{"id":27807,"date":"2015-03-08T12:48:19","date_gmt":"2015-03-08T19:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=27807"},"modified":"2015-03-08T12:48:19","modified_gmt":"2015-03-08T19:48:19","slug":"what-is-a-goal-and-what-is-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/what-is-a-goal-and-what-is-not\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Goal? (And What is Not)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Learn<\/a>Let\u2019s start by talking about what ISN\u2019T a goal. When an applicant says something along the lines of: \u201cI\u2019m interested in investment banking or consulting or marketing,\u201d then I know there\u2019s significant work to be done, because THIS is NOT a goal.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0strong, clear MBA goal<\/a>\u00a0should guide your admissions research and your choice of target schools. A goal is something you want to\u00a0do\u00a0<\/b>(not just study), and for MBA admissions purposes it should relate to a specific function and ideally to an industry. For some applicants, geography is also an important element in their goal. Your goal should be based on your experience, not on television, not on what your parents\/significant other or friends think you should do, and not simply on what will make you a lot of money.<\/p>\n

I am not saying that you can\u2019t change careers. After all, roughly 50% of\u00a0MBA students are career changers<\/a>. But you need to have a realistic vision of your future based on skills and character traits you have developed and based on experiences that you have had.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s return to our initial point of what ISN\u2019T an MBA goal. What\u2019s the problem with stating that you want to go into marketing, for example? There are numerous dimensions and opportunities subsumed under the heading of \u201cmarketing,\u201d including business development, market research, brand management, and channel management.<\/p>\n

Do you see how general and unfocused you seem if you say your post-MBA goal is \u201cmarketing,\u201d not to mention a goal of \u201cmarketing, investment banking, or consulting\u201d?<\/p>\n

On the other hand if you are a software consultant who has worked on software marketing projects or a software designer who has worked in product development and you now want\u00a0to go into brand management in the software industry, your goal makes sense. It is focused. It is clear. It is an asset to you in\u00a0the application process<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There is a Proverb that goes, \u201cWithout a vision, the people will perish.\u201d The adcom readers will note the red flags when they see your lack of vision. Know where you\u2019re going before you start packing your bags. And certainly before you start applying.<\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

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Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Why MBA?<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0MBA 2016 - Ready, Set, Go!<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0MBA Goals 101<\/a><\/p>\n

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Accepted.com<\/a>'s\u00a0<\/i>experienced admissions consultants<\/a>\u00a0can help you create the most impressive application possible with\u00a0<\/i>comprehensive packages<\/a>,<\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b>or provide targeted assistance from\u00a0<\/i>picking perfect programs<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/i>designing a dazzling resume<\/a>,\u00a0<\/i>constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or\u00a0<\/i>preparing for intense interview<\/a>s<\/a>\u2026and more!\u00a0<\/i>Accepted.com<\/a>\u00a0has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so\u00a0<\/i>contact us<\/a>\u00a0to get started now!<\/i><\/div>\n
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\u200bAccepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best<\/i><\/i>\u200b<\/a><\/p>\n
\u200b\u200b<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u200b\u200b<\/div>\n
\u200b\u200b<\/div>\n

This article originally appeared on the\u00a0Accepted Admissions Consulting Blog<\/a><\/i>,<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\u200bofficial blog of\u00a0Accepted.com.<\/a><\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s start by talking about what ISN\u2019T a goal. When an applicant says something along the lines of: \u201cI\u2019m interested in investment banking or consulting or marketing,\u201d then I know…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,113,243],"tags":[968,150,1821,877,276,1163,12],"class_list":["post-27807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-applications","category-blog","tag-career-path","tag-goals","tag-mba-applcations","tag-mba-essay-questions","tag-mba-goals","tag-mba-goals-essay","tag-the-mba-application-process","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27807"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27807\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27810,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27807\/revisions\/27810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}