Before submitting documents to the university, we try to re-read each document you submitted, this also applies to resumes.

2. Lack of specific information
Probably this is characteristic of our students, since everyone has a lot of “water”. Even after university I got the impression that the more you talk, even off topic, the better. But this skill does not need to be applied in writing a resume. It should be extremely precise and concise. For example, let’s analyze two phrases that a student used in a resume (the student applied for an MBA program in the field of hotel and restaurant management, work experience played a very important role for his program):

A: Worked with employees in a restaurant settings
B: Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant with $2 million in annual sales.

Both phrases can describe the same person, but details that indicated by the applicant in the second phrase, I think the university will be much more interested.

3. The Problem of Generic Resumes
Remember, you must address each resume to a specific university. Avoid universality, namely a document that is suitable for all occasions. Analyze the requirements of the university together with the admissions manager, think about how to present the information in a way that shows your interest and that you are fully qualified for the program.

4. Duties vs Accomplishments
Which do you think will get the most attention, your CV duties or your accomplishments? Of course, the achievements will be more important, as they show the development of the student in a certain dynamics.

I advise you to describe your achievements in the following way:

Bad example:
• Attended group meetings and recorded minutes.
• Worked with children in a day -care setting.
Good example:
• Used laptop computer to record weekly meeting minutes and compiled them in a Microsoft Word-based file for future organizational reference.
• Developed three daily activities for preschool-age children and prepared them for a 10-minute holiday program performance.

5. The appearance of a resume
All people pay attention to the appearance, all without exception. This is especially true for the appearance of documents on which your future depends. Pay attention to the font, justify the text along the edges, use tabs instead of the space button. An incorrectly and ugly resume, firstly, creates the impression that the student cannot use a computer at all, and, secondly, it is simply unpleasant to read.

6. The purpose of the resume
At the beginning of each resume, a brief summary of the purpose for which you wrote it and submit it to the university for consideration should be stated.
Avoid phrases: receive higher quality and prestige diploma, there is no need to prove to the university that that it is prestigious, and the diploma is in demand by employers. Write what your desire is to gain knowledge on the program, which will help you to be competitive in the labor market in the future.

7. Characteristics of my personal qualities
Very often in the resume, I see a standard set of qualities that, according to students, attracts attention. Yes, it’s true that words like detail-oriented, hardworking, team player, proactive really grab attention, but 100 students point out the same qualities, and it doesn’t make you special in any way. My recommendation is to show in your resume that you like to work in a team, but do not write empty words, if you cannot confirm them with actions, find your own peculiarity.

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I hope my observations and recommendations will help make your resume successful. Never be afraid to sell yourself, but always do it wisely!