need some advises to better define my career goals

Question

Dear Gmat club members:

I am getting ready to apply for full-time MBA program. I am kinda get stuck with defining my career goal. I recently posted my profile in this forum for evaluation. I copy and paste the "career goals" and "work experience" from my previous post:

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Post-MBA goal:
Short term: Career change - like to change from working in small business to working in big corporation. Interested in general management, like to get into a good management trainee program or leadership rotational program after MBA.

Long term: Becoming a operational leader, in Asia-Pacific region, of a multinational company (utilize my multicultural background).

Work experience (6 years total):
I started working in a small computer networking company. The company implements internet networks for hotels. I was a team leader in the tech-support department. My work duties include overseeing tech-support staffs, monitoring the client’s networks, and maintaining a good relationship with the clients.

After the networking company, I worked in a small retail business (a chain of two local cellular phone stores). I started as a IT Consultant. In one year, I was promoted as an assistant GM and became a business partner. In two more years, I became the General Manager (my current title). Under my supervision, the company structure was enhanced, new positions and departments were created, the total revenue was significantly increased, and four more new stores were opened in the upstate New York region.
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as indicated in the short term goal, my real motivation for MBA is career change, from small company to big one. I am a family man, i don't have time to fight for a spot in consulting or i-bank, i guess i don't have a pre-MBA experience to get a job in those fields anyway. As indicated in my work experience, i did some general management work. Therefore, i am hoping to get some solid knowledge and training about business administration thru MBA, and them get into a good management trainee program.

Question: 
How do i add detail to this short term goal? should i add more detail about what kind of general management i like, such as IT, HR, marketing, etc? I have a BS degree in computer science, and IT stuff comes pretty natural to me. Should I add details like "I would like to get into the general management in a IT related field/company"?

I tried to search for more detail about the post-MBA careers. I see lots of consulting, finance related careers, but don't see much general managements. One of the application essay is about "define your career goal". as shown above, i only has few lines about my post-mba goals. I know it is too general and vague. please give me some advise and point me to the right direction to better define the post-mba goals.

thanks!

interviewbay · Answer

'i don't have a pre-MBA experience to get a job in those fields anyway'

This is a wrong assumption. If you can get into a top school, you can literally change your career to anything. When a pilot can get into strategy consulting, a doctor can get into Investment Banking, do you think you can't? Think again. Thats what a top MBA is all about. Let me caution you as well - this is possible only with an MBA from top schools.

Read more about careers after MBA. (See our blog, vault guides, businessweek, etc). You need to spend some more time on that aspect before you draft this essay. Speak to current students and alumni of top schools. Use Linkedin if you dont have direct contacts. Good luck!

www.InterviewBay.com
- Application Reviews and Mock Interviews by Alumni of Your Target School

Youngjames · Answer

it's also unusual to define career goals based on company size. most applicants define this by domain/industry or function (mktg vs. finance). i'd stay away from trying to articulate your career switch based on working for a larger company than the one you're at, b/c it's kind of arbitrary. instead, i'd focus on the industry that you're in, and say that you want a "bigger impact" which implies a larger company, but feels less abstract than what you've described.

hope that's helpful
-james

hope that's helpful
-james

zl2013 · Answer

thanks for your suggestion.

now i have a new question.

as i work on the stern essay "two distinct career path", i realized there is a alternative career path i can take. this is what i come up with:

Short term: Join the same company again as a strategic partner. Use the knowledge and experience i get from MBA to further grow the company. I want to add a marketing department, promoting the services and building the company brand image. i want to expand the business, launching more stores covering more cities. Ultimately, i would like to turn the business into a franchise system. I don't have academic background in business administration, that is why i need to knowledge and experience from a top MBA to help me in planning and executing those ideas.

Long term: After the company becomes mature enough, i would like to move onto the emerging markets in china, utilizing my multi-cultural background. I live there for 18 years, i know its culture and how to work with its people. I also have close family member who is a entrepreneur in real estate (big projects), therefore i have good connections to start a business there.

1. i really like both of the career paths (the one right above, and the one in the original post). but for most of the other school, i only get to talk about one. any suggestion?

2. about the entrepreneurship career goal, does my short-term goal and long-term goal make sense together?

Ward2012 · Answer

Your new short term goal is much more exciting. Your original goal sounds like you want to go to school and then afterwards you just want to be in more training. Personally, I think the days of "rotational" programs are dwindling. Many companies still have them, but really value these days people who have skills already and can hit the ground running. We live in a world where people are specialists. companies aren't looking to hire someone who needs to "find himself" while bouncing around different departments.

I think your original goal can still work, but I think you need to specify what type of corporation (e.g., manufacturing, tech, retail, etc), what industry and once you nail that down, explain why you like that industry and what you see for the future. Naming some companies will help. I think it's fine to say you want to work for a "big" corp, but you should name some examples and explain the benefits of working in a big corp vs a small one and why you admire the companies you've named.

For your new goal, that could work too. You just need to tie it back to your personal experiences. for example, maybe you've already discussed this with your boss or even done some projects relating to this. Maybe you've expanded an organization in your personal life. Also, talk about what skills you already have that make you a good person to do that type of endeavor.

Just my personal opinion. I'm not an Admissions Consultant

need some advises to better define my career goals

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