“I have no idea what I should write.”
I hear some version of this from many MBA applicants, and it usually turns out that the problem isn’t a lack of material. The problem is they’re feeling overwhelmed and getting stuck on selecting a storyline. Often their minds are filled with many possible options but they don’t know which to choose or how to develop them.
If that sounds like you, my first piece of advice is probably not what you’re expecting:
Don’t start writing yet.
Read MoreGraduation posts on LinkedIn in the spring are like clockwork: newly minted MBAs in caps and gowns, almost always in group shots, arms around each other. What they write about isn’t the curriculum or the job they just landed—it’s the people. The classmates who changed how they think and who will still be the first call fifteen years from now.
Keep those posts in mind when you write your essays. The committee already knows what you’ll be posting two years from now.
Read MoreEvery year, thousands of highly qualified candidates sit down to write their MBA essays. They bring strong résumés, solid test scores, impressive employers, and clear goals. Yet many of them treat the most strategic part of the application—the personal narrative—as if it were simply a writing exercise.
It’s not.
Read MoreA strong résumé is only one part of a successful MBA application—to truly capture the admission committee’s attention, you’ll need compelling essays that reveal your authentic self. And that’s where storytelling enters…
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