nutty2010 wrote:
I'm wondering if anyone here has a similiar experience to mines.
I've been living in the Washington DC area ever since I graduated and have been working as a government contractor. The recent contract I'm on requires security clearance and my company was willing to sponsor my clearance. Thing is it's been almost two years and I still haven't any news, in the mean time I've been working on an interim clerance. Well I got the bad news recently: I was not cleared. It's not that I have a criminal record, bad credit, or anything like that but rather I've only become a naturalized citizen for only a few years and ALL my relatives are in Taiwan. For the mean time, I'm still on the same contract, but I realize that in the future I will be moved to another contract that does not require clearance. Here's the thing, without that clearance I know that my career doing government work is effectively over, since I don't want to be forever doing non-cleared work which pays substantially less.
My entire career so far has consisted of only doing government work, so this has come as quite a blow. Now I realize I need to start looking towards private sector jobs in which I really don't have any experience, hence that is why I am applying for an MBA, to become familiar with corporate culture and to gain the business knowledge which I so desperately lack.
Having stated that I really don't know if I should be writing this as my reason for seeking an MBA in my essays, since I'm afraid it'll make me sound like I am applying out of desperation (which I kind of am...).
Any input or advice on the matter would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
nutty
Nutty,
Its all about packaging. Stating that you want to get an MBA to move into the private sector because your security clearance isn't working out is going to get you dinged for sure. However, stating that you want to obtain an MBA so that you can be better positioned with the right skills to move into a role in corporate america as X, is probably not a bad positioning statement.
I think the important thing to remember is that you must sound positive and committed. If you don't exactly know what you want to do, thats fine, but dont write about it. Don't say you want an MBA out of dissatisfaction. The above story rotates primarily around your being dissatisfied with your current situation - guess what - thats probably 98% of applicants and no one likes a negative nancy.
Rather, focus on what about you've done that is preparing you for your entry into corporate life, and what is lacking in your background. Keep it positive, optimistic, interested and committed.
So, short answer: no, don't talk about the story above.