Rahul, like several other Indian applicants, is an IT Engineer. More precisely, he worked as an SAP consultant. He was on the rolls of a leading IT Consulting firm and was leading a consulting engagement for a Medium-Sized Manufacturing firm located in America’s midwest.
And Rahul, like several other Indian applications, didn’t know how to communicate the impact of his work in a non-technical manner.
The before picture:
Consider the following bullet points from his resume:
Led 8-member team
Identify improvement areas in the supply chain processes.
Identify Business Opportunities for <IT Consulting Firm>.
Sure, it shows potential. It is reasonably clear that Rahul was on the verge of entry to mid-level management. But what kind of impact did he have – on his firm? His clients? His team? Specifically, what type of industry/functional exposure did he have?
Finally, what was his wow factor?
Rahul did not do a good job of communicating the aspects mentioned above in his resume. Had he sent in this draft to the admissions committee, they may not have been impressed.
The August Academy effect:
Consider the following changes that we helped him make:
Lead the Supply Chain, Human Resource and Financial analysts’ teams (8 members in total) – Responsible for communication, conflict resolution, training, representing the team in client meetings, delivery and support.
Interface with the clients’ business teams – Raw Material Planning, Purchasing, Inventory, Production, Logistics, Customer Service, Accounting and Human Resource – Solution design, project quote negotiation, project delivery, establishing and Sustaining Business Relationships.
Analyze the client’s existing supply chain processes, identify the bottlenecks and suggest and develop solutions to fix the issues or to optimize the processes. Increased production decreased the back orders count and reduced the order life cycle time. The new projects provide Business Opportunities for <IT Consulting Firm>.
Isn’t this clearer? The latter (or, as Weight Loss advertisements put it – the “after” story) is much clearer. It will help even a non-technical reader develop some insight into Rahul’s responsibilities, skills, business exposure, and leadership experience.
We got here only after several iterations. Along the way, we encouraged Rahul through each step, explaining to him why he needed to give more detail, and helped him put it in a non-technical manner. And Rahul delivered wonderfully well!
The wow Factor – The Secret Sauce:
That’s not everything. During our conversations with Rahul, we realized that he had put in the effort to de-escalate a production-threatening situation at the company’s manufacturing site.
Interpersonal skills are valuable – and we encouraged Rahul do write about it, even though it wasn’t part of his official responsibilities. Here it is:
Represented my client’s corporate office at a meeting that dealt with an issue escalated by plant management. Through the use of diplomacy and by presenting a straightforward plan of action, I was able to de-escalate the problem, and all the stakeholders reached a consensus on the plan of action.
Impressive, right?
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Want to know how you can put together strong MBA Applications? Check out the other posts in this series:
