You've been busy these last few years. Very busy. How will you ever fit all of your classes, extracurricular activities, awards, and job experience in your EMBA application essays?
The simple answer is that you won’t, and you shouldn’t even attempt to.
Trying to include all of your past experiences will create an essay that is too long and confused. You should focus on two or three ideas or experiences and discuss them in depth, describing how they make you the best executive b-school candidate out there.
Follow these three simple tips to write your winning essay and ace the EMBA:
1. Write what you WANT to say and what you NEED to include in your essay.
The ideas or experiences you will write about in your essay will fall into one of the following two categories:
• Points that you want to make because they’re very striking and separate you from the rest of the applicants.
• Themes that you must write about because the essay question requires them.
You should try to include as much information as possible from the first category in the second category. This will help you be efficient in answering the question, while assuring that you get to tell as much of your story as possible.
2. Make sure your essays complement each other (and compliment you!).
Be sure that all the elements in each of your essays are connected in some way, painting a complete picture of you. Each of your essays should stand on its own, while providing balance for the other. If the theme of one is leadership, the other should be on a different one of your exceptional qualifications. They should complement, not duplicate each other.
3. Use recent material first.
Be sure to use recent experiences to portray a clear, powerful image of your current position at work. Once you’ve done that, if you have more to say, it’s useful to include older experiences as well. These will give you an opportunity to show your development and progress. It’s perfectly acceptable to focus only on new or contemporary experiences. However, DO NOT use only past events. This may give the impression to the adcom readers that you peaked early in your career, and have nothing further to offer. Your essay needs to leave the impression that your best is yet to come.
Following these tips will help the adcom readers learn about who you are, and what makes you uniquely qualified to be a member of their next EMBA class.
For more valuable tips, check out our EMBA 101 resource page, or get in touch with an admissions consultant.
Related Resources:
• Excellent Executive MBA Admissions Advice, a podcast episode
• School-Specific EMBA Application Essay Tips
• 5 Key Qualifying Factors the EMBA Adcoms Look For
This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com.
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