Help with Application

Thank you both for your replies. So one restriction in the number of Top20 schools that I can apply for is that I am looking for a program that is mostly online mixed with some on-campus classes and/or national/international residencies. I am not looking to move for school and unfortunately there are no great MBA schools where I currently live.

It's not that my career choices are very specific and limited in scope. In fact, I am very open-minded. However, I was always under the impression that it is a red-flag when an MBA applicant does not provide a very specific career path combined with short-term and long-term goals in reaching it. Or is this a misconception?

Anyways, there are currently two fields that I am very interested in. However, the problem is that I lack the work experience in those fields so I am worried that my aspirations in those fields are not justified in the adcom's eyes. For example, I am very interested in management/business consulting, however, I lack any sort of professional work experience in it. How can I go about convincing them my passion for it without backing it up with experience? My background is actually suited for the other career I am interested in. However, I do not have any work experience in it either.

The problem is that it is very difficult to attain a consulting job without a business background, which I lack. And it is very difficult to go into my other career choice without prior work experience. Academically my resume/background is extremely strong. However, professional experience is where I am lacking.

Do you have any suggestions on how to overcome these obstacles? An MBA is truly what I need yet I am limited in my competitiveness for it. I am only looking to attain it from a top20 school since ROI drops significantly outside that list. The ranking is based on the school's on-campus MBA program.

Thanks in advance!

I understand you have a very difficult situation and you are truly motivated to do an MBA from the Top 20. You really need to alter your profile or create a great convincing story and find some missing pieces if there are any.
I can help you modify your profile or may be put things in a different way so as to create a convincing story.
Its not always true that to get into some specific industry you need that specific background, there can different way of relating different things and Consulting is specially peculiar where its more of a approach and planned way of thinking rather than similar experience. I think you can map your skills and try to relate it with your post MBA plan. These all are generic suggestions, definitely need to understand the exact profile to provide more meaningful responses.

Also, if you are not in a hurry then you can give yourself little bit of time to make your profile bit stronger and align it with the kind of program you would like to get into.
I have started this initiative of mentoring MBA aspirants myself. Its just free guidance and support mostly for people who are looking at a bigger horizon and long term planning
with their career and MBA. Post MBA career plan is very important and many students tend to overlook this part.

I am planning to provide sustained guidance for a longer period. In case you are interested and would like to get in touch, let me know.
You can check out my site also (globalmba-gyan) and see if it looks interesting. You can connect with me from the contact us link there and we can have a more structured approach for your case. I am happy to answer and share my experiences here also. Its up to you !

I hope you get what you desire !!
All the best !
DJ

Schools look for a short-term career goal that is believable and achievable. Believable - that you would transition to role X based on what you have done in the past + your inerests + your long term career goals. Achievable - do you have an appropriate background (even if you are a career changer) to move into the new position? Is the position broadly defined enough that there isn't just one job out there you would be happy with?

It sounds like you really lack work experience. For an e-MBA it might be better to get a couple more years under your belt. You have a short time frame after you graduate with an MBA when the MBA is most valuable to you and if you are doing an e-MBA you won't have the benefit of on campus recruiting to propel you into your next job - you'll have to network your way in. I don't know what type of consulting firm you would like to work for but the top firms don't recruit from e-MBAs unless you are perhaps a seasoned professional with 10+ years of experience.....

Why did you apply with a career choice of interest last year that wasn't what you are interested in? Did something happen in the past year to make you re-evaluate your interests?

Thanks for your reply. Fortunately, the online MBA I applied for has very strong networking opportunities throughout the program. They have many residencies and on-campus weekends that would enable me to create a strong networking nexus. They also have a fantastic career services department.

I am still interested in the career choice I chose when I first applied. However, I was rejected. My fear is that I was rejected because I did not have any work experience in the field that I chose. Therefore, like you stated, it may have been difficult to show that my choice was both believable and achievable. So, my question was, if I changed my career choice to something else that I am also interested in that is both achievable and believable, would that be a red flag? Would it appear that I am fickle regarding my career choice?

Thanks for your replies!

IMO, I don't think you should change your career choice for the school you had previously applied to. Instead, focus on making your application more relatable to that choice. Find ties between your experience and the program and choice. Just changing your mind about a career choice in a one-year span without a compelling reason does not look great, and would be more of a red flag than trying to define your niche. If you had a good reason (i.e. a promotion at work that opened possibilities in x field instead of y field) then it's plausible.

Thanks for your reply. What advice do you have on making my application more aligned with my first career choice? If I don't have any prior work experience in that field, how would I go about convincing the adcom that this career is both believable and achievable? Basically, I have interest in both fields. I just need to figure out which career to center my application around to be a more competitive applicant.

Thanks in advance!

If you are interested in both your career choices and your interests, skills and activities relate well to your second choice and you believe you can create a compelling story, then I would say go for it. I hope both hese choices are not outrageously different from each other as that might raise a red flag in adcoms mind.
You can clearly convey the message that both have been your interests and you moved towards this "second one" during last year and show that you did something for that as well. Hopefully that can work in favor for you.

I think you are getting vague answers as you are not clearly explaining what's the program you aimed for and what are those career choices vis a vis your profile. I would suggest its better to explain things in detail and you will get better insights from people.

Anyways, wish you all the best !

Cheers !
DJ