You’ll be applying to b-school this fall, aiming for the Round 1 deadlines. You may also be working full-time, juggling a few other responsibilities, and perhaps trying to hike up that GMAT score. What should you be doing now? Thinking about why you want to go to b-school, and for that, you’ll need to formulate…
The Reality of Unrealistic MBA Goals
Business school candidates (depending on career stage) will often look to advanced graduate degrees for one of three reasons: (a) to accelerate in their current career, (b) to make a career switch, or (c) to start a business. Whatever the reason, it’s important that the adcom know exactly what it is that you want to…
The Importance of Defining Your MBA Goal
The Importance of Defining Your MBA Goal You should never view your goals as an afterthought when it comes to your MBA application. Admissions members view MBA goals as leading-role performers, so you certainly shouldn’t push them to a supporting role as you prepare to apply to MBA programs. What is an MBA goal? Yes,…
Backup Plans, Research and Professional Support
I will wrap up this series with a few additional points. Creating a backup plan Think you’re done with MBA goals? Think again… In the current global economic volatility, having a backup plan for your immediate post-MBA goal can be not only good planning for you, but also enhance your goal essay’s credibility. It’s particularly…
How to Edit Your MBA Goals Essay
Short- and long-term goals Before you start drafting your MBA goals essays, work out three levels of goals: short-term, intermediate, and long-term. It helps to have this whole picture in your mind regardless of where you’ll “zoom in” for a particular essay. Short-term applies to the timeframe immediately post-MBA to about two years later; intermediate…
Write an MBA Goals Essays that Turns the Adcom into Your Cheerleaders!
By following the advice in the previous post you can create goals that are clear, credible, and convincing, but they won’t necessarily be exciting. They won’t make the adcom reader think as she reads, “Wow, it would be great if he could do that!” And this latter reaction is really what the goals essay should…
What Exactly Are Goals?
“I want to move from the buy side to the sell side.” “I want to shift from technology consulting to investment banking.” Not goals. An engineer once said to me, “I want to go into either finance or consulting.” Not goals. A goal isn’t something you want, it’s something you do, something you want to…
MBA Admissions Tip: Explaining Frequent Job Switching
You’ve got a strong transcript, a solid GPA, and you aced the GMAT. You know you’re a strong candidate for pretty much any top MBA program. There’s just one thing standing in your way…your resume. You’ve had some good jobs—that’s not the problem. The problem is that you’ve had too many of them, very close…
Why Write a Series About MBA Goals?
A few years ago, in the good old days when Wharton still offered feedback to rejected applicants, I talked with a potential client who was reapplying to Wharton. I asked him whether he’d obtained feedback on his application, and he said yes. Well? “Actually they said they really liked my application. They said I was…
Getting Your MBA Goals in Shape
Knowing they’ll have to write essays about their goals, most b-school applicants have identified their goals prior to starting the application process. But I’ve found that “identified” often has a misconstrued scope, either too narrow or too broad to effectively serve the purpose of the essays. With some moderate effort, you can flesh out your…
3 Ways to Determine Which B-Schools Are a Good Fit for You
There are loads of MBA programs out there. How do you decide which ones are best for you? It’s time to unlock the secrets to the elusive “fit” factor. “Fit” is established by the relationship between your needs and desires and what a given program presents. What elements do you seek in an MBA program?…
6 Tips for Creating Your Compelling MBA Goals Essay
Ask yourself this question: Is THIS the program that will help you reach your goals? Most schools ask why you want an MBA and why you want it from this school. And really, even if they didn’t ask you, you should still ask yourself. Before you invest the time and money in an MBA, you…
What Does Your Work Experience Reveal About You in Your MBA Application?
“What Does Your Work Experience Reveal About You in Your MBA Application” is excerpted from MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, by Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen. Work experience is important because of what it reveals about you in terms of your character, maturity, and abilities. Even if…
How to Add Detail to Your Social Enterprise/Community Service Goals
Whether you’re applying for an MBA, a PhD in Public Policy (or many other doctoral fields), or a Masters in Social Work, you’re likely to talk about social enterprise or community service goals in your application. For some, this will be your primary objective – those of you seeking careers in the non-profit sector, for…
MBA Admissions Advice for Career Changers
As an IT consultant, how do you know equity research is the right career for you? How do you know you can handle the hours, the more Darwinian industry and company culture, the stress of having a pivotal impact on huge investment decisions? If you are an MBA applicant pursuing a career change, then you…
Bain & Company’s Keith Bevans Talks About Careers, Life at Bain [Episode 251]
One of the biggest motivations, if not the biggest motivation, for applying to graduate school is career enhancement and achievement of professional goals. For many MBAs and some other graduate students, consulting has irresistible appeal. Today it is my distinct pleasure to have on Admissions Straight Talk Keith Bevans, Partner and Global Head of Consulting…
EMBA Employment and Career Services
This is the fourth post in our Ace the EMBA series on how to apply successfully to a top executive MBA program. Given today’s volatile business climate, almost everyone in the business world must continuously evaluate and recalibrate their career path, whether they are planning an imminent change or not. It’s an ongoing part of being…
Writing Your Career Goals Essay
In our How to Write Exemplary Application Essays blog series, you’ll learn how to create exemplary essays by analyzing sample successful application essays. A career goals essay, similar to the graduate school statement of purpose that we discussed in a previous post in this series, demands a laser-like focus. Unlike personal statements, which may discuss career goals but…
How to Clarify Your Goals for Your MBA – And Beyond
“How to Clarify Your Goals for Your MBA – And Beyond” is excerpted from MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, by Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen. Some applicants may be very clear about either the industry in which they want to work or the function or job title they’d…
MBA Admissions: INSEAD and Marketing
A quick glance at INSEAD: INSEAD currently ranks in second place in Businessweek’s full-time global MBA rankings and in sixth place according to The Financial Times (2013). INSEAD Class of 2014 Profile Key facts: • Average age – 29 years old • Average years work experience – 5 years • Average GMAT score – 702 • Total number of…
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