Jerz wrote:
pmenon wrote:
Im dying with the 600 word limit. How do you take 5 years of work experience, with significant accomplishments, and squeeze it in 140 words ?
The same way I captured 7 years of work experience in 140 words: be concise. And as nink suggested, think big picture. You don't have to fit every accomplishment in your career into this essay. You also have a CV, 3 other essays and a 45 minute interview to talk about your accomplishments.
pmenon wrote:
I guess I need to really nail down what 'assess' means. Im afraid that if I skim over my roles, then I lose out on the opportunity to really sell what Ive done to the adcom.
I wouldn't try to talk too much about accomplishments in this essay. Instead I'd focus on summarizing what you've learned or skills you've gained from your experience and how that's prepared you for MBA and your career goals. Remember, you're assessing your career progress (in the context of your goals and why you need an MBA), not summarizing or explaining your career progression.
I think you should step back a bit before talking about word limits and how to fit the template set out by the fine predecessors on this board. While I agree with the advice given in general, the proportion with which you dedicate to a particular part of this essay really needs to be considered with respect to your goals for this essay within the context of the rest of the essays and vis a vis how you want to position yourself with Kellogg.
Particularly, do you see your work experience, your vision, or your need to convince Kellogg that you're a good fit with the school to be your primary goal of the essay? Which piece of this puzzle won't you be able to address elsewhere?
I for one, as younger applicant at the time, used this essay to delve into the quality of my work experience and talked for over half the essay about it. Obviously, this is not as important a bar to convince with the more work experience you have (or the level of detail might be different).
My point is craft this balance based on the entirety of your application (the same way a reader will read your application), not on this essay in its own. Answer the question in its entirety - but focus based on the totality of your app.