Maria Derlipanska
Senior Associate Director of Admissions
Hello, my name is Maria Derlipanska and I'm a Senior Associate Director of Admissions here at the Yale School of Management.
Your resume is a wonderful opportunity to add depth and context to your application. It’s a way for you to give us an overview of your professional experience, academic experience, and any volunteer work, activities, or interests that help to tell your story.
Unless you have more than 10 years of work experience, your resume should be limited to one page. You are welcome to use any resume format of your choosing, or you can use the Yale SOM resume template that’s provided in this section.
When describing your experiences, focus on achievements and the value you add, rather than merely reciting your general job responsibilities. Begin bullets with active verbs such as “led” or “created,” highlighting the impact and results you drove in each of your roles. In particular, you may want to highlight leadership experience, quantitative skills, and evidence of strategic thinking.
If you work for a small company, a company that may not be well known outside of your region, or have started your own venture, it is helpful to include a brief description of that company to give the admissions committee some more information about your experience.
While the “work experience” section of your application should only include full-time, post-undergraduate professional experience, feel free to include internships, work during college or part-time work in your resume, if it is relevant.
If you have gaps in your employment, or are currently not working, you might be concerned that the committee will view this negatively. I want to emphasize that this isn't necessarily the case. The best thing you can do is simply make sure we understand all of your career transitions. Whether or not there was a gap in your employment, we ask you to provide a brief explanation of your reason for leaving each role. Use this as an opportunity to provide some context for your career transitions. If you have a gap in your full-time employment that’s greater than three months, or if you’re currently not working, you should provide more detailed information in the relevant section.
This is a good time to mention that even after you hit submit, you’ll need to communicate with us if anything changes about your employment, including a promotion, a job change, or if you are no longer working. You’ll be able to do this via the application update form, which is available on your status page once your application is submitted. You should also submit an updated resume at that time, which is especially important if you’re asked to interview, to ensure your interviewer has your most up-to-date information.
A final note to entrepreneurs. In addition to representing your entrepreneurial experience on your resume, we’ll ask you to answer a few additional questions about your venture and your role within it. Your answers will help provide the necessary context to better understand your entrepreneurial experience.