pmenon wrote:
Hey guys, great tips ! Did have a couple of questions though:
1. When you're told to be specific in your career goals, how specific did you really get ?
I was very specific, down to the functions and specific companies I wanted to work for (as well as a brief explanation why those companies).
pmenon wrote:
2. To what extent did you go to explain WHY you had the career goals you do, if at all ? Not sure if this is even necessary, but I read somewhere that it was a good idea to let adcoms in on this information
Because I was switching careers I thought it was important to explain both a) why I didn't want to continue in my current career path, and b) why I was interested in my proposed new career path. I think the 'why' element gives the adcom a much deeper insight into who you are and what makes you tick, and makes for much more interesting essays.
pmenon wrote:
3. How much did you discuss WHAT you wanted to do in your position(s) post-MBA ?
As isa said, the Duke leader of consequence essay was 2 pages of what I wanted to achieve post-MBA. For the other essays, I used 2-3 sentences to explain both WHAT I wanted to accomplish over the course of my post-MBA career, and WHY this is important to me.
pmenon wrote:
4. When you tie school resources into your essays (i.e. to answer the 'why our school' question), how did you go about doing that ? Did you simply mention a few clubs and classes, mention your discussions with alumni/current students ?
In my 'why our school' section, I discussed specific clubs and classes and how the knowledge/skills/experience I gained from them would help me achieve my career goals. I didn't mention too much about specific professors or alumni more because I was running out of room in my essay and couldn't get it to sound like much more than name dropping. Outside the 'why our school' section, when I talked about some of my current extracurricular activities, I talked about wanting to continue similar activities in the X Club at the school, or if the school didn't have a relevant club I said I'd be interested in starting a club that focused on X.
pmenon wrote:
5. How much did you get into your past work experience ? I know that youre supposed to do this and draw a clear line between what you have, and what you want, in terms of goals, but some questions, like LBS's essay 1 question, dont give you too much room to really get into it, given the question:
In what role do you see yourself working immediately after graduation? Why? How will your past and present experiences help you achieve this? How will the London Business School MBA Programme contribute to this goal? Why is this the right time for you to pursue an MBA? (600 words)
Thanks for all your replies in advance
. Im sure I'll be back with more questions eventually
In all my career goals essays I talked about prior work experience, what skills it has provided me with and how those skills will help me achieve my career goals. Because I was proposing to switch careers, I thought showing this link was pretty important. Also, since the LBS question specifically asks about how your experience will help you achieve your goals, I think you have to address it. In some of my essays where space was a concern, I used 3-4 sentences to talk very succinctly about my experience and the linkage. However, I also used space in other essays to give more detailed examples and anecdotes to tell stories about leadership, teamwork, innovation, etc.