Business school admissions consultant Angie Moster advises b-school applicants, “Be sure to highlight your skills – on your resume, throughout your essays, and during your business school interview. This might sound like obvious advice, but in fact many applicants focus solely on ‘what’ they have done, without highlighting the unique skills they used in their accomplishments. By ‘skills,’ I mean transferable skills such as analytical thinking, persuasion, listening skills, etc.
“When I was interviewing candidates at Cornell’s Johnson School, for example, I would ask, ‘Would you briefly describe to me your post-college career to date?’ The applicants who ‘nailed’ this question did so by highlighting and focusing on what skills they had learned from their work experiences. By doing so, they really painted a vivid picture for me of what unique skills they could contribute during a group project at the Johnson School, or to their future organization.
“The applicants who fell short in answering this question would simply describe what they had done. I was left to make the leap myself, as the interviewer, between that experience and what skills this person had gained. That meant I had a more difficult time picturing what the person could contribute. Therefore, the interview was less memorable.
“So, to make the greatest impact in your application and interview, be sure that when you’re asked to describe your background or any particular experience in your background, you talk briefly about what you did – but also focus on the skills you developed or honed in the process, and are able to bring to your studies and your career.” Angie has an MBA from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management where she was awarded a Park Leadership Fellowship. During her business school studies, she made hundreds of accept/reject/waitlist decisions for the business school. Additionally, Angie served on the selection committee for the Park Leadership Fellowship. | 
