Hi @laytonjacobs,
Trust you are doing well.
Thank you for sharing your profile.
I run an admission consulting firm – and based on my experience of working with applicants who got success with their McCombs applications, below is my feedback :
Your experience (both in terms of volume as well as diversity) is one of the highlights of your profile. You will need to showcase the value add you made in the niche Retirements Services industry and in an advisory role in an equity research firm. CFA degree further shows that you are passionate about finance and want to make a career out of it.
In lieu of your experience, you should portray your goals in the Financial Services industry, preferably in customer facing front end. You should refer to the following equation while narrating your short and long term goals :
X+Y=Z, where X : Your current Skill sets ; Z : Skill sets required as per your short term goal ; Y – Bridge/ gap that will be plugged by the MBA program.
GMAT : 680 is slightly on the lower side, and a score of 700 along with a compelling application will strengthen your application and make your candidature a competitive one.
Extra curricular : You seemed to have been involved in multiple initiatives. However, you will have to prudently chose only a few of them for highlighting such that the ad com doesn’t get a false impression that you are all over the place. Alternatively, you should find a common theme / inspiration behind all your extra curricular involvements.
In fact, one of my clients from the Retirements Practice industry got into McCombs this year. Although, he was more from a technology background and ended up choosing another school over McCombs, I can definitely get you connected with him.
Cheers and Wish you the very best
AB
What if I don't want to work in finance anymore? I want to move into corporate strategy either via consulting or leadership development programs.