Accepted.com Odds 'N Ends

Medical School Admissions Telethon for 2009 Applicants

Join medical school admissions experts Cydney Foote and Joan Davis for Accepted’s first Medical School Admissions Telethon on Tuesday April 8 at 5:00-7:00 PM PT/8:00-10:00 PM ET.

During the telethon you can call in and receive a free, 15-minute, one-on-one consultation with either Cyd or Joan. Both have years of experience in medical school admissions. For more information and to obtain the call-in details, please visit the Medical School Admissions Telethon page.

The telethon is free, but you do need to register to receive call-in information. So don’t delay. Sign up if you want answers to your most important questions about medical school admissions.

Start Smart: New Mentoring Service for 2009 MBA Applicants

With Start Smart, you'll have an hour each month to work with your consultant. Choose the amount of consulting you need and arrange the level of contact that's best for you -- a dedicated hour, a bi-weekly review, or weekly check-ins. And if you decide you need assistance with your essays later in the process, you can work with the same editor who knows your profile nearly as well as you do.

Pre-Season Consulting Special

2009 MBA Applicants: If you only want a few hours of consultation and you want it now, Accepted Pre-Season Consulting is for you. And in April, this service is $20 off!

During your consultation, you and your advisor will discuss your goals and educational preferences, your strengths and weaknesses. Together you will develop a solid strategy so that when the time comes to start writing the essays you'll hit the ground running.

B-School Photo Contest Ends This Month!

Compete in our Beautiful B-School Photo Contest for lots of prizes -- including a $200 Amazon gift certificate -- and a chance to show your photo to the world!

For additional information and contest rules, please visit the Beautiful B-School Photo Contest Rules

Create a Better Sequel: How to Reapply Right to B-School - Featured Ebook of April

Create a Better Sequel shows you how to craft a compelling application and gain admission to top MBA programs -- the second time around.

Here are a few of the topics covered in this succinct, instantly downloadable MBA reapplicant report:

• Improving your profile - the 4 Pillars of a Successful MBA Application.
• Determining the right mix of schools for your reapplication effort.
• The 5 questions you must have answered in a feedback session.

• Michigan Ross Waitlist Chat with Soojin Kwon Koh
• INSEAD Waitlist with Virginie Fougea
• USC Marshall Waitlist with Kellee Scott
• Cornell Waitlist with Randall Sawyer

• MBA Admissions: Military MBAs Have Lessons for All MBAs
• Healthcare Loan Limits Increased
• Law School Enrollment Holds Steady
• US News Grad Rankings Are Out
• BusinessWeek Rankings of Undergrad Business School
• Personal Statement Tip: Pick Yourself Up and Applaud

Getting Started
Some of you will only write one essay and others will write a plethora of essays. But you will all start with either a blank screen or page. How do you transform that blank into a coherent, articulate representation of yourself?

First, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Which experiences convinced you that you want to pursue your chosen field of study?
2. What leadership positions have you held and what did you accomplish?
3. What volunteer or internship positions have you had? Were these positions memorable or influential? If yes, how so?
4. What kind of work experience do you have? Which accomplishments at work would you like to highlight?
5. How did you choose your major? Is your major important? Has it influenced your graduate school choices?
6. Do you have any possible negatives to handle? How can you address them?
7. What do you like to do for recreation?
8. Have you traveled? Where?
9. Have you participated in community service activities? Were these activities memorable or influential? If yes, how so?
10. Have you overcome obstacles or difficulties in your personal life or in your academic or professional career?

Answering these questions should provide you with an inventory of material for the essays -- probably much more than you can use, especially if you are one of the lucky ones who has to write only one essay.

Executive Resumes
Now that an MBA or J.D. is part of your career plan, it might help to know what kind of resumes prospective employers will expect from you when you begin applying for executive-level positions. Much as the responsibilities of a management trainee differ substantially from those of a VP, so do the principles that govern their resumes. To begin with, throw out the rule about limiting your resume to only one and two pages. If you’ve got 10 or more years of experience and are targeting executive positions, 3 to 4 pages—that’s 1,600 to 2,000 words—is typical and expected.

Likewise, where brief, bulleted single-sentence accomplishments were great when you were a junior or middle manager, the decision to hire someone for a high six or seven-figure position is a much weightier matter. Employers will want your resume to provide more details about and context on your key decisions. Instead of the telegraphed bullets of your first resumes, you’ll need longer, narrative-type paragraphs in which you detail obstacles faced, alternatives considered, and key players involved. As Donald Asher points out in his Bible of Executive Resumes, these paragraphs are actually “business stories,” so everything you learned about omitting articles and sticking to two lines per bullet is out the window. (Do, of course, tell these stories as succinctly as possible.)

The tone of your resume will also change. Instead of the dynamic, verb-oriented language of your early-career resume, you’ll adopt the more conversational, mature, and contextual tone of the executive resume. Your accomplishments now sell you, not your word choice. (Do, of course, vary your verbs and use plenty of numbers.) Here’s a passage from a typical executive resume from John Lucht’s excellent Rites of Passage: “My earlier recommendation (in ’91) that the company’s consumer pet-health lines be sold to generate cash for acquisition of young growth companies was implemented while I was away (’92), and I helped identify and purchase in ’93 and ’94 three small companies . . .”

Finally, executives are expected to bring more than good numbers and business accomplishments. Your resume will therefore need room for Community Service, Speaking Engagements, Publications, and any other evidence of your well-rounded excellence. 

Paul Bodine, Senior Editor