Take a few buzzwords like "synergy," "global village," "e-commerce," "empower,"
"diversity." Season with acronyms B2B, B2C, IPO, M&A, VC. Stir in generous platitudes
about "forces that molded you into the person you are today" and "the top-notch
faculty, diverse student body, and outstanding alumni network" at the schools to
which you are applying. Cook on your hard drive while seeking feedback from a bevy
of your fifty closest colleagues, friends, and relatives. And voila! You have an
MBA application essay.
All too often MBA applicants grope for a recipe for success, a one-size-fits-all
approach to writing the essays. Push the right buttons, stir in the correct ingredients,
and you'll have it made. Right? Wrong!
That recipe doesn't exist. You aren't making pancakes here; you're trying to portray
yourself as a multi-faceted, one-of-a kind gem. How do you do that? Use the tools
below to focus on your uniqueness, accomplishments, and strengths as you refine
your essays.
- To thine own self be true.
Sincere self-reflection forms the basis for insightful essays. Go beyond the stereotypes
of a marketer, an immigrant, an IT professional, a member of a particular ethnic
group. Go deep into yourself so that you will answer distinctively and honestly.
Examine all areas of your background to determine which unusual qualities and experiences
you can contribute to your class. When have you overcome obstacles? Where did you
excel? What is important to you - besides obtaining an MBA? Why? Where have you
served someone or some cause other than yourself? Why? What distinguishes you from
the stereotypical candidates from your field? And of course, when have you motivated
and led others? Why did you choose this particular venue for leadership?
The answers to these questions form the raw material of your essays. You will mine
them again and again as you go through the application process. If you go through
this stage with sincerity and integrity, you will find the gold vein. Fool's gold
is for those who lazily fool themselves.
- Do your homework.
You have to know what you want to do with the degree and why you are applying to
the particular programs you have chosen. An incredible amount of information about
the schools and their programs is available. Use it first to determine which schools
you should apply to. Then use it to target your essays for each particular school.
I recommend the following sources:
- The schools' literature, information sessions, and Websites.
- Businessweek.com. (www.businessweek.com)
provides news, statistics, rankings and enlightening interviews with admissions
directors and students.
- Accepted.com has tips on writing
essays, sample essays,
an admissions bookstore,
b-school zones and an
MBA Interview feedback
database.
- MBA Admission for Smarties: The
No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools
- Current students and recent alumni.
- Look at the application as a whole and use the essays to bring out information not
found elsewhere.
In the essays, don't merely repeat the superficial information contained in your
resume or provided in those little boxes elsewhere in the application. Highlight
your multi-faceted personality, diverse interests, and accomplishments.
Strategize. While you certainly want to write about significant professional achievement,
shouldn't the adcoms also know you are a disciplined athlete who has competed on
a master's swim team for years? Perhaps you founded a bereavement support group
in your native land where such groups are unheard of, or took up violin after you
began earning a living, thus fulfilling a childhood dream, and are today part of
a local orchestra. Or maybe you rejected a promotion to care for an ailing parent.
In any case, determine which achievements best answer each individual question and
in combination with the other essays and the rest of your application present the
most complete and powerful portrait of you.
- Develop a theme for each essay.
In one-sentence, a theme should summarize your essay and answer the question. This
theme, the point you are trying to convey may or may not appear verbatim in the
essay, but it should guide you in writing and ensure that you stay on topic. Throw
out anything that doesn't support your theme.
It is particularly important to clearly state your theme if you are writing about
more than one event or aspect of your life. Stating a lucid theme immediately following
the lead (see #6 below) can provide the reader with a roadmap to your essay and
contribute to the essay's cohesiveness.
- Use concrete examples to support your theme.
Oh the generalities! The consultant-speak! The wasted forests! MBA application essays
prove that consultants, especially those from top firms, use more resources saying
absolutely nothing than any other species (except politicians and lawyers).
But you don't want to waste the adcom's time; you want to inform, convince, and
captivate. Use specifics, vivid images, and details to convey your points. Don't
merely discuss a belief or value; illustrate it. For example if you want
to write about your mother's influence, start with details that allow the reader
to see, hear, or touch your differences and similarities. You could start, "Although
Mom and I are very different people, I consider her the most profound influence
on my values and the person I have become. I constantly try to emulate her." OK.
Yawn. Or you could start, "I love jogging, tennis, skiing; she considers walking
to the car to be exercise. My alarm clock rings at 6:30 AM on Sunday; her day begins
at noon. I need a certain amount of time pressure to produce my best; she hates
a last-minute rush. Yet, despite these irritating differences, Mom has set an example
of determination, professional excellence, and service to the community that I am
constantly trying to emulate."
Note the amount of information conveyed in a short period of time. Note also the
interest created by not identifying the mysterious "she" immediately. Finally and
most importantly, pay attention to the use of detail. It creates interest and forms
an intrinsic part of a distinctive essay.
Specifics are also important in discussing professional achievement. Numbers are
particularly revealing (and take up little space). Did you lead "a team," or did
you lead "a thirty-person team?" Did the division you manage increase sales and
efficiency in your company, or did your division win an award for top sales with
average annual increases of X% per year since you became the manager? Did you negotiate
the purchase of a large piece of commercial real estate, or did you negotiate the
purchase of a $250 million trophy property?
Specifics and details distinguish you, add interest to your essay, and speak volumes
about you.
- Start your essay with an attention-grabbing lead that immediately illustrates your
main point.
The opening of your essay will determine whether it is read out of obligation or
interest. You need to start with a lead, something that grabs the reader's attention.
Journalists constantly capture our attention with anecdotes, quotes, interesting
statistics, and gripping descriptions of a scene or event. Use the same techniques.
You have big dreams for yourself. You can start your "goals" essay with a short
anecdote revealing one of those dreams. Or perhaps you are particularly proud of
a special professional moment. Start your essay with that moment and then write
about its influence and significance.
- Include description and analysis in your essay.
While I have emphasized the importance of detail and specifics, the essays also
must provide insight into you. Balance description with analysis. Facts without
analysis can easily turn into a resume in prose or a boring, superficial autobiography.
Combine a few critical events with insightful analysis and you will really polish
the gem.
- Don't whine.
Everyone has blemishes. Don't whine or cry about them. Doing so merely magnifies
them. If you feel you must address some poor grades or a less-than-desirable GMAT,
then take responsibility; if relevant, explain the circumstances that contributed
to the weakness, and move on. If you can portray the difficulty as a growth experience,
you could turn a liability into an asset.
- Conclude.
Don't leave me hanging with no sense of completion or unity. Bring your essay full
circle by referring back to your lead and highlighting the main point(s) you would
like the reader to remember.
- Write it right.
To make this baby really shine, ensure it is correctly written. The essay must follow
the rules of good grammar, punctuation, and style. Here are a few tips:
- Use transitions between paragraphs.
- Avoid the passive voice, overuse of the to be verb, redundancy, and awkwardly constructed,
convoluted sentences. (Who, me?)
- Correct unreferenced pronouns, dangling modifiers, misplaced apostrophes, and missing
articles.
Read the essays to yourself (or into a tape recorder) to catch errors that your
eye misses.
And while I do not recommend seeking feedback from your fifty closest friends, I
do recommend showing it to a few people, preferably two to five. Ask those who write
well to comment on the writing and ask those who know you well to comment on whether
it reflects you.
No, you won't find a good recipe for a winning personal statement. Writing compelling
essays requires self-reflection, research, and hard work. But using these tools
to produce and refine a revealing, multi-faceted portrait of you will also create
a unique gem of an essay.