How to Shorten Your Resume to One Page

MBA essay word limits are shrinking.  Essays that used to have a 750 word limits are now limited to 250-500 words.  With these very tight space restrictions it is impossible to mention all of your important past experiences in the essays.  As the essays get shorter, the resume becomes an even more important vehicle to provide the admissions committee with a holistic perspective of your background.  And of course, your resume might provide the only information your interviewer knows about you.

You will want to convey a lot of critical information in your resume.  However, trying to shift large chunks of essay content into your resume won’t work - it is still highly advisable (or even required) for applicants to submit a one page resume.  If you have had a lot of important professional and extracurricular experiences you face the difficult task of prioritizing them and squeezing them into one page.  If you are struggling with this here are some tips that can help you save valuable space on your resume:    

Reduce the length of your statements. Your bullets should provide adequate detail about your responsibilities and list your achievements but they do not need to tell the entire story.  Sometimes context is important; but if your bullets are spilling over into three lines you’ll need to reduce some context from your statements.

Remove the statement of objectives.  A statement of objectives is not necessary for an MBA resume.  It takes up a lot of space and provides little value.  The typical information conveyed in a statement of objectives would normally be covered in a personal statement or “goal” essay. 

Reduce the number of sections.  You do not need a separate section for items like awards, publications, community service, etc.  This would often eat up too much space and could be condensed under broader headings like: “Additional Information.”  It might make sense to create a specific section only if the information was critical to your field of study or future goal.

Reduce the number of bullets.  You do not need to list several bullets for every experience you’ve had.  Use more bullets for more recent or longer professional experiences.  Limit internships or military experiences to one bullet unless there is something particularly important you need to express.

Adjust the formatting.  The last thing you can do is make minor adjustments to the formatting to squeeze more information into one page.  But be sure that the resume is uncluttered and easy to read.  Some minor formatting adjustments can make a big difference: the font theme Times New Roman takes up much less space than some other fonts and you can create extra space by listing your address, phone number and email address on one line.

We hope these tips were helpful!  If you need any help creating the perfect resume for your graduate school applications please consider using our Resume Editing Service.