Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Judge Business School Fall 2019 MBA Essays

The University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School has posted the following main MBA essay questions for the 2018-19 application for admission. Essay One: Career Objectives Please provide a personal statement. It should not exceed 500 words and must include the following: What are your short and long term career objectives and what skills/characteristics do you already have that will help you achieve them? What actions will you take before and during the MBA to contribute to your career outcome? If you are unsure of your post-MBA career path, how will the MBA equip you for the future? Required Essay Two What did you learn from your most spectacular failure? (200 words max.) Required Essay Three Describe a situation where you had to work jointly with others to achieve a common goal. What did you learn from the experience? (up to 200 words) The application for Fall 2019 entry will open in July. Please visit the Judge Business School admissions website for more details.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Great New Resource Guide for Veteran MBA Applicants

Military MBA applicants tend to blow other candidates out of the water, figuratively speaking, because they have a wealth of experience to draw from at a very young age. In fact, my very first client, many years ago, was in the military. While many candidates can only speak to sitting in cubicles, crunching numbers for the boss, b-school applicants from the military have had to deal with highly stressful situations, think on their feet, make ethical decisions, and lead important projects. However, the pivot to business school after the military can be stressful as these candidates navigate the completely uncharted waters of the MBA application process. Veteran applicants need advice targeted toward their specific needs and strengths. That’s why I’m excited to share a valuable new resource just for these MBA applicants. Matthew Cowsert,  a U.S. Army veteran and MBA graduate from NYU Stern School of Business, recently published a book called What’s Next? A Military Veteran’s Guide to Maximizing Your MBA. “Before Stern, I worked in the U.S. Army for seven years as an infantry and finance officer,” Cowsert explains. “I’ve spent the last two years volunteering as a veteran admissions consultant for Service to School. Through this work, I realized a gap in the pre-transition process for military veterans pursuing their MBA.” What’s Next: A Military Veteran’s Guide to Maximizing Your MBA provides practical advice and frameworks to help prospective and current student veterans navigate their career transition from the military into the civilian workforce. Cowsert believes this book will help military veterans naturally differentiate themselves from other MBA applicants in order to gain acceptance to their target program and land their dream job. The guide breaks the transition into three phases, teaching you how to: *Convince Yourself* • Assess your strengths to highlight the transferable skills you have that matter for your next career. • Evaluate programs and career options through quantitative and qualitative methods that align with your future goals. • Ask the right questions, from the right people, at the right time. *Convince Your Target Program*  • Know the difference between admission requirements and differentiators and allow you to focus on the parts of your application that will stand out. • Speak the business school language and understand the opportunities that each program unlocks for you. • Tell your stories compellingly and understandably. *Convince Your Target Company* • Signal to your target firm through your on-campus and off-campus recruiting efforts that you are the right fit. • Maximize the opportunities and access to industry leaders only afforded to business school students. • Outperform your peers during your internship to earn your full-time offer. This guide also includes access to the accompanying Next Vets website, which has all of the templates, worksheets, and recommended resources discussed throughout the book. An MBA is a great next step for transitioning veterans no matter what branch of service they come from. Applicants from the military should know that business school admissions teams highly value their experience, so if that’s your background, make sure your  applications highlight those powerful and unique qualities. *** Matthew Cowsert is a decorated U.S. Army veteran and veteran advocate. He received his undergraduate degree from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in 2009. After spending seven years in the Army as an infantry and finance officer, Matt left active duty in 2016 and received his MBA from NYU Stern in 2018. Matt also serves as the Director of Partnerships for the veteran non-profit Veterans in Global Leadership and is a Service to School MBA Ambassador. Beginning in July 2018, Matt will be working for Amazon as a Senior Product Manager in their Amazon Web Services organization.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Cornell Johnson Fall 2019 MBA Essays

The Johnson School of Management at Cornell University has announced a unique twist to the updated essay prompts for the 2018-2019 admissions season. Candidates are required to complete a Goals Statement as well as two essays. Goals Statement A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short and long term goals by completing the following sentences and answering the enclosed short answer question (250 words maximum): Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___. Targeted Job Role: Target Job Company: Industry: In 5 – 10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___. Targeted Job Role: Target Job Company: Industry: How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals? Impact Essay This essay is designed to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. Whether during the program or following graduation, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve. To help you explore your potential for impact, we encourage you to engage with our students, alumni, faculty, and professional staff. You may choose to connect with them via email or phone or in person during one of our on campus or off campus events. As you seek their input and insight, please be respectful of their time and prepare a few discussion points or questions in advance (500 words maximum). At Cornell, we value students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you’ve identified through engagement with our community and describe how what you learned has influenced your decision to apply to Johnson. Back of Your Resume Essay This essay is an opportunity to present yourself as an individual. We encourage you to think about your proudest accomplishments, interests and passions, and personal highlights that will help us to get to know you as a person and potential community member. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style. Alternative submission formats may include a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube, etc.), as well as visually enhanced written submissions. Maximum file size is 5 MB. If you choose to submit a written essay, please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer. Multimedia submissions should be under 5 minutes. The front page of your resume has given us a sense of your professional experience and accomplishments as well as your academic summary and extracurricular involvement. If the back page reflects “the rest of your story,” please help us get to know you better by sharing the experiences that will give us insight into your character, values, and interests. Optional Essay You may use this essay to call attention to items needing clarification and to add additional details to any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson (500 words maximum). If you are reapplying for admission, please use this essay to indicate how you have strengthened your application and candidacy since the last time you applied for admission. Please also review our Admissions Policy for additional information about re-applying (500 words maximum). Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows Program Essay The Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows Program is a two-year full tuition fellowship award for Two-Year MBA candidates in Ithaca who have demonstrated outstanding leadership potential and who are committed to making an impact within their communities. Each year it is awarded to up to 25 incoming students, with the expectation that they will participate in additional leadership and personal development activities outside of our regular curriculum, serve in leadership roles within the school, and complete a public service project by the time they graduate. The Park Fellowship is only available to U.S. citizens applying for the Two-Year MBA program. What is your greatest example of leadership and what personal qualities helped you succeed in that role? Please limit your submission to 500 words or fewer. For additional information, please visit the Johnson School admissions website.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Finalize Your List of Target MBA Programs

One of the most important decisions you’ll make during the MBA application process is which schools you’re going to apply to in the first place. We know — duh, right? But seriously, we can’t stress enough how important it is to put significant thought into which programs you’re going to dedicate dozens of hours to over the coming months. Each year we see excellent candidates who want to prematurely take themselves out of the running for some of the top programs. Make no mistake: it is extremely tough to get into a highly ranked business school. Certain programs have single-digit acceptance rates, and literally thousands of more-than-qualified applicants are turned away each year. But if you don’t even give yourself a chance at admission, you may always wonder, “What if?” Is there anything worse? Motivation for the MBA We typically recommend that people ask themselves whether or not getting an MBA is most important to them — or if getting an MBA from a certain school is what really matters most. If you’d truly be at peace with never getting an MBA if you weren’t accepted to School X, then you can move forward by focusing all of your efforts solely on your dream school or schools. However, if you want an MBA no matter what, then you’d be wise to consider five or six schools, or maybe spread your efforts across Rounds 1 and 2. We hope you at least give yourself a shot at the programs you’re really interested in, though. Applying to top business schools is something of a self-selecting process: most people who apply are overachievers who would be assets to any class. It’s easy to let that discourage or intimidate an applicant to the point of not even trying. You might think, “What’s the use? There are thousands of other people like me fighting for spots.” But we’d argue: 1) no, there isn’t anyone else exactly like you, so figure out how to differentiate yourself, and 2) why would you want to make it easier for someone else to get in by taking yourself out of the mix? You deserve a shot just like everyone else. Think of it this way:             Struggling with your school list? The SBC business school hub might help. Until next time, The team at Stacy Blackman Consulting ***Do you want to stay on top of the application process with timely tips like these? Please subscribe to our weekly newsletter and you’ll receive our expert advice straight in your mailbox before it appears on the blog, plus special offers, promotions, discounts, invitations to events, and more.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Character Prevails: Stanford & Harvard Business School MBA Applications

Have you ever heard of the term “double admits”? That’s what we in the MBA admissions consulting industry call those singular applicants who receive admissions offers from both Harvard Business School (HBS) and Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB). We’ve worked with many top applicants this MBA admissions season who achieved this impressive feat—some with scholarships to boot. Here we analyze eight cases—and we have eight specific takeaways to share. Though not as rare as actual unicorns, these exceptional candidates and their unique admissions stories can offer some very clear lessons for prospective MBA applicants feeling daunted by the sterling reputations and competitive stats of these two elite business schools. Lesson 1: You don’t need an undergraduate degree from an elite college, or come from a typical MBA-oriented firm or industry. None of the double admits we worked with graduated from an elite or Ivy League university. In fact, all of the U.S. students in this group came from schools ranked between 20-50. Only one of the admits came from a firm known as a heavy feeder and recruiter for elite MBA programs. None of the others even had MBA graduates as supervisors. Their backgrounds included education, family business, military, energy, and Fortune 500. Lesson 2: GPA, test scores and demographics are not predictive of success. Our gang of eight included four U.S. citizens and four international applicants. Most were male, and only one is an underrepresented minority. Both GRE and GMAT takers were represented. Their stats generally fell within the 80 percent range but were not ultimately predictive of success. Scores ranged from a low 600 GRE to a 770 GMAT, with a median score of 710. Over the years, we’ve seen numerous double admits offset a low-ish GMAT or GRE score with a proven track record in a quantitative job and compelling leadership activities. Lesson 3: You don’t need to have saved the world. Every double admit had modest extracurriculars, such as professional organization membership, music, sports, one-on-one mentoring, and basic volunteering. Your extracurricular activities should resonate with you, and any meaningful involvement can give you the opportunity to exercise leadership and management skills in a low-risk, high-impact situation. Lesson 4: Age is just a number. We found that age skewed somewhat older in this year’s group of double admits, who had between four and seven years of post-college work experience. One successful candidate was over 30. Five-and-a-half years was the average work tenure upon applying. We regularly assure both older and younger applicants that it’s not about chronological age. It’s more about maturity, readiness, and where you are in your career. Lesson 5: All applicants demonstrated true character and a desire plus a track record of helping others. When discussing their careers, each of these applicants veered away from sharing the typical workplace accomplishment stories and instead wove in anecdotes about helping others—mentoring, giving, or assisting in some way. This focus also informed future career and personal aspirations. Lesson 6: They shared distinctive, personal stories and attainable goals. While their resumes may have said “5 years at Citibank,” their essays spoke much more personally, bringing their true natures and trajectories to life. They told micro-stories that filled in the blanks. Omitting generic themes like coding or crunching numbers, these applicants showed humanity, showcased what drives them toward future careers, and explained why they made certain decisions. Their stories told the “why” behind their prior actions but also developed an understanding of career aspirations.  Goals made sense and appeared attainable given prior experiences and the track record of consistent actions they had taken. Lesson 7: They painted a “Big Picture” focus beyond just landing a job. None of these admits described their current careers or future aspirations in terms of a specific job. It was much more meaningful than that. They felt driven to make an impact on people and on their industries. They wanted to shift mindsets, behaviors, and ultimately change the world. Think big picture themes like globalizing the reach of an industry, providing life changing assistance to others, or easing political tensions. Lesson 8: They were self-aware and likable, confident but also self-deprecating. No business school wants to admit even the most accomplished jerk. While these applicants struck us as self-assured, they also came off as likable, realistic about their shortcomings, and open about their need to try harder to compensate for various weaknesses.  The members of this group were people with whom you would want to work on a group project, organize a conference, or study for exams. In short, they are real people with both flaws and strengths, going to b-school in order to get better and achieve more. While Stanford GSB and Harvard Business School are famously difficult to get into, don’t let fear or low acceptance rates keep you from applying. There is no magic formula that guarantees admissions success, but as these eight applicants demonstrate, personality, passion, and a sincere desire to make the world a better place can help tip the odds in your favor.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Tuesday Tips: Berkeley Haas Fall 2019 MBA Essay Tips

Haas School of Business at University of California Berkeley is both highly selective and a small class. With a much larger admissions pool than the school can admit, it’s important to stand out from the crowd and demonstrate fit with the culture and program. This year Berkeley has reduced the number of required essays but added a new optional question that delves into your background more deeply. Stacy Blackman Consulting has successfully coached applicants to the Haas MBA each admissions year. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you set a winning application strategy. ESSAY #1 Essay #1: Tell us a six-word story that reflects a memorable experience in your life-to-date. Elaborate on why it is meaningful to you. (300 words maximum) The Haas admissions committee has their own six word stories in each profile, check them out for great examples. Think of your six-word story as a compelling headline for the memorable experience you will describe. Just as journalists write the headline after the story, it will be easier to start with the elaboration and then encapsulate it in a pithy and captivating six-word story. Haas has asked creative and open-ended questions for many years, and this is another version of that kind of essay. Brainstorm the most compelling story you can, preferably one that shows your diversity of experience. Ideally your experience also reveals something about you. For example, we worked with a client who had a dramatic story about surviving a plane crash. The first time we read the draft it was a highly exciting story, but it lacked any description of his actions and what it meant to him. We worked on the meaning of the story and ended up with both a compelling and memorable narrative, and a story about leading through uncertainty, as he worked to help his fellow passengers through language barriers and lack of medical training. Once you have written your own story, think about that six-word headline. You should reveal some of the plot while leaving enough to the imagination to grab your readers interest. ESSAY #2 Briefly describe your immediate post-MBA career goal, and discuss how it will put you on a path to a meaningful and rewarding career. (300 words maximum) This is a short career goals essay and asks you to describe your immediate goals succinctly and then how your immediate post-MBA career choice will impact your long term career goals. This essay requires you to think clearly about how you will move from Point A (immediate post-MBA job) to Point B. It will demonstrate that you can plan for an uncertain future, and set clear and achievable goals for yourself. One of the best ways to determine how you will fulfill your desired path is to talk to professionals who have the career you want. If you want to be an entrepreneur, read profiles of successful people who have started their own businesses and ask anyone you know personally how they achieved their own business. You will likely find that while paths to the long term goal may differ, most people have formative early career experiences that led to the their long term career. This essay also frames your long term career as something that will be meaningful and rewarding to you. Haas values people who have a passion for their pursuits. What drives you to pursue your long term career? What is meaningful to you about the choice? Perhaps you will be able to impact the lives of others, lead change, or drive innovation. Whatever motivates you is important to explore and describe to the admissions committee. OPTIONAL INFORMATION Optional Information #1: We invite you to help us better understand the context of your opportunities and achievements. 1. What is the highest level of education completed by your parent(s) or guardian(s)? • Did not complete high school • High school diploma or equivalency (GED) • Associate’s degree (junior college) or vocational degree/license • Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS) • Master’s degree (MA, MS) • Doctorate or professional degree (MD, JD, DDS) 2. What is the most recent occupation of your parent(s) or guardian(s)? • Unemployed • Homemaker • Laborer • Skilled worker • Professional 3. If you were raised in one of the following household types, please indicate. • Raised by a single parent • Raised by an extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin) • Raised in a multi-generational home • Raised in foster care 4. What was the primary language spoken in your childhood home? 5. If you have you ever been responsible for providing significant and continuing financial or supervisory support for someone else, please indicate. • Child • Spouse • Sibling • Parent • Extended family member (grandparent, aunt/uncle, niece/nephew, cousin) • Other 6. Please elaborate on any of your above responses. Alternatively, you may use this opportunity to expand on other hardships or unusual life circumstances that may help us understand the context of your opportunities, achievements, and impact. (300 words maximum) Berkeley Haas is committed to understanding applicants and putting together a diverse class. By seeking deeper background into your family and your life circumstances your accomplishments can be contextualized. Questions 1-5 are self-explanatory and should be answered honestly. For Question 6 you have the choice to either elaborate on your life circumstances as described in Questions 1-5, or to discuss a new piece of information about hardships or life circumstances that may help the admissions committee understand your background more completely. For example, perhaps you are from a highly educated family and your parents are professionals, but you moved to another country for college or a job and were expected to achieve while speaking a second language and trying to acclimate to a new culture. Or maybe your parents are fully employed now, but there was a period of unemployment in your family that led you to learn how to thrive in a different way than you had expected. It’s possible you were not expected to care for a family member, but that a family illness impacted your life. Think about the areas of your life that asked the most of your resilience and ability to overcome. How have you used those experiences to continue to achieve and impact those around you? OPTIONAL INFORMATION #2 This section should only be used to convey relevant information not addressed elsewhere in your application. This may include explanation of employment gaps, academic aberrations, supplemental coursework, etc. You are encouraged to use bullet points where appropriate. Note that there is a specific place to indicate that you won’t have a recommendation from your current supervisor in the supplemental information section, so you do not need to explain that here in the optional essay. Haas recommends using this space to address any information that was not adequately covered elsewhere, specifically suggesting that any employment gaps or academic issues should be covered here. If you have a strong quantitative background like an engineering or hard sciences degree, or you work in a quantitative field like finance, it is likely unnecessary to further explain your quantitative skills. Otherwise, you may want to take one or two examples to demonstrate that you have an analytical mind and can take a quantitative approach to problem solving and evaluating data. If you have taken any supplemental coursework to improve your quantitative profile, this is the place to describe and explain that coursework. A short gap between school and a secured job is not necessary to explain, but an unexplained gap of several months between two jobs should be addressed. If your resume has significant employment gaps you should describe what you did between jobs in this space. Ideally you can point to additional education, training, volunteering or traveling that you engaged in while unemployed. Reapplicants can describe hard improvements to your candidacy such as an improved GMAT score, new grades from quantitative classes, or a promotion. Other improvements might include refined career goals and additional leadership responsibilities at work or within a volunteer activity. One final note: The Haas admissions committee has a series of videos and tipsposted on the website that are worth reviewing for their key insights.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Tuck School Fall 2019 MBA Essay Questions

Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business has announced the updated MBA essay questions for the 2018-2019 admissions season.  Last month, the school shared a new, crystallized set of guiding principles it will consider when evaluating applicants: they should be smart, nice, accomplished and aware. “The two essays map directly to aware and nice,” explains Luke Anthony Peña, executive director of admissions and financial aid at the Tuck School, in an announcement regarding the essay updates. “The essays invite reflection on these criteria because you have opportunity elsewhere to demonstrate that you are smart, through your GMAT, GRE and transcripts, and accomplished per your resume.” “We care a great deal about your awareness of your future goals. We just don’t believe that you need to craft an entire narrative around them. Now you’ll have the opportunity to state them, crisply and concisely, in short-answer form,” says Peña.  Required Essays Tuck students are aware of how their individuality adds to the fabric of Tuck. Tell us who you are and what you will contribute. (500 words) Tuck students are nice, and invest generously in one another’s success.  Share an example of how you helped someone else succeed. (500 words) Short-Answer Questions Share your short-term goals. (50 words) Share your long-term goals. (50 words) How did you arrive at these goals? (75 words) How will Tuck help you achieve these goals? (75 words) Reference Letter Questions Tuck’s reference letter questions remain distinctive relative to other schools. “We’ve thought carefully about our letter of reference questions. They too strategically map to each of our four criteria, and help us get to know you best,” continues Peña. “We also recognize that applying to business school is a significant investment of time and energy for both you and your references. We strongly prefer responses to our questions but will also accept responses to other questions including those posed by the Common Letter of Recommendation.” Letter of Reference Short-Answer Questions What is your relationship with the candidate? (25 words) How long have you known the candidate? (25 words) How often do you interact with the candidate? (25 words) LOR Questions How does your organization measure success for someone in this candidate’s role? How does the candidate perform relative to these measures? Tuck students are smart. Please comment on the candidate’s intellectual ability and her/his response when encountering the limits of that ability. Tuck students are nice. Please comment on how the candidate interacts with others including when the interaction is difficult or challenging. Tuck students are accomplished. Please comment on the candidate’s impact on your organization’s results and the behaviors that made these results possible. Tuck students are aware. Please comment on the candidate’s recognition of her/his growth areas and response to feedback about these growth areas. Is there anything else we should know? (Optional) For more information about these 2018-19 essays, please read Tuck Introduces Essay and Reference Questions Mapped to New Admissions Criteria. The 2018-19 application will open in mid-July.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: UT McCombs School Fall 2019 MBA Essays

The UT McCombs School of Business has confirmed the MBA essay questions for the 2018-2019 admissions season. They remain unchanged from the previous cycle. Essay One We will learn a lot about your professional background through your resume and letter of recommendation. We want to get to know you further. Please introduce yourself using an essays of 250 words, OR a video introduction of one minute. Essay Two Picture yourself at graduation. Describe how you spent your two years as a Texas MBA student, and how that experience helped to prepare you for the post-MBA world. (500 words) Optional Statement Please provide any additional information you believe is important and/or address any areas of concern that will be beneficial to the Admissions Committee in considering your application (e.g. unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, academic performance, or extenuating personal circumstances). (250 words) *** The application for fall 2019 will open in late summer. For additional information on applying to the Texas MBA program, please visit the McCombs admissions website. The school also offers great tips regarding what the admissions team is looking for with these questions. Don’t miss this helpful resource.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: The Bigger Picture: Choose

You probably haven’t heard of the movie Sliding Doors. It was released in 1998 and wasn’t exactly a blockbuster. The official description of the movie: A London woman’s love life and career both hinge, unknown to her, on whether or not she catches a train. We see it both ways, in parallel. I sometimes reflect upon that movie, knowing that when one door opens, another closes. Every decision we make has some sort of impact. There are obvious scenarios: we choose one job; we enroll in one b-school; we marry one person. And then there is the minutiae. We spend one minute in anger or laziness or dishonesty and that minute is forever gone. Words cannot be unsaid; the moment cannot be re-lived. Our life is essentially composed of these decisions, one after another, forever. Knowing that our lives are comprised of these micro-decisions is both empowering and intimidating. Empowering, because in any moment, we can win, grow, succeed. Intimidating, because what if we make the wrong decision? What if we choose to go down the wrong path? Or what if we just unwittingly don’t catch the train? Yes, it is important to make the right choices, but I argue that it’s equally important to just make a choice. Make a choice and run with it. Hope that 50% of your choices are good ones. Hope that your decisions get better over time. If we take action, failure is guaranteed. At some point, we mess up spectacularly, but here’s the magic: it’s only after the failure that we can learn, grow and move forward, choosing again. If we become paralyzed by trying to make the perfect decision or map out the perfect path, we go nowhere. We never launch that business, because…what about the other idea? We can’t get started on our essays because there are some other, possibly better possibilities brewing in our mind. We don’t take the trip because we cannot decide which destination is best. We never ask that person out, because what if they say no? We are afraid of making the wrong choice, of failing, of rejection, of it being too hard. We are afraid of working to make things happen, so instead we stay safe and do nothing. And in this safety zone we miss out on it all. Is there something you have been wanting to accomplish or experience? What is holding you back? Today, you can choose a path. Take one sloppy step in perhaps the wrong direction. But get moving: progress, learn, backtrack, fall, rebound and ultimately, experience and grow.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Successful Reapplicant to Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB

After being rejected by six top schools, Ed Redden reapplied the following year and won acceptances to both Harvard and Stanford’s MBA programs. Everyone hates rejection, but when it comes in the form of a ding from your dream business school, the disappointment is amplified. You’re already emotionally drained from the application experience, out hundreds or even thousands of dollars in MBA application fees, travel expenses to visit the schools, or wardrobe updates to impress your MBA interviewers. For many rejected MBA candidates, having to wait another year to start business school feels like pure agony. Where did I go wrong? What could I have done differently? What does the admissions committee really want from applicants? These questions plague dinged candidates each season, because the schools rarely convey exactly what caused your application to land in the denied pile. When we met Ed Redden last year, he had submitted six failed applications, but the rejections from Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business in particular made him question whether he should even try to apply again. Yet, he was a compelling candidate. He graduated with a degree in chemical engineering from Notre Dame University in 2013 and has spent the past five years working for General Electric Co. in a variety of roles with increasing responsibility. He leads a group of more than 55 employees across five manufacturing product lines for GE. Doubts About Reapplying “There was a lot of self-doubt and questioning about what my future would be,” he admits. “Should I re-apply or focus on the career I already had going? I knew I didn’t put my best application forward, but was it worth it to try again? Did I even have a chance as a reapplicant, or had I blown my chance?” Many applicants face this crossroads—whether to forgo business school completely and focus on their current career path—at the end of an unsuccessful admissions cycle. No one can answer that question but you. However, the important takeaway is that one failed attempt does not mean you’ve blown your chance forever. “During my first round of applications I remember feeling very confused about what it was the adcom was looking for in a good candidate,” Redden explains. “It often felt like admissions was a black box and I was hopelessly trying to crack the code. I knew deep inside that I was a good candidate for top MBA programs and had great experiences that would add value to the classroom. I just needed help telling my story.” 3 Common Mistakes in MBA Applications Without direct feedback from the admissions committee, you must do some sleuthing yourself to determine what your weaknesses were. After a complete review, we uncovered three common mistakes Redden made during his first time applying that likely hindered his chances at these top MBA programs. A successful application takes a lot of time and energy. Candidates must really do their homework about the schools they have targeted in order to create compelling essays that convince the adcom how a particular program will help them reach their career goals, and how they in turn will contribute to the school as students and eventual alumni. Work and personal factors caused Redden to rush his applications, which translated into a generic approach rather than focusing on each school and tailoring the application to speak to that program’s unique culture and values. The third and most consequential weakness, we realized, was with his recommenders. “I didn’t give my recommenders much direction or background,” he admits. “They were not familiar with the MBA application process and had never written a letter of recommendation like that before.” Guiding Your MBA Recommenders To remedy this issue when he reapplied, we suggested Redden create a “recommender package,” which offers instruction on both process and content. Provide your recommenders with a list of your strengths and characteristics that you plan to highlight in the application, and since many schools ask recommenders about your weaknesses or areas of development, give the recommender a growth area for you as well as examples of how you’re working on it. Then the recommender can speak to your maturity and awareness, showing schools you intend to hit the ground running and improve through their program. You want to make it as easy as possible for them to write glowing letters, so a recommender package is a win-win for all. Don’t leave it to your recommender to remember everything you’ve ever done, and definitely don’t leave this process to chance. Your recommenders will appreciate your assistance and thoroughness. Redden says he devoted much more time and attention to his recommenders during the re-application process. “I chose each recommender for specific and different reasons and worked with them as opposed to throwing it over the fence and simply hoping they wrote a good letter.  I was intentional on what aspects of our relationship I wanted them to focus on and what achievements or experiences I wanted them to highlight. The letter they wrote was fully their own but it was much better aligned with my overall SBC strategy as a re-applicant,” he notes. GMAT Score and Career Goals Although his career path and goals, and GMAT score, didn’t change from one application cycle to the next, Redden says he adapted a much more honest and authentic approach to the essays, as well as better structure that reflected a strategic focus, the second time around. “Through conversations with my consultant and a lot of self-reflection, I came to better understand what unique experiences and perspectives I brought to the table, how that would best resonate with each school, and how best to highlight that in my application,” he explains. On the surface, many applicants to elite MBA programs share similar backgrounds and traits. They’re ambitious, driven, accomplished, and have strong academic records and impressive test scores. But just because candidates share these characteristics doesn’t mean their MBA application essays have to beat the same drum. When brainstorming stories from your background to share in your MBA essays, you should absolutely include some traditional work stuff. But also think about family, friendships, languages, interests, passions, dreams—categories that are not necessarily “business-y” but that reveal character traits you want to emphasize. Why an MBA Resume Matters Redden also created a better, stronger resume tailored specifically for his applications. Just from reading your resume, the admissions team should clearly understand what sort of work stories you’d be talking about in class, or what sorts of “lessons learned” you’ll speak to from either your professional or community-service experiences. Adcom members have often told us that the resume is just as important as the essays, so the extra work you put into revising it could make the difference between a ding and an interview offer. To pick up some tips for your own resume, check out our resume guide here. About his final decision, he says,  “I could not make a ‘wrong’ choice, and would have loved to attend either school (or both if I could!). After a lot of self-reflection it came down to who I wanted to be and the type of leader I wanted to become. Both schools would strengthen and develop different aspects of my leadership ability and it was ultimately a personal decision about what school I believed to be the right fit for me.” He chose Stanford and will start its MBA program this fall. We are grateful to Ed for placing his trust in SBC and for agreeing to share his story. Our hope is that you are inspired to shoot for the stars even if you have failed. You don’t need a perfect 4.0 or an 800 test score. You don’t need to manage a team of 40 people. You do need focus, resilience and the proper strategy. This article originally appeared as a guest post for our friends at the business school news website Poets & Quants.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Tips for Picking Great MBA Recommenders

Although Round 1 applications aren’t due until the fall, it’s definitely not too early to start thinking about who’s going to support you as you pull together your materials. Your recommenders in particular will play a critical role in the process. So how do you ensure you ask the right people to write letters on your behalf? The majority of programs require two recommendation letters and usually prefer one of those to be from a direct manager. However, almost all schools will waive that requirement if you think your position (or possible promotion or bonus) would be adversely affected by informing your employer of your intention to go back to school. If that’s the situation you’re in, simply note it briefly in the “Additional Information” or “Optional Essay” space. You also may be in a position where you don’t have just one direct manager. In that case you have an option of who to approach. In both this scenario and when considering who will write your second letter, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of asking the most appropriate people. Managers (Usually) Make Great MBA Recommenders Adcoms greatly prefer to hear from managers and co-workers who know you well, both personally and professionally. They’re looking for more insight into what makes you tick, how you perform in groups, and what your potential is for the future. They are rarely impressed or swayed by a recommender’s title or alumni status—what they care about is whether or not you will be an asset to the program because of what you’ve achieved to date. One of the biggest mistakes we see applicants make is asking their company’s CEO — who they barely know or may have never even met in person — to write their recommendation letter. If your recommender cannot go into specifics about your accomplishments or provide detailed anecdotes that highlight your positive personality traits, you’ve just missed a huge opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition. We suggest taking some time to list out all of the people you could ask to write a letter of support for your MBA applications. Who are your biggest cheerleaders at work? Who would jump at the chance to help you get into your dream school? Who would feel like they, too, got in to Program X if you were accepted? Those are the people to focus in on, because they will go above and beyond to write a stellar — and most importantly, memorable — reference. Remember:             Until next time, The team at Stacy Blackman Consulting ***Do you want to stay on top of the application process with timely tips like these? Please subscribe to our weekly newsletter and you’ll receive our expert advice straight in your mailbox before it appears on the blog, plus special offers, promotions, discounts, invitations to events, and more.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Tuesday Tips: Stanford Graduate School of Business Fall 2019 MBA Essay Tips

Stanford Graduate School of Business has announced the essay questions for this year’s application, which remain the same as in previous admissions cycles. Stanford has gained significant insight into applicants by asking, “What matters most, and why?” along with “Why Stanford?” These questions are deceptively simple, and the answers are quite revealing. Stanford is one of the top MBA programs in the world, and many candidates are intimidated to apply. Here at Stacy Blackman Consulting we have worked with hundreds of applicants over the years who have successfully gained admission to Stanford, and before tackling these essays it may be useful to read about some of our successful applicants. Successful applicants demonstrated true character, meaning that they helped others, demonstrated a sense of community, and showed that they cared about the world beyond their own material wants and needs. As Stanford advises, “answer the question. Resist the urge to “package” yourself into what you think Stanford wants to see. Doing so will only prevent us from understanding who you really are and what you hope to accomplish. The most impressive essays are the most authentic.” These essays are meant to be personal and to show your personality and what drives you. Understanding Stanford’s culture and academic approach will help you tailor your application. Before approaching these essays it will be useful to have spoken with Stanford students and alumni, or visited campus to understand what values the community holds. LENGTH Your answers for both essay questions combined may not exceed 1,150 words (1,200 words if you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs). Each of you has your own story to tell, so please allocate these words between the essays in the way that is most effective for you. Stanford suggests allocating more words to Essay A. ESSAY A: WHAT MATTERS MOST TO YOU, AND WHY? For this essay, we would like you to: • Do some deep self-examination, so you can genuinely illustrate who you are and how you came to be the person you are. • Share the insights, experiences, and lessons that shaped your perspectives, rather than focusing merely on what you’ve done or accomplished. • Write from the heart, and illustrate how a person, situation, or event has influenced you. • Focus on the “why” rather than the “what.” This Stanford GSB MBA essay is about diving deep into what motivates you, and why. Topics can range from personal history to big picture visions of the future. This topic should not be explicitly career related (and the strongest essays are likely not career oriented at all) though it is possible that some of your themes will continue in the next essay, which will likely focus more on your career. For example, you may have a personal passion that also has led you into a related career aspiration. Character should shine through, and introspection and honesty should persist through the entire set of essays. To generate ideas, try brainstorming over a period of a few days. Ask friends and family what values they see you demonstrating in your life and choices. Keep a notebook by your bed so you can record your first thoughts upon waking up. Review your personal history for ideas. What keeps you awake at night? When you look back at your life what do you admire and regret about your choices? What moments in your life have led to a change in direction? Who has impacted your choices? These are the kind of questions to ask yourself as you approach topics for this essay. Though the essay question is open-ended and challenging to structure, using vivid and specific examples will provide the reader with images and stories to understand your perspective. After reading hundreds of essays, the ones that have vivid and descriptive stories in them stand out the most. Keep in mind as you select examples that Stanford GSB specifically advises focusing on people and experiences that have influenced you, rather than accomplishments or achievements. Don’t be scared of the tough moments in life – often self-awareness emerges from challenges. Whatever experiences you choose it’s very important to talk about why they made an impact on your life and your values. Along with vivid examples, talk about how you felt, thought and reacted both at the time and as you reflected later. The “why” will come out of your reactions to your life experience or people who have influenced you, and the resulting introspection. ESSAY B: WHY STANFORD? • Enlighten us on how earning your MBA at Stanford will enable you to realize your ambitions. • Explain your decision to pursue graduate education in management. • Explain the distinctive opportunities you will pursue at Stanford. • If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx programs, use Essay B to address your interest in both programs. After you have explained who you are, you will explain why your next step is a Stanford MBA. If you are applying to both the MBA and MSx, make sure you can highlight the advantages of both programs for your specific situation. Perhaps you have significant work experience but also see the benefits of attending a two-year program to achieve your goals, and therefore would be interested in either option. The sub questions for this essay cover both why you are interested in pursuing an MBA at all, and why you specifically want to attend Stanford GSB. Stanford GSB wants to know your aspirations will be uniquely satisfied by the program at Stanford GSB, and school research will help you determine what aspects of the academic program, community and students are crucial to your aspirations. Be as specific as possible in your response to provide evidence that you have done your research. You should know everything about the aspects of the program that most appeal to you. Have you met current students and alumni? Who are the professors you are excited about? What are the unique programs? What appeals to you about Stanford’s culture? Perhaps you are impressed with the career path of a specific alumna and can highlight that knowledge. If the question seems too vast, take a few minutes to close your eyes and reflect. Envision your life in twenty years. Where do you live? How do you spend your days? What is your favorite activity? How does this vision fit into your career aspirations? Don’t be shy about your ambitions. Once you have identified your dream career, you also need to make sure an MBA is an important part of achieving your plans and explain that clearly. When you discuss how Stanford will help you achieve your ambitions consider that Stanford likes to see applicants who dream big and also have the credibility to achieve their goals. Be bold with your aspirations. Think about global, big picture issues you would like to solve. Don’t focus on what your parents or partner want you to do. Don’t think about the next job on the corporate ladder. What do you, with your own unique background and values, want for your life? Though you should think big, don’t make the mistake of acting as if you are already perfect with no development needed. You are a work in progress, and that’s appropriate. Remember that MBA programs want to help promising candidates reach their goals and be a step on an ambitious career trajectory. Finding the Stanford essays challenging? Contact Stacy Blackman Consulting for personalized guidance through the application process.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Tuesday Tips: Cornell Johnson Fall 2019 MBA Essay Tips

Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management is a flexible MBA program housed within an Ivy League campus. Cornell Johnson offers multiple full-time options, including a one-year MBA, specialized executive programs and the Cornell Tech MBA in Ithaca and NYC. Whatever your goals and background, Cornell has a program that can help you achieve your goals. Johnson also works to integrate the MBA experience into the larger Cornell community and to leverage coursework at the other top-ranked graduate programs to provide more opportunity to Johnson students. When approaching this set of Cornell essays it will be useful to set your application strategy before you start working. Identify the program at Cornell you are most interested in and do substantial school research into the faculty, coursework and career opportunities. Then examine your background and goals to see what is most important to explain as part of your story. Next, add the layer of personal background and experiences – consider what makes you truly unique. Finally, make sure you have solid academics, work experience and extracurriculars covered in your essays, resume or recommendations. If you identify any holes in your profile or story, take the time to fill them prior to starting your application and explain anything necessary in the optional essay. GOALS STATEMENT A statement of your goals will begin a conversation that will last throughout admissions process and guide your steps during the MBA program and experience. To the best of your understanding today, please share your short and long term goals by completing the following sentences and answering the enclosed short answer question (250 words maximum): Immediately post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___. Targeted Job Role: Target Job Company: Industry: In 5 – 10 years post-MBA, my goal is to work as a(n) ____[Role]____ at ___[Company]___within___[Industry]___. Targeted Job Role: Target Job Company: Industry: How has your experience prepared and encouraged you to pursue these goals? This short answer question is a succinct way to cover the relevant career goals questions any admissions officer would have. Make sure that your answers are logical in the context of your overall application and are mirrored by your recommenders. Once you have identified your industry, company, and role in both the short- and long-term you can briefly answer how your past experiences have led you to your goals. Think about the pivotal moments in your career and how they have prepared you for the next step or have helped to crystalize your passions and goals. Pick a very brief example to cover here and then you can use your resume and recommendations to showcase any other transferable skills you need to accomplish your goals. If you need to explain more about your accomplishments and leadership, that can be covered in the Impact Essay. IMPACT ESSAY At Cornell, we value students who create impact. Please indicate the opportunities for impact that you’ve identified through engagement with our community and describe how what you learned has influenced your decision to apply to Johnson. The Cornell Johnson admissions committee advises you to use this essay “to explore the intersection of engagement and community culture. Whether during the program or following graduation, our students and alumni share a desire to positively impact the organizations and communities they serve.” The first step in answering this question is to do your research. Ideally you will have an opportunity to either visit Johnson or to attend an admissions event in your city, or, as Johnson suggests, connect via phone or email. Another way to find a personal connection is to reach out friends, family and work colleagues to see if anyone knows a current or future member of the Johnson community. As you prepare for conversations to learn more about Cornell Johnson, think about programs, extracurricular activities and the informal ways that students might interact. Johnson offers groups for interests ranging from cooking to ice hockey, and has professional clubs for every possible career path. Those formal groups or connecting in a classroom or party may be ways you make connections at Johnson. Once you have identified opportunities to contribute to campus life at Johnson, ideally you support your story with evidence from your past experiences. For example, if you want to bring new speakers to the Johnson Marketing Association because you have contributed to your young professionals group at work, explain that you have successfully organized events featuring major speakers for a large group of people and can bring that skill to create impact for your peers at Johnson. BACK OF YOUR RESUME ESSAY The front page of your resume has given us a sense of your professional experience and accomplishments as well as your academic summary and extracurricular involvement. If the back page reflects “the rest of your story,” please help us get to know you better by sharing the experiences that will give us insight into your character, values, and interests. This essay is an opportunity to show the admissions committee who you are on a personal level. Think about highlighting areas you may not have been able to touch in the previous essays, and demonstrate your unique personal attributes or community involvement. If you have a consistent theme of involvement in a charity or activity this is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate why you became involved and what you have done over the years. As the Admissions Committee suggests: “We encourage you to think about your proudest accomplishments, interests and passions, and personal highlights that will help us to get to know you as a person and potential community member. We value creativity and authenticity and encourage you to approach this essay with your unique style.“ This essay can be written as a 500-word essay, or delivered in one of the alternative submission formats: a slide presentation, links to pre-existing media (personal website, digital portfolio, YouTube, etc.), or visually enhanced written submissions. If you use an alternative format, you should tailor the format you use to the message you want to send. If you decide to discuss your involvement in a cultural activity perhaps a YouTube video is a good way to show that experience. If you have a start-up idea you may want to showcase it on a website or through a slide presentation. Don’t be too distracted by format, because while a creative format might impress the admissions committee, substance is the most important part of the essay. OPTIONAL ESSAY You may use this essay to call attention to items needing clarification and to add additional details to any aspects of your application that do not accurately reflect your potential for success at Johnson (500 words maximum). If you are reapplying for admission, please use this essay to indicate how you have strengthened your application and candidacy since the last time you applied for admission. Please also review our Admissions Policy for additional information about re-applying (500 words maximum). This optional essay allows for either an explanation of any weaknesses in your application or additional information that may bolster your application. If you have a poor GPA or GMAT, concerns with your undergraduate record, or were unable to provide a recommendation from a current supervisor, this is the place to offer explanations, not excuses. Quickly describe the situation and what may have contributed to the issue (illness, family difficulties, etc.) without editorializing. Focus the balance of your essay on looking forward: what have you done in the recent past to demonstrate your skills and intelligence? If you are a re-applicant this is the ideal place to explain what you have done since your last application to strengthen your case for admission. If you have a new GMAT score or took classes in calculus or statistics you have a solid case for improved academics. A promotion could signal career development and leadership. Even if you don’t have a clear-cut or quantitative update to describe you can use this space to explain how you have improved your thinking, career goals, or fit with Cornell. Stuck on the Johnson Cornell essay questions? Contact Stacy Blackman Consulting to learn how we can help.

I'm super keen on applying to B-School, with my top choice by far being HBS. I'm also applying to MIT Sloan, Stanford, Berkeley, Yale, Wharton, and at least one school abroad in Europe. HBS is by far my first choice, however, and I'm definitely looking to partner with an admissions consultant ASAP to help with my application for this specific school ASAP. I'll make a choice based on the initial evaluations I get, and decide based on who has the best advice/insight into my profile.

My main concern is my low GPA and jumpy career history (circling around the sales/PR/marketing drain, and switching industries from toys to SaaS (tech), before settling in Sales/SaaS 3-4 years ago). I've accomplished a lot at the companies I've worked for, received 5 promotions and held leadership roles for the last 3 years, but it's still not very impressive.

During undergrad, I was seriously ill, once homeless, and worked full-time while studying, so I'm hoping this will shine a brighter light on my dim academics and inconsistent profile. I want my themes to be 1. failing, and then picking myself back up again to show tenacity, and 2. overcoming obstacles, and now wanting to start my own company to make the world a better place.

Academics:
- 3.29 GPA, social sciences
- 730 GMAT (RETAKING aiming for a 780)
- Completing HBX CORe (Harvard business 'prep' course) soon with a goal of an A (4.0) average
- Undergrad was at Harvard Extension School (I'm not sure how this is regarded at HBS? It's part of Harvard University, but obviously much less impressive than Harvard College or any other Ivy League college)

Work Experience:
- American, 3 years of international experience (Germany - working language proficiency)
- 8 years of professional experience, 4 years in people management/leadership roles
- Managed 15 people at maximum, now managing around 5 people (switched companies, and now growing the team from 0 to 5)
- 5 promotions, from intern >associate > senior associate > team lead > senior manager > head of sales
- Starting my own company, in the very early stages

Life Background:
- Aged 30
- Experienced a life-threatening illness and homeless during undergrad - hence the low GPA
- Also worked full-time during all of undergrad, taking classes at night
- Decent amount of volunteering experience
- "Theme" of my application is overcoming hardship/life threatening illness/and homelessness, and now wanting to start my own company and make the world a better place

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Georgetown McDonough Fall 2019 MBA Essays

The McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University has published the application essays for the 2018-19 MBA admissions cycle. They remain unchanged from the prior season. Per the admissions website: We want to hear your story. When responding to our required essays, be authentic and take time to reflect on your goals and past experiences. Craft a response that explains how these experiences led you to pursue an MBA. Essay One: Please answer the following essay question in 500 words or less: “Describe a defining moment when you were challenged and exceeded expectations.” The moment can be a professional or personal one. If personal, then please also include how it had an impact on your professional development. Video Essay: Please introduce yourself to your future Georgetown MBA cohort in a one minute video. The Admissions Committee would like for you to appear in person during part of your video, and we strongly encourage you to speak outside of the experiences we can read on your resume. You may paste the link to your Youtube or Vimeo video in your application. Please note that we cannot accept private or password protected videos.  For more instructions, view our Video Essay Guide. Optional Essay One: If you are not currently employed full-time, use this essay to provide information about your current activities. (250 words or fewer) Optional Essay Two: Please provide any information you would like to add to your application that you have not otherwise included. (500 words or fewer) Re-Applicant Essay: Required for re-applicants. How have you strengthened your candidacy since your last application? We are particularly interested in hearing about how you have grown professionally and personally. (500 words or fewer) Shari Hubert, associate dean of MBA admissions, explained last year that the essays had been updated so the admissions committee could better assess the resilience of applicants. “There will be challenging times during the MBA program, so it’s important for students to have resolve, confidence, and coping skills that enable them to exceed even their own expectations as they pursue their MBA and prepare to re-enter the workforce as principled leaders who will have an impact on both business and society,” Hubert said at the time. For additional information on applying, please visit the Georgetown MBA admissions website.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Financial Times 2018 Top MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship

Stanford Graduate School of Business is ranked number one in entrepreneurship by the Financial Times. Are you itching to start your own company and wondering which business schools would best help you achieve that dream? Entrepreneurship is a super popular course of study at today’s b-schools. As someone who has started more than one successful company, I can attest that I leveraged a lot of my MBA classes and resources into my business ventures. Granted, the best programs acknowledge that they don’t actually create entrepreneurs—they merely nurture innate ability. More than 1 in 10 business school alumni are self-employed, and the longer they’ve been out of business school the more likely they are to have taken an entrepreneurial career path, previous Graduate Management Admission Council surveys have shown. This week, The Financial Times announced the results of their annual survey of the top entrepreneurship programs. These are the programs that offer a broad range of courses in entrepreneurship, as well as  significant opportunities for networking with established entrepreneurs, launching start-ups, and developing the skills needed to start successful businesses. The FT surveys alumni three years after completing their MBA. Top 10 Global MBA Programs for Entrepreneurship Stanford Graduate School of Business (US) Babson College: F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business (US) Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (US) Lancaster University Management School (UK) City University: Cass Business School (UK) WHU Beisheim School of Management (Germany) IMD (Switzerland) Oxford Said Business School (UK) Harvard Business School (US) Cambridge Judge Business School (UK) The FT ranking methodology to determine the top schools for entrepreneurship included looking at the number of graduates who started a company upon earning their MBA, the percentage of female entrepreneurs, and the extent to which the school or the school’s alumni network helped fund the creation of new ventures. These combined factors ultimately decided where a school would land on the ranking list. Interestingly, top-ranking Stanford GSB recorded a significant drop in the number of students starting a business in the three years after graduation. It went from 36% in 2017 down to 22% this year. A similar dip occurred among graduates from the No. 2 ranked Babson College, where the numbers of grads starting their own companies went from 52% in 2017 to 37% this year. These waning numbers don’t represent a lack of entrepreneurial interest among graduates, however. “Behind these figures there are signs that MBA students are just as interested in being entrepreneurial as in previous years, but do not see the need to give up a full-time job offer to start a business,” the FT reports. A simple reason for graduates taking a salaried position straight out of business school? Student loan bills to pay. Follow the link see the FT’s list of the top 50 schools for entrepreneurship.

FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: INSEAD Fall 2019 MBA Essay Questions

INSEAD has posted the following job and motivation essays within the Fall 2019 MBA application, which is now live. Job Essays As the applications instructions state: The job questions are not essays. Hence, the number of words is not so important. People need to be comfortable writing 3 lines or 20. Some applicants work for companies that are well known and only 3 lines are sufficient to describe them; others work for small companies where it is more important to give the full picture. Job Essay 1: Briefly summarize your current (or most recent) job, including the nature of work, major responsibilities, and where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, clients/products and results achieved. (short answer) Job Essay 2: What would be your next step in terms of position if you were to remain in the same company? (short answer) Job Essay 3: Please give a full description of your career since graduating from university. Describe your career path with the rationale behind your choices. (short answer) Job Essay 4: Discuss your short and long term career aspirations with or without an MBA from INSEAD. (short answer) Optional Job Essay: If you are currently not working or if you plan to leave your current employer more than 2 months before the programme starts, please explain your activities and occupations between leaving your job and the start of the programme. Motivation Essays Essay 1: Give a candid description of yourself (who are you as a person), stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (approximately 500 words) Essay 2: Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned. (approx. 400 words) Essay 3: Describe all types of extra-professional activities in which you have been or are still involved for a significant amount of time (clubs, sports, music, arts, politics, etc). How are you enriched by these activities? (approx. 300 words) Optional Essay: Is there anything else that was not covered in your application that you would like to share with the Admissions Committee? (approx. 300 words) Video Interview Instructions Shortly after completing your INSEAD MBA online application, you will receive an e-mail notification from Kira Talent with a unique link to complete 4 video interviews. Your link will be also available on your dashboard within the application system. The video should be seen as a unique opportunity for you to share your passions, your motivations and who you truly are. The Admissions Committee is interested in obtaining an authentic view of you as a person, to see how you think on your feet and how you convey your ideas. The video interviews do not replace the face-to-face interviews with Alumni. Your application will be considered as complete and ready to be reviewed only once we have received your answers to the video interviews. Please complete your video interviews at your earliest convenience and no later than 48 hours after the deadline to which you are applying. We strongly recommend however that you complete this step before the final date to allow yourself some time to prepare for this exercise. The MBA admissions overview link includes detailed advice from INSEAD admissions covering timing, practice, and technical requirements.  Advice direct from INSEAD adcomm: Get ready by practicing. You can practice as much as you want. Practicing will enable you to convey authentic and genuine answers. Practice questions are not shared with the Admissions Committee; Test your camera, your microphone, then forget the technology and look at the camera as if you were talking to the Admissions Committee; Although we ask you to wear business or business casual attire, the Admissions Committee will not judge your look or your background; You may want to prepare a notebook next to you to write down your key ideas; you will have 45 seconds to prepare each answer; you will then have 60 seconds to share each answer with the Admissions Committee.For additional information on applying, please visit the INSEAD admissions website. For additional information on applying, please visit the INSEAD MBA admissions website.