Is this PC to say in my essays/interview?

Question

I have a quick question to ask.

Currently, I am an analyst at a consulting/IT/outsourcing firm, where our division speciailizes in DoD work. Prior to that, I worked at a major defense contractor as a mechanical engineer.

From these 2 experiences, I KNOW, I NEVER ever want to go back to DoD. Hnece, wanting to go to Bschool now before getting pigeonholed and enter something entirely different (not only do I want to get out of DoD, but I am also done with engineering)

So, my question is this - is it PC to state all the reasons why I dont like working for the govt/DoD (and those that work in this field, I know you know what I'm talking about)? Or should I just keep it short and simple and say, 'I'm done with DoD and want to do (insert something here)'?

I just feel that if I dive in a bit more as to why I dont like govt/DoD, I'll have a more compelling reason/story to goto school and I'm just not flip flopping. But, at the same time I feel like if I do, I will sound like I am whining and complaining...

Any suggestions/comments will be appreciated.

Thanks.

sam77sam7 · Answer

Instead of concentrating on why you DON'T want to go back into DoD, I would concentrate on why you DO want to go into whatever you are stating your post-MBA goals are.

Highlight areas of the post-MBA career that you feel really appeal to you, skills you can carry from your DoD work into this new field, and why the field as a whole really interests you.

I would personally stay away from mentioning all the things you dislike about DoD.

Hope this helps!

~Sam

ncp · Answer

Dont do it. Schools want to know that you are actively driving forward towards something, rather than running from something else(DoD) into an MBA. Also, no matter how horrid your experiences at DoD were, you need to show maturity by saying that you learned a lot from then, instead of being regretful.

rajpdsouza · Answer

I agree with Sam. Going into an interview and listing all the things you hate about your job doesn't get much accomplished. Focus on why you need an MBA to reach your goals? If they dig a little deeper and ask about your current job, then you can tell them but keep it short.

gmat blows · Answer

is my bitterness that transparent?? ha, oops

Just to show, I'm that sure that I'm ready for a new challenge. Anyway, thanks for everyone's comments - defintely nice to get some feedback. Once thinking about something for this long, it's so hard to think without a bias, and know what is good and what is not.

riverripper · Answer

You want to spin your work as a positive, even if it really isnt in your mind. No matter how much you hate it you want to talk about the positives. If you seem at all negative it might minimize your work experience and that is not something you want to do. I am sure the majority of us dont absolutely love what we do or we wouldnt be going back.

Also remember unfortunately many areas of government work wont be looked at in a very positive light...other areas do look very good. It really depends what you do, so if you are in an area that wont have that wow factor or seem impressive you should make sure you sell it well. Dont be negative at all, you will just be validating any stereotypes that may be held about govt employees.

Personally I work for the govt and have a lot of friends who work there too, and I definitely think its a harder place to apply from for lots of areas. I have friends who definitely jobs that no matter what they do they cant move up at all for years. Luckily where I work we do have the wow factor, and its possible to move up a little based on abilities not just seniority, I am at a level where everyone else is much older but unfortunately there is no where to go up to for a long time so if I waited another year or two it would get much harder since I wasnt going to be moving up at all.

kryzak · Answer

Ok, I don't have much time to write a full reply right now (it's 1am in Chicago, I'm dead tired after 1 full day of DAK, and I'm sitting in a hotel hallway because my room doesn't get wireless access), but I HAD TO reply to this one because it's right up my alley.

The simple answer is: Your essays will be stronger if you wrote the POSITIVE reasons on why you want to pursue your new goal and what you can contribute (your understanding of the DoD and defense industry) to the school instead of ripping on the industry. I was surprised myself, as my first drafts of essays were dissing the industry and telling them why I wanted to leave. Then,without a huge conscious effort, the negatives went away with each successive draft and I focused on what I learned about the industry and what I can share with my classmates. My essays got stronger because of it, even though I didn't think it would happen.

So hopefully this answer (from someone who has the exact same background as you and exact same reasons for leaving the industry for an MBA) will help, along with everyone else's good answers.

If you have more questions, please post and I'll reply when I get back home Sunday night.

BTW, the very interesting thing is, I was approached this morning after introducing myself in my DAK section and saying where I worked. This guy really WANTS to work in the defense industry and wants to learn more about it from me. Go figure!

xerox · Answer

I agree with the posters here -- just stay positive about everything.

I even avoided words like 'not', 'never', 'none', etc. as much as possible in my essays. It just makes such a big difference when you try to say/see things from the positive angle!

Say, your sentence  'From these 2 experiences, I KNOW, I NEVER ever want to go back to DoD.'  could be written as  'From these two experiences, I know I will be much happier and more useful in areas other than DoD.'

We all can b...ch about things that we dislike, but the truth is nobody likes to hear that.

gmat blows · Answer

it's so amazing how a few words can drastically change the same experience/thought and recapture it in a whole new, better way.

Is this PC to say in my essays/interview?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards