Resume question for applying to MPP programs

[spark129]

Should I include a list of relevant courses that I've taken? Not sure if I should include this since I am sending my transcript as well. Many schools recommend economics, statistics, and calculus and I just wanted to highlight the coursework that I've done in these areas.

Also, I've been out of school working now for 2.5 years, should I include undergraduate extra curricular activities I've taken leadership in? Schools I'm applying to seem to stress the leadership potential as one of the characteristics their looking for in an applicant.

Any feedback would be great!

Thanks.

S

[ridofme]

This isn't like applying for a job where you want to keep your resume to one page, assuming some HR hack is barely going to take the time to scan it - these schools want to see something closer to a CV. The Harvard Kennedy School admissions blog suggests 2-4 pages, and at an info session I attended for another school, an admissions officer suggested 2-5 pages.

Definitely put the college leadership positions - 2.5 years ago was not that long, and I'm sure it bodes well that you were involved in campus life as an undergrad. In terms of the coursework, you're right that they will have your transcript, but if you have the space and it's a strength of your application, why not highlight it?

[spark129]

Thanks for the reply ridofme, very helpful. I've been told that a good rule of thumb is to have 1pg on your resume for every 10 years of experience - now I know this would have been a bad idea in applying to MPP programs.

Does anyone know of a good online resume review service for grad school applicants?

[nickel]

I had one of my undergrad professors look at my resume and he said to beef it up (it was a professional resume rather than a CV). While he encouraged me to add more details about my professional experience, he also said it would be helpful to highlight relevant courses from undergrad and expand on them a bit. Not only does it add depth to the CV but it also allows you to demonstrate exactly how your previous coursework ties into the master's program you are applying to.

Sorry, don't know any online resume review services. But if you have access to your alma mater's career services center, you could look there for help.

[sherpa07]

I'm only an applicant myself, but I kept mine to one page. I also had a "policy experience" section, though, to highlight my relevant experience. For perspective, I'll enter grad school with just shy of 2 years work experience.

[soaps]

I'm only an applicant myself, but I kept mine to one page. I also had a "policy experience" section, though, to highlight my relevant experience. For perspective, I'll enter grad school with just shy of 2 years work experience.

Why would you do one page when every admissions page of every school literally says to not keep it to one page? It just shows you didn't do basic research into the programs.

[sherpa07]

Why would you do one page when every admissions page of every school literally says to not keep it to one page? It just shows you didn't do basic research into the programs.

I did one page because literally every admissions page at literally ever school I applied to either gave no specification of length or explicitly said 1-2 pages.. I think one page with slightly less than two years experience makes sense..

[soaps]

I did one page because literally every admissions page at literally ever school I applied to either gave no specification of length or explicitly said 1-2 pages.. I think one page with slightly less than two years experience makes sense..

I point it out only because it's bad advice to everyone on these forums. Every program I've researched and talked to has said to submit a CV with 2-4 or 2-5 pages. They don't want a professional, condensed resume.

Edited November 20, 2012 by soapwater

[sherpa07]

Maybe we're applying to different programs, but I just did some additional research and can't find any evidence that a resume should be longer than a normal 1-2 page length. Princeton's Woodrow Wilson explicitly says "resumes can be any length, but one to two pages usually suffice." Duke Sanford explicitly says "please upload a resume, not exceeding two printed pages, with your online electronic application." Carnegie Mellon Heinz doesn't specify length, but asks for a "professional resume" and provides an example that is only a single page. The rest that I applied to either say 1-2, or say nothing about length. If they say nothing, it makes sense to default to an accepted standard, which is 1-2.

I agree that two pages is fine, but no more. Three, Four or Five is only justified if you've been working for over a decade, or have published A LOT, but otherwise it just doesn't intuitively make any sense. I doubt admissions committees devote much time to each application, let alone each application's resume, so it's better to make things short, simply and to the point.

[spark129]

Here's where I got my info:

http://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/post/26959152346/long-term-application-planning-post-6

Anyone try admissions consulting from Kaneisha? http://kaneisha.com/services/admissions-coaching/

I hesitate to try her services since it seems she is primarily a love coach now, but she did graduate from HKS. I'm getting desperate...

[GradSchoolAlibi]

spark,

If i remember correctly Harvard and Princeton require an academic resume of this detail in addition to your regular resume. During my apps last year, I think I submitted an additional, detailed academic resume highlighting my economic and quantitative courses to at least 3 schools. So my advice would be to prepare it but not really offer that unless it is asked for specifically.

[spark129]

yea, princeton's application requires an academic resume, but I don't know of another school that does

[mct88]

Harvard Kennedy School admissions department told me 2-4 pages, Princeton Wilson School admissions told me around 2 pages is good. Mine is just over 2 pages. Both of them said they want detail - for example, if you work at a company that they may not have heard of, add a line to the resume explaining what the organization is. They also emphasized readability - 12-point font, normal margins. I have 3 years of work experience, and when I took my one-page professional resume and changed it to have normal margins/spacing/font, it almost doubled in length.

Princeton also requires an academic resume listing relevant courses, and admissions department told me they are looking for around one sentence describing the course, then a list of the primary textbooks used. He also said to be liberal with what courses you list - even though it asks for "politics" courses, I am including some history courses because I think they are semi-relevant to my intended field of study. When I told him my concern regarding my lack of quantitative/economics experience, he suggested adding an addendum to my academic resume to try to explain this weakness. For HKS, they do not require an academic resume but I am planning on listing relevant coursework on my resume, although I am undecided on the level of detail to include. Hope this is helpful!

[ridofme]

@ mct88 - Ha, I wish I would have read this before applying. I would have included a lot more courses under the "politics" category than I did. Sigh. Hopefully they actually read my transcript!

[Kaneisha]

Here's where I got my info:

http://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/post/26959152346/long-term-application-planning-post-6

Anyone try admissions consulting from Kaneisha? http://kaneisha.com/services/admissions-coaching/

I hesitate to try her services since it seems she is primarily a love coach now, but she did graduate from HKS. I'm getting desperate...

 

Hey Spark! Yes, I did do some love coaching and wrote a book that I'm very proud related to the topic. However, I am definitely still coaching for HKS and had great success with my clients this season. Stop by my website and say hi!

[spacezeppelin]

Haha...I really wish I read this thread before applying as well.

 

I sent in a fairly condensed resume. I dont have a lot of work experience but I listed all of the relevant positions, then research, relevant courses, and leadership positions. I think it was two pages max.

 

I think that it should be as long as it needs to be to accurately convey what you’ve done. But seriously...I cant imagine that schools want 5 pages of padding (if its not padding, then good for you). Follow the directions to the letter, and if you have questions I seriously recommend calling. The people answering these questions are discussing their experience, but they probably don't actually know for each individual school and applicant.