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14 Jul 2010, 11:12
Kudos
Bookmarks
It is something I have been putting off, but now that I'm starting my application essays I need to really dig deep and refine my ST/MT/LT career goals.
What I want to be when I "grow up" is something I've struggled with, like many others, since I was in my teens but I think this process will help me work through it as you need to have this area mapped out in order to be taken seriously at any MBA school worth its weight.
So, among a dozen other reasons, my pursuit of an MBA is intrumental to help acheive my ST goal. I want to get into a 1 or 2 year rotational leadership development program either with a major consultant firm or a major natural resources firm.
First question: Is this anywhere near specific enough to satisfy adcoms?
My MT goals are the foggiest. I want to be a success. I want to be a leader. I know I'm better at relationship building than analyzing excel spreadsheets. But I have trouble pinning down exactly where I'm at in 5-8 years.
Second Question:Can anyone say with 100% certainty that in 5-8 years I expect to be a assosiate director of XYZ company, with my main responsibilties being ABC and working on projects of such and such a nature worth a certain number of dollars. Part of my reason for having my ST goals to be a rotational training program is to be able to preview several areas, assess what I like the best, what I can excel in, and then pursue it. How can I have these goals pinned down prior to obtaining the ST experience?
LT Goals: I know its massively broad and unspecific, but whatever career path I follow or industry I choose to work in I would like to accumulate enough specialized knowledge that after I retire I could do some light part-time consulting for spare cash.
Anyways, what do you guys think? What else can I do to hone my goals to become even more specific? Are they currently too broad for adcoms to take seriously? Any feedback would be welcome.
Thanks.
What I want to be when I "grow up" is something I've struggled with, like many others, since I was in my teens but I think this process will help me work through it as you need to have this area mapped out in order to be taken seriously at any MBA school worth its weight.
So, among a dozen other reasons, my pursuit of an MBA is intrumental to help acheive my ST goal. I want to get into a 1 or 2 year rotational leadership development program either with a major consultant firm or a major natural resources firm.
First question: Is this anywhere near specific enough to satisfy adcoms?
My MT goals are the foggiest. I want to be a success. I want to be a leader. I know I'm better at relationship building than analyzing excel spreadsheets. But I have trouble pinning down exactly where I'm at in 5-8 years.
Second Question:Can anyone say with 100% certainty that in 5-8 years I expect to be a assosiate director of XYZ company, with my main responsibilties being ABC and working on projects of such and such a nature worth a certain number of dollars. Part of my reason for having my ST goals to be a rotational training program is to be able to preview several areas, assess what I like the best, what I can excel in, and then pursue it. How can I have these goals pinned down prior to obtaining the ST experience?
LT Goals: I know its massively broad and unspecific, but whatever career path I follow or industry I choose to work in I would like to accumulate enough specialized knowledge that after I retire I could do some light part-time consulting for spare cash.
Anyways, what do you guys think? What else can I do to hone my goals to become even more specific? Are they currently too broad for adcoms to take seriously? Any feedback would be welcome.
Thanks.
14 Jul 2010, 12:43
Kudos
Bookmarks
You are most expected to know and reason your short and medium term goals (ST - I am not certain Consultancies have rotational programs).
The logic is you know why you want an MBA, as it gives you the opportunity to do X. X makes sense because of A, B, C (typically your history, perceived strengths, focuses at the school) and will definitely assist in building your skills and character to enter [medium term career objective].
So this could be Consulting to gain wider firm experience and strategy advice so that you could select a major firm in X or Y space that would best allow your interest in International Development and Strategic Positioning.
Business Schools would weird out now if you said you wanted to be working in Ops at Amazon in 5 years. It is way too specific to be real. Like risk models, the future is unpredictable and AdComs want to elarn about you. So it is better to be roughly correct than precisely wrong. Much like a model, you have to be able to explain your assumptions (why it makes sense).
The logic is you know why you want an MBA, as it gives you the opportunity to do X. X makes sense because of A, B, C (typically your history, perceived strengths, focuses at the school) and will definitely assist in building your skills and character to enter [medium term career objective].
So this could be Consulting to gain wider firm experience and strategy advice so that you could select a major firm in X or Y space that would best allow your interest in International Development and Strategic Positioning.
Business Schools would weird out now if you said you wanted to be working in Ops at Amazon in 5 years. It is way too specific to be real. Like risk models, the future is unpredictable and AdComs want to elarn about you. So it is better to be roughly correct than precisely wrong. Much like a model, you have to be able to explain your assumptions (why it makes sense).
17 Jul 2010, 06:10
Kudos
Bookmarks
You're short term goal is pretty specific, but you may want to frame it a little better and, as underscore said, fill in some of the why's. If I read "consulting or natural resources" as a short term goal, I'd want to know how those two fit together as a coherent story. Are there specific consulting firms you'd want to work for because they have significant presence in the natural resources industry? Do you want consulting to get some broad industry exposure that you could then use to bring outside best practices into the natural resources industry? Are there specific resources companies you'd want to work for because they have an awesome rotational program? etc.
In terms of 5-8 years out, I don't think anyone expects you to say, "I'm going to be the assistant product director for the X line of products at Y company. Talk a bit more broadly about where you want to be in your career. Do you want to be in a general management role in X industry? Do you want to be a factory manager? The mid-term goals should still have some specifics to show you've given it some thought, but doesn't have to be as specific as the short term goal. It does have to be a coherent next step in the story that builds on your MBA and experience you gain in your short term goal.
Once you get to long-term goal, it should focus much more on what sort of impact you expect to make over the course of your career than a specific job you want to hold. Do you want to help a company in X industry expand into new markets? Improve their product offering by doing A,B and C better? Here's an opportunity for you to tell a compelling story about how your past experience, MBA from X school, and expected post-MBA experience will turn you into the type of leader that will reflect well on the school. That said, nobody is going to come back 20 years from now to see if you're still pursuing that goal, so don't worry if you're not 100% set on it. Pick one potential future career path that you're most passionate about and run with it.
In terms of 5-8 years out, I don't think anyone expects you to say, "I'm going to be the assistant product director for the X line of products at Y company. Talk a bit more broadly about where you want to be in your career. Do you want to be in a general management role in X industry? Do you want to be a factory manager? The mid-term goals should still have some specifics to show you've given it some thought, but doesn't have to be as specific as the short term goal. It does have to be a coherent next step in the story that builds on your MBA and experience you gain in your short term goal.
Once you get to long-term goal, it should focus much more on what sort of impact you expect to make over the course of your career than a specific job you want to hold. Do you want to help a company in X industry expand into new markets? Improve their product offering by doing A,B and C better? Here's an opportunity for you to tell a compelling story about how your past experience, MBA from X school, and expected post-MBA experience will turn you into the type of leader that will reflect well on the school. That said, nobody is going to come back 20 years from now to see if you're still pursuing that goal, so don't worry if you're not 100% set on it. Pick one potential future career path that you're most passionate about and run with it.
