They'll Help Tone Up That Essay

Omari Bouknight and Scott Shrum are co-founders of MBA Game Plan, a résumé and essay-writing consulting service for MBA applicants that they founded in September, 2005.

Their overarching piece of advice for those applying to top business schools: make sure you demonstrate you fit with the school while setting yourself apart from the other candidates. Easier said than done. That's why Bouknight and Shrum are also co-authors of Your MBA Game Plan (Career Press, 2003), a book that details their philosophy on navigating the admissions process. And they keep a blog on BusinessWeek Online

In addition to his work with MBA Game Plan, Bouknight works as a product manager for a small medical device company. He has a 2004 MBA from Harvard Business School. Shrum works in brand management for a large consumer packaged goods company and holds a 2004 MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

They recently spoke to BusinessWeek Online reporter Jeffrey Gangemi about résumé- and essay-writing techniques and secrets. An edited excerpt of their conversation follows:

Why did you start MBA Game Plan?
Shrum: We met in the '01-'02 application season on the BusinessWeek Online forums, on the "Kellogg Admit" and the "HBS" thread. We quickly realized we had similar philosophies on the admissions process.

Bouknight: The whole thing started around the point that business school applicants focused on the wrong things in their applications. We thought it would be great to write a book about applying to business school from an applicant's perspective that busts all the myths.

	Scott Shrum

How do you differentiate from other consultants in your résumé and essay consultation service?
Shrum: For one thing, we are specifically focused on essays and résumés. Also, we don't use the word edit anywhere.

We evaluate, and we've hired people who are evaluators. We give evaluators license to fix a typo or a misplaced punctuation mark, but beyond that, we don't feel comfortable moving things around. That's our point of difference. It's an ethical thing.

Part of the issue is where you draw the line. If what's being represented in the application is getting very far removed from the applicant, then that's not O.K. We are good writers, and we look at your essays and offer an opinion.

Bouknight: Another differentiator is that our prices aren't as high as the admissions consultant. Instead of being our day job, this is kind of a pastime for us. We enjoy doing it.

What advice do you give on résumés in terms of length?

Shrum: We meet many international applicants with these four- or five-page CVs, and those folks need help identifying what they should keep and cut. With a few exceptions, I've never seen a résumé that I couldn't trim to one page. Those applicants who have more experience than they can fit on a résumé are probably the ones who don't need an MBA.

What things should definitely be on your résumé?
Bouknight: The main thing is to include the pieces that support the overall story in your application. If you're an engineer and have largely been focused on quantitative subjects, then you probably want to stress your managerial experiences, for example.

The résumé should be 90% to 95% focused on your professional experiences, but you should also use it to communicate what you're like and what you're about.

How should people show a promotion on their résumé?
Bouknight: Showing an escalation of responsibility is really important on a résumé, because it shows that someone else has validated the quality of your work. You want to make sure the promotion is obvious. If you have the space, you should state it outright.

What are the most common mistakes on résumés?
Shrum: It's a mistake when people describe only responsibilities but speak nothing of achievements. It should be clear from scanning your résumé what you accomplished.

Bouknight: We also try to promote something we call SAR -- Situation Action Result. Try to detail what specific project you were involved with, what specific actions you took, then describe what quantifiable results came from those actions.

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