by Kelly Wilson
The Importance of Researching Your MBA Goals and Being Authentic
Too many times, as an admissions officer, I read applications from candidates who shared career goals that didn’t quite make sense. Whether there was no connection between their target position and what they had been doing or no explanation of how they would successfully pivot to their desired role, I was left wondering how much thought these candidates had put into the professional aspirations they were claiming. I often concluded that their stated goal was one they thought the adcom would want to hear, rather than what they truly wanted to pursue. Those applicants were at a disadvantage. In this post, I’ll explain why being authentic about your career goal in your MBA application is better for your candidacy.
Table of contents:
- Adcoms Value Honesty
- Genuine Goals Are More Convincing
- Questionable Goals Become More Feasible
- You Can Offer Alternatives
- You’ll Be Ready for Fall Recruiting
Adcoms Value Honesty
I recently spoke with a candidate who has been working in the tech start-up space and aspires to move into a more senior role in tech. The applicant asked whether she should state that consulting was her post-MBA career goal instead, given that consulting is a path that many MBAs take. After a few minutes of conversation, I realized that she thought that indicating an interest in consulting would give her a better chance of being admitted than sharing her actual goal would. After all, at many top MBA programs, 30%-35% of students enter consulting roles after graduation, while fewer land in the tech start-up space.
I get it. Applying to business school is a high-stakes endeavor, and candidates want to do all they can to be admitted. However, trying to make yourself seem similar to your competition is a flawed strategy. You’ll simply blend into the gray mass of applicants. You are better served by being authentic and telling your distinctive story in your business school application. Adcoms seek to admit a diverse group of individuals who will benefit each other as members of their MBA class. Whether you’re a “nontraditional” candidate or one with a more conventional profile, authentically convey your background, life experiences, and plans for your future to highlight the unique perspective you can bring to the program and thereby demonstrate how you will enrich your classmates’ MBA experience.
Genuine Goals Are More Convincing
If your stated goal is truly your aspiration, this will be reflected in your level of understanding of the career path ahead of you. So, as you prepare to write your career goals essay, spend time reflecting on and assessing what motivates and inspires you and how both the MBA degree in general and this program in particular will help you achieve your goals. If you plan to make a career pivot, what relevant transferable skills do you already possess that you can build on during the program? If your goals are a bit outside the mainstream, you’ll need to understand the applicable expertise you have already developed, as well as the skills and experiences you look to gain from the MBA program that will make achieving your goal possible. Students at the school who have similar interests to yours can be a tremendous resource as you prepare your application. Connect with them; they will be happy to talk with you. What has been their experience in the program, both academically and in cocurricular activities? How might you take advantage of similar opportunities while you are in school? These answers can inform the story you present in your application, providing context and helping the adcom see that you are prepared to pursue your chosen path.
Questionable Goals Become More Feasible
If your desired post-MBA role is a stretch for you, but it is truly what you aspire to do, you have likely looked into possible interim positions that would allow you to progress toward your new career path. And if you have an established network you can tap into during your career search, you should share this information in your essay. Being able to connect the dots for the adcom between what you have done professionally, what you want to do, and how you anticipate achieving your goals will make your claims more believable and compelling.
You Can Offer Alternatives
After giving your career goal significant thought and researching what is needed for you to achieve it, you will probably have discovered alternative paths to get you where you ultimately want to be. You could therefore offer the adcom a two-pronged explanation of your goals, such as the following:
“As I enter the MBA program, I aim to build on my experience at XYZ company and continue as a business development or sales manager in a tech start-up. I have also considered a path in technology consulting, which would allow me to use my academic background and provide me with a skill set that, even three to five years post-MBA, would be attractive to tech start-ups. Additionally, I know I will be exposed to many new things during the program, and I am excited to discover new possibilities.”
Demonstrating this level of understanding of your professional interests will go far in convincing the adcom that you are serious about your career direction, and MBA programs want students who exhibit such dedication. In addition, you will have shown that you are open to new opportunities.
You’ll Be Ready for Fall Recruiting
In early fall, which comes surprisingly quickly after you arrive on campus, the MBA recruiting process begins. Companies host information sessions to meet with students about internship opportunities. If you don’t enter the program with a strong sense of the direction you truly want to take in your career, your job search could fall behind that of your classmates, given all the new things you must manage as a student.
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