Weitere ähnliche Inhalte Ähnlich wie Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA Application (20) Kürzlich hochgeladen (20) Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA Application1. Five Questions You Must
Answer in Your MBA
Application
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2. Introduction: Tyler Cormney
AIGAC Certified Admissions Consultant
Author of five MBA essay guides
Harvard MBA
USC Master of Professional Writing
UT Austin Business Undergraduate
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3. Five Questions You Must
Answer in Your MBA
Application
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4. Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA
Application
Leadership Are you a leader?
Career Goals What are your career goals?
Career Progress What have you achieved professionally?
Why Our School Why are you applying to our school?
Potential Contributions How can you enrich our community?
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5. How to Prepare for the 5 Questions
Learn to recognize the five fundamental questions
Internalize the Criteria for Top Marks
Assemble Your Content Building Blocks
Outline Your Answers
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6. Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA
Application
# 1: Are You a
Leader?
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7. Are You a Leader?
Example Questions
• Discuss a defining experience in your leadership
development.
• Tell us about a time when you made a lasting impact on your
organization.
• What impact do you hope to have as a leader of
consequence?
Top Marks For …
An extensive Leadership Portfolio: Concrete examples of your
ability to rally others and motivate them to work together to
achieve an important shared vision or goal
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8. Are You a Leader?
Content Building Blocks
Leadership Stories
Leadership Actions
Leadership Capabilities
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9. Are You a Leader?
Content Building Blocks
Building Block Questions:
Leadership Stories
When have I…
Leadership Actions …harnessed the energy of other
Leadership Capabilities people to achieve a goal
…made an impact and permanently
upgraded an organization’s
capabilities
…spotted a problem and coordinated
efforts to solve it
Example:
Susan led a software team and built
security software for a weapons
system.
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10. Are You a Leader?
Content Building Blocks
Leadership Stories Building Block Question:
What steps did I take as the groups
Leadership Actions leader to overcome challenges and keep
Leadership Capabilities people focused and motivated?
Example:
•Set high expectations for the team
•Learned about each team member
personally and their career development
goals
•Showed my teammates that we weren’t
just software coders -- our work would
save lives
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11. Are You a Leader?
Content Building Blocks
Leadership Stories Building Block Question:
What leadership capabilities did I draw
Leadership Actions upon in this story/example?
Leadership Capabilities
Example:
•Adapting to New Situations
•Mentoring & Developing People
•Inspiring Others with Words
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12. Are You A Leader?:
Example Building Blocks
Building Block Example Building Blocks
Leadership Story Led a software team and built security software for a
weapons
Leadership Action •Learned about each team member personally and their
career development goals
•Showed my teammates that we weren’t just software
coders -- our work would save lives
Leadership •Adapting to New Situations
Capabilities •Mentoring & Developing People
•Inspiring Others with Words
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13. Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA
Application
# 2: What Are Your
Career Goals?
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14. What Are Your Career Goals?
Example Questions
• What are your professional objectives?
• What is your career vision?
• Where do you want to be 10 years from now?
Top Marks For …
Clearly defined post-MBA career goals which reveal a sense of
passion and purpose
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15. What Are Your Career Goals?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Purpose
Career Meaning
Long-term Career Goal
Career Action Plan
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16. What Are Your Career Goals?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Purpose Building Block Question:
What is the purpose of your
Career Meaning career -- who will it serve and how
Long-term Career Goal will it benefit others?
Career Action Plan
Example:
Spur economic development in the
former Soviet Union/Ukraine.
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17. What Are Your Career Goals?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Purpose Building Block Question:
Why is this career you envision
Career Meaning meaningful to you?
Long-term Career Goal
Career Action Plan
Example:
Talk about my visit to Kiev two
years ago.
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18. What Are Your Career Goals?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Purpose Building Block Question:
What is your long-term career
Career Meaning goal?
Long-term Career Goal
Career Action Plan
Example:
To found and lead a private equity
fund and serve as an economic
adviser to the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS).
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19. What Are Your Career Goals?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Purpose Building Block Question:
What is the career path to this
Career Meaning long-term goal?
Long-term Career Goal
Career Action Plan
Example:
Short-term/Post MBA: Work for an
established private equity group in the
Common Wealth of Independent
States (CIS) such as Baring Vostok.
Middle-Term: Start a fund.
Long-Term: To serve as an economic
advisor to CIS countries
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20. What Are Your Career Goals?:
Example Building Blocks
Building Block Example Building Blocks
Career Purpose Spur economic development in the former Soviet
Union/Ukraine.
Career Meaning Talk about my visit to Kiev two years ago.
Long-Term Career To found and lead a private equity fund and serve as an
Goal economic adviser to the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS).
Career Action Plan • Short-term/Post MBA: Work for an established
private equity group in the CIS such as Baring Vostok.
• Middle-Term: Start a fund.
• Long-Term: To serve as an economic advisor to CIS
countries
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21. Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA
Application
# 3: What Have
You Achieved
Professionally?
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22. What Have You Achieved Professionally?
Example Questions
• Briefly summarize your career progress
• What decisions have you made that led to your current role?
• Walk me through your resume.
Top Marks For …
Distinguished academic and career performance to date and
demonstrated potential for future advancement
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23. What Have You Achieved Professionally?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Phases
For each Career Phase:
– Career Decisions
– Challenges/Achievements
– Career Growth
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24. What Have You Achieved Professionally?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Phases Building Block Question:
What are the major milestones in
your career so far?
For each Career Phase:
– Career Decisions
– Challenges/Achievements
Example:
– Career Growth
• Graduated from Michigan
• Analyst job at Deutsche Bank;
offered 3rd Year Analyst job
• Analyst at Astrix Partners for
1.5 yrs
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25. What Have You Achieved Professionally?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Phases Building Block Question:
Why did you leave the old job and
take the new one?
For each Career Phase:
– Career Decisions
– Challenges/Achievements
Example:
– Career Growth
Decided to join Astrix because I
wanted to be an investor not an
advisor.
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26. What Have You Achieved Professionally?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Phases Building Block Question:
What was the most significant
challenge you faced? What did
For each Career Phase: you achieve that you are most
– Career Decisions proud of?
– Challenges/Achievements
– Career Growth Example:
Sourced optical drive
manufacturer deal and presented
to the investment committee
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27. What Have You Achieved Professionally?:
Content Building Blocks
Career Phases Building Block Question:
How did you grow and what did
you learn in this phase of your
For each Career Phase: career? How did you progress?
– Career Decisions
– Challenges/Achievements
– Career Growth Example:
Acquired fundamental private
equity skills and discovered
passion for investing
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28. What Have You Achieved Professionally?:
Example Building Blocks
Building Block Example Building Blocks
Career Phase Leaving Deutsche Bank (DB) to join Astrix
Partners Private Equity
Career Decision Offered 3rd year analyst role at DB but decided
to join Astrix Partners to work in Private Equity
Achievements/Challenges Sourced optical drive manufacturer deal and
presented to the investment committee
Career Growth Passion for investing and fundamental private
equity skills
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29. Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA
Application
# 4: Why Are You
Applying to Our
School?
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30. Why Are You Applying to Our School?
Example Questions
• Why do you need an MBA?
• Why is now the best time for an MBA?
• How will our school prepare you for your career goals?
Top Marks For …
Convincing motivations for pursuing an MBA … specifically from
this program
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31. Why Are You Applying to Our School? :
Content Building Blocks
Academic Programs
Professors
Student Organizations
Alumni Network
Leadership and Management Growth
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32. Why Are You Applying to Our School? :
Example Content Building Blocks
Generic Personal and Specific (Columbia)
Courses Courses
• I want to study marketing • Design and Marketing of Luxury
Products
Class Professors Class Professors
• The Marketing Faculty is top- • Retail Marketing Prof. John
notch Smith
Student Organizations Student Organizations
• 80 different student • Retail and Luxury Goods Club
organizations to choose from
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33. Five Questions You Must Answer in Your MBA
Application
# 5: How Can You
Enrich Our
Community?
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34. How Can You Enrich Our Community?
Example Questions
• What can you contribute to our program?
• How can you enrich next year’s class?
• Why should we accept you?
Top Marks For …
Concrete answers about what you can contribute to the
program and the overall MBA community
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35. How Can You Enrich Our Community?:
Content Building Blocks
What are your unique life
Unique Features
experiences, knowledge, strengths/talents?
How can those unique things about you benefit your
Benefits
classmates?
Concrete In what concrete ways can you deliver those benefits if
Contributions you’re accepted by the school you’re applying to for?
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36. How Can You Enrich Our Community?:
Translate into Benefits and Contributions
Unique Features Army brat; moved to a new city every three years
Developed an ability to break the ice and I can help
Benefits
new classmates to start connecting
Entering-student member of the orientation
Concrete
committee in first-year and lead the committee in
Contributions
second year
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37. Key Takeaways
Are you a leader? You can’t simply claim that you are. You
must present a leadership portfolio that proves you are
What are your career goals? Admissions officers aren’t asking
how you’ll make a living but how you’ll make a difference
What have you achieved professionally? Tell them your
career story
Why are you applying to our school? Answers must be
personal and specific
How can you enrich our community? Answer in terms of
benefits not features
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38. © 2010 Prep School Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.