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bad work experience/bad resume ? please please help

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bad work experience/bad resume ? please please help

by mehrabounr » Thu Jul 07, 2011 5:03 am
i want to ask everyone specially the consultants about my work experience.
this is the summary of my resume:

(undergraduate degree in finance with a GPA of 15.14/20)
2 year part-time accountant [considered as an NPO(Non-profit organization)](during school)
1 year part-time in an auditing firm (during school)
8 month full-time in a private company* (CFO!)
5 month full-time in an international NGO**
---> (they have a small office with 10staff in my country) (CFO)
3 years full-time in consulting (family firm)***


I know that i changed jobs a lot but i have my reasons.

* after 8 month they wouldn't insure anyone in the company so i left
** after 5 month i filed a se--al-harassment complaint and after being reviewed by an international committee they fired the CEO(person responsible)but after that the Board of directors fired everyone and hired new staff (to keep the scandal quiet)

*** i stared a consulting firm with my uncles who are specialists in the field with more than 20years of experience and been working together since

now i want to know:
if i write all these in my resume,what would the admission officers think?
should i explain these in my essays?like the optional essay some schools have.
would my work experience substitute the low GPA?
I cant get recommendation letters from those 2 jobs that i explained my reason for leaving.but the first 2 jobs can give me great letters.but i need more than 2.
can i ask my uncle who is my supervisor (for 3 years)to write a letter for me?


please help me with my resume and recommendation letters.any suggestions,advice,etc would be really appreciated.
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by paulsbodine » Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:49 am
mehrabounr,

Your resume should not mention the sexual harassment and other reasons for leaving. Your resume should be a positive marketing document that emphasizes your accomplishments. You will want to discuss your job changes and the sexual harassment issue in your essays. The latter, if handled properly, could even help your admission chances. Work experience will not substitute for a low GPA, though a high GMAT score can to some extent. Unfortunately, schools would not want a reco letter from your uncle; you would need to select a senior non-family member who is familiar with your work in the family firm.

Good luck,
Paul Bodine
Author, "Great Applications for Business School," "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance," "Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation"
https://www.paulsbodine.com/
[email protected]
(858) 869-1959
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by mehrabounr » Thu Jul 07, 2011 11:53 am
paulsbodine wrote:mehrabounr,

Your resume should not mention the sexual harassment and other reasons for leaving. Your resume should be a positive marketing document that emphasizes your accomplishments. You will want to discuss your job changes and the sexual harassment issue in your essays. The latter, if handled properly, could even help your admission chances. Work experience will not substitute for a low GPA, though a high GMAT score can to some extent. Unfortunately, schools would not want a reco letter from your uncle; you would need to select a senior non-family member who is familiar with your work in the family firm.

Good luck,
Thank you for answering my post.it took a load off my mind.specially i was worried if i write about the S.H. it would be considered a bad thing.
would it be appropriate if i get a reco letter from a client that i work with for 4 months every year?

Can i ask for one more favor?

considering the work experience i mentioned before and:

finance degree from the 1# school in my country(Iran) with the GPA of 15.14/20 (our highest GPA was 18.9)
GMAT : 710-720 (not taken yet)
TOEFL : 100-105 (not taken yet)
3 great recommendation letters and possibly good essays

tones of extracurricular activities:
+college girl volleyball team(gained the second place between schools for 3 years)
+V.P. of green club
+volunteer at M.A.M (same place i worked for my first 2 years) from the age of 15 till now
+Active Member of Women knowledge club
+ etc

which schools would you suggest?
I've looked into top 30 U.S. b-schools for MBA (if possible a joint degree in MBA/international business). schools like NYU Stern,Duke,Kellogg,Haas,Tuck,...
Do you think i would have a chance at any of them?
Can you give me a few names to consider as Optimistic choices and/or some as safety ones?
Thank you

(By the way,I've read parts of one of your books,it is a great publication,though i can not find an original copy here and just had to use a demo with only few pages that i found online)
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by paulsbodine » Thu Jul 07, 2011 4:07 pm
mehrabounr,

Thanks. A reco letter from a client who worked with your intensively over 4 months would probably be a good choice for your family business.

Yes, assuming that you get a 700+ GMAT you could be competitive at schools like NYU Stern, Duke, Kellogg, Haas, and Tuck because (a) you're from Iran, (b) you're a woman, (c) a 710-720 GMAT is competitive at all these schools and your GPA seems to be good, and (d) you seem to have solid extracurriculars. My concern would be showing enough leadership professionally and extracurricularly. Duke would be your best bet, followed by Kellogg, then Tuck, Haas and Stern.

There are other good programs where you odds would be similar to Duke, e.g., UVA Darden, Cornell, UCLA, etc.

Good luck to you,
--Paul
mehrabounr wrote:
paulsbodine wrote:mehrabounr,

Your resume should not mention the sexual harassment and other reasons for leaving. Your resume should be a positive marketing document that emphasizes your accomplishments. You will want to discuss your job changes and the sexual harassment issue in your essays. The latter, if handled properly, could even help your admission chances. Work experience will not substitute for a low GPA, though a high GMAT score can to some extent. Unfortunately, schools would not want a reco letter from your uncle; you would need to select a senior non-family member who is familiar with your work in the family firm.

Good luck,
Thank you for answering my post.it took a load off my mind.specially i was worried if i write about the S.H. it would be considered a bad thing.
would it be appropriate if i get a reco letter from a client that i work with for 4 months every year?

Can i ask for one more favor?

considering the work experience i mentioned before and:

finance degree from the 1# school in my country(Iran) with the GPA of 15.14/20 (our highest GPA was 18.9)
GMAT : 710-720 (not taken yet)
TOEFL : 100-105 (not taken yet)
3 great recommendation letters and possibly good essays

tones of extracurricular activities:
+college girl volleyball team(gained the second place between schools for 3 years)
+V.P. of green club
+volunteer at M.A.M (same place i worked for my first 2 years) from the age of 15 till now
+Active Member of Women knowledge club
+ etc

which schools would you suggest?
I've looked into top 30 U.S. b-schools for MBA (if possible a joint degree in MBA/international business). schools like NYU Stern,Duke,Kellogg,Haas,Tuck,...
Do you think i would have a chance at any of them?
Can you give me a few names to consider as Optimistic choices and/or some as safety ones?
Thank you

(By the way,I've read parts of one of your books,it is a great publication,though i can not find an original copy here and just had to use a demo with only few pages that i found online)
Paul Bodine
Author, "Great Applications for Business School," "Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance," "Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation"
https://www.paulsbodine.com/
[email protected]
(858) 869-1959
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by mehrabounr » Wed Jul 13, 2011 1:05 pm
Thank you,i didn't think i would have a chance at any of these schools.

About the "leadership" experience:
from my first job,I've always been the head of my department.either because i was the only one,or because they saw me as the better candidate.(people usually trust me,even though i might be the youngest or the least experienced one in the group)

In a small wholesale company,though i was hired as just an accountant,i had the role to supervise a whole company.i was the only one with a university degree so less than a month,in addition to doing all the finance, accounting, bookkeeping, tax & banking work which was my responsibility i was asked to supervise the sales,Storing of products,ordering,etc.i worked 14hours a day to get things done.
And i had/have the opportunity to be the president,or VP as well as being a member in some clubs and NGOs.these groups might be small or not that important to some people,but they have a wide net of audience and i like working with them.
For example,one of them is a "gaming" group(there isn't a direct translation for the name) we gathered a book about all the old games from our childhood,we have monthly gatherings in parks or public areas in poor neighborhoods,playing with kids,making origami animals,...this might not seem much but managing a group of 50 ,5-10year olds,keeping them happy,and keeping the mothers free for a few hours,is very hard.

Overall i worked in/with companies with very few resources or newly established organizations,they didn't have many departments or a lot of staff,so i had to do a lot of different work for them from registering the company,buying computers,finding a lawyer for their court,etc.I'm almost like a screwdriver they use everywhere they can or need.So I got to know about every part of the operations and been involved with other areas.

In my opinion i have some experience in leadership.i would really appreciate if you would give me your opinion on this matter.
(would these be enough or i should be a mastermind behind a large company?)


i have one last question.
i like to apply for a dual degree.MBA/MA in Public affairs or public policy or international affairs. (not all schools have the same program but the core curriculum of these majors are the same and they are really close) do you think that i would have a chance at these programs or it's just wishful thinking? if i have a chance,would you recommend the same schools you did for MBA or you would recommend a school with a lower ranking?

Not having any resources about admissions or schools,in Iran,is a dilemma i have to face.
Thank you very much for helping me through this process.
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