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Welcome to MBA Podcaster, the only broadcast source for cutting edge information and advice on the MBA application process. I’m Janet Nakano. Admissions deadlines are fast approaching and while you may need to pick up the speed, you don’t want to rush to the finish line. Your goal is to build the best possible application package and that means covering all of your bases. Have you written essays that are full of details and free of errors, properly addressed your weaknesses, exhibited leadership skills and potential? This time we want to help you create the killer application, one that will leave a lasting impression. You’ll hear directly from top MBA admissions directors on what they look for in candidates and you’ll get several tips from an author of a guide on MBA applications.

When reviewing applications, MBA admissions officers look at all of the pieces: your GMAT score, academic record, essays and so on. But one over arching theme they’re evaluating for is “fit”. Without fit, even the brightest applicants can be rejected. So what does fit mean exactly? Ann Richards, Associate Director of Admissions at the Johnson School at Cornell University answers that question, “Fit really means are we going to be able, is my institution able to help this candidate achieve their personal and career and MBA objectives. So if a student for instance is looking to go into marketing we have a really strong marketing program. That’s one indication to us that they’re going to fit. But we also look for other indicators. We’re a very small school, very collegial, very team oriented. So as we read through an application, as we talk to students in an interview, we want to see that they’re comfortable in that kind of environment. This is not the best environment for a student who wants to remain anonymous, somebody who wants to go to class, turn in their homework and then disappear because that doesn’t happen in a small school, in a small environment. So we look for that kind of indicator. I think from a student perspective fit is best assessed by actually visiting the school, meeting the school, what kind of vibe do they get, do they feel welcome, do they see themselves participating in the classes that they attend, can they really vision themselves in that environment. That really helps define fit. It is very, very difficult to define and we had one of our students two years ago say, I didn’t understand what fit meant until I came to the Johnson School. I think that’s what students realize when they visit particular schools. They either realize this is it for me, this is the fit or yikes this is not a place where I can see myself really growing and developing.” Your fit in a program will permeate through the rest of your application as well as the interview so make sure that you do your homework before choosing the schools you want to apply. Visit campuses, know the school’s strengths and speak with alumni.

Writing killer essays are key to success, this is where your personality and passion come through, where you can demonstrate fit and very often it’s the first opportunity for an admissions officer to hear your voice albeit through reading. Brandon Royal is author of the book A Perfect MBA Application: 100 Sure Fire Tips to get you into the business school of your choice. He says a good essay is one that provides examples, “Now most likely when you create your first draft of your essay it will be full of generality, that’s only natural but the next step is to cement it with examples. Try imagining putting examples in the places where your essays would be left in the general. Here is maybe a few examples to cement this point. A candidate might say something like, ‘Growing up in the east and west, I experienced both east and western points of views.’ Reviewers likely comment would be do you mind telling us about those eastern and western points of view. A candidate might write one of these what we call a shocking list of traits, ‘I’m an energetic, loyal, creative, diligent, honest, strict, humorous, responsible person.’ And the reviewer’s likely comment will be do you care to develop to your discussion by choosing two or three of these traits and supporting each with concrete examples. A candidate might write something like, ‘Not only did I develop important operational skills in running a business, but I experienced and witnessed the challenges that entrepreneurs face on a daily basis’, reviewers likely comment is what are those challenges. There is on essay that is extremely important, it’s basically ubiquitous across the whole MBA admissions process and that is the career goals essay. It’s the one where of course they ask you what are your career goals, where do you see yourself in 10 years, etc. I think this is an excellent place to start because you know there is something like 10 different types of essay questions but this is the most fundamental because really even who you are depends on sort of where you’re going. One of the tips that I tell students about is first of all, start here and write a goal statement. A goal statement is an expression of where you will be both long term and short term. You want to be specific about your goals. So for example, here’s an example of a poor goal, ‘My goal is to work for a multi-national company and obtain an international position’ or sometimes people will write ‘My goal is do something entrepreneurial and someday own my own business.’ So how do we make these things more specific? Well the combination of your long term and short to mid term goals should tell the reader, very quickly in one or two sentences exactly what you’re doing in terms of a functional specialization, and industry specialization and an area specialization. So for example, an example of a solid career goal statement would be this, ‘My long-term career goal is to be a top marketing executive in the fast moving, consumer goods industry in Asia. My short to mid-term career goal is to pursue work with an international consulting firm and gain a specialty in consumer goods marketing.’ That above long-term goal statement tells us in just one sentence that the candidate, you, plan to work in the marketing area, functional specialization, to work in the fast moving consumer goods field, industry specialization and to work in Asia which would be your proposed area specialization.”

While it’s true that many candidates want a MBA to switch into a new career, many aren’t sure what that new career will be. But you still need to write that essay that reveals your plans for the future. What’s important for this essay is that you demonstrate direction, says Beth Flye, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. “If a candidate tells us in an interview and or writes in their essay that, ‘Hey, in 3.5 years I would like to be a brand manager with XYZ Corp.’ there is not anything wrong with that. As opposed to let’s say if a person says, ‘I would like to work in marketing for a consumer goods company.’ One is a little bit more specific than the other or a little more defined but what the two have in common, there’s direction. Conversely and I’m just giving a very polar opposite example, if someone says, ‘I’m interested in consulting and non-profit and investment banking and marketing and the healthcare sector.’ While that may be true, that would be a little concerning on our end just because it doesn’t seem like this person has a direction or a particular path that they would like to follow. So we don’t expect someone to know exactly what they’re going to be doing. But what we are looking for is someone who has direction and someone who seems to have demonstrated to us clear reasons for why they want to go to business school. Let’s say if an applicant seems to be a little bit nebulous or somewhat uncertain related to his or her career goals or what if this person, another applicant is looking at a particular career goal that is radically, radically different and we may be asking ourselves on this end, wow is that going to be a stretch, will this person be at a disadvantage. For both of those, I would still ask, based on their background, everything in this application coupled with a Kellogg MBA is there good probability that this person will have good career options. If the answer to that in my mind is no, this person could really have a difficult time, then in fairness to the applicant it would not be wise to admit that person.”

Most if not all business schools will be evaluating candidates for leadership. They want to see that you’ve made an impact, whether that’s in your career, through extracurricular activities or in your personal life. Demonstrating leadership gives the admissions committee a vision of your potential in their program. If you don’t have many examples of leadership, Johnson’s School Ann Richards says start creating them, “They need to think carefully about ways that they could do that. So as they’re sitting around at coffee with their buddies complaining about how they’re all overworked, that candidate should try to develop a solution. Propose some solutions to their supervisors. If they are participating in extracurricular activities, generate new fundraising opportunities, generate new ways in which that organization can continue with outreach, or be more effective in the population that it’s trying to reach or the education. Take risks, push themselves to get out there and offer solutions. Generate opportunities.”

Your academic record is what it is and whether you’re happy with it or not, the admissions committee will see it. So if you’re weak in this area, Beth Flye says the best thing to do is give an explanation in the optional essay. “If their GPA, their undergraduate GPA is not as competitive, let’s say compared to the profile of the candidates coming into Kellogg, that person has an opportunity that they can tell us about that. At the same time, we also encourage people not to; we don’t want people to make excuses so to speak, we really appreciate honesty in the application and just being upfront. So if someone had too much enjoyment or worked too long part-time as an undergraduate we want the facts and them more information that we have about the applicant, ultimately the best decision that we’re going to make. The other thing that is very helpful was let’s say a person has never had any quantitative coursework. I like to think about quantitative courses like spinach, meaning you may not like the taste of it but it is definitely going to be good for you. Not just as an applicant but also when you come into business school. So a person can decide, ‘Hey, I’m going to take a calculus class.’ Or ‘I’m going to take a stats class.’ Again to make sure that I’m as strong as I can be, not just as an applicant but I’m prepping to be as strong as I can be to become a MBA student.”

Extracurricular activities demonstrate to admissions that you aren’t one dimensional. Like someone who excels only in the workplace. Schools are looking for people who will be active on campus and contribute to their community after graduation. So what kinds of things can you list here? Brandon Royal says extracurricular activities can be broken down into three areas, “It’s your community service, your extracurricular collegiate activities and/or your awards or recognitions. Extracurricular collegiate activities are things you’ve done in college and they wouldn’t really extend past college. Your community service on the other hand could be from college dates or something you’ve done since college and your awards or recognition can actually go back quite far if something is truly impressive like you won a regional guitar contest and it’s from Junior High School some candidates would even mention in this part of their application. Or if you have an award of recognition like a CSA or a CPA this would be the area you mention it. Now one of the ways to make your presentation more impressive is and generally you want to think about maybe three or four activities. I tell applicants four activities is what makes them full. So people try to figure out quickly whether they have the four things to mention in this area. What makes them more impressive is telling the committee what you learned or found important about the activity. Not just putting down that the activity or the dates and then leaving it there. So let me just give an example of what this might be, say for example that you were a member of the debate team at Arizona State University and you mention the type of debate that you participated in and the dates of some of the tournaments that you participated in or better yet one. Now when you go in to present it you want a description and you want a summary and then you want to add some of your own personal thoughts into it. Now a summary starts getting into some of the detail. You might say, ‘The day taught me four things: to organize and descend coherent arguments, to speak under pressure, to develop excellent research skills, to formulate strategies for beating tournament competitors.’ But just don’t leave it there. Really think about each one of these events and say what special thing did I take away from it. And you might put something like this down, here’s an example of what a candidate did, ‘My time spent in debate taught me to develop affirmative and negative briefs, to support and descend the resolution at hand. I learned to be ever mindful of the importance of anticipating the both sides of an argument. For every argument there’s an equal and opposite argument. It is here that I gain my first real insight into an old tenet of philosophy, only through contrast do we have awareness.’ Now the committee reads something like that and you’ve added that and you weren’t necessarily required to say what you learned or found significant about the activity per say, they’re going to think that’s really a value added kind of applicant. They gave us an insightful thing that just other applicants don’t do. So I really like to do that. Always embellish them and try to go that extra distance by saying what you found impressive or important about the activity.”

If you don’t have many extracurricular activities to list and you have a good reason for that such as a highly demanding job, you have the opportunity to explain it in the optional essays. Ann Richards says, think closely of ways that you’ve been involved in your community, even if it’s not necessarily the typical activities. “Maybe that’s volunteering at their church. Maybe it’s volunteering through their work environment or even just helping their neighbors. What stems as insincere is when someone has no extracurricular activities, no community involvement, and then in August of the year they’re applying suddenly there’s lots of community activities on their resume. I would much rather see an application where a candidate says you know I realize in reflecting on my strengths, I realize that I haven’t been involved and that’s one of the things that I hope to address and strengthen through my application. To introduce me to this, I have started to volunteer at XYZ. But don’t add five different activities to your resume because we don’t think that you’re really adding much value to five different activities. But if you realize through the course of your application that this is a weakness, this area is lacking, you can begin to address that modestly but I would admit to it also. Identify that as a weakness in your own personal development.” Richards says letters of recommendations should supplement the information that’s included in the application. In other words, they should address strengths and achievements that are outlined in the resume or essays.

Brandon Royal says a good recommendation is one that provides specific examples, “There are five things that are generally present in an outstanding letter of recommendation. One the recommender mentions in what context he or she knows the applicant. Two the recommender mentions what the applicant accomplished on the job or in school. Three the recommender mentions how the candidates ranks in comparison with others. Four the recommender mentions what he or she believes are the applicant’s best personal and professional traits. And five the recommender mentions one area of perceived weakness and/or one area that needed professional, academic, or personal improvement. So on the point of in terms of specifics; this is the example of things that you would want to try to strengthen in your letter of recommendation. Say for example, your recommender would otherwise write something like, ‘I would particularly like to site his originality and desire to innovate new systems and procedures.’ The reviewers comment would be what the admissions people would basically be saying what were these systems and procedures, so unless there are a couple of paragraphs that follow that illuminate what these systems or procedures are this letter would be weaker than it would otherwise need to be. Sometimes you’ll see things in recommendation letters such as, ‘Judith also has a wonderful way with her coworkers and customers.’ The reviewer is thinking well please give us some examples of how she is wonderful with her coworkers/ customers, can you cite a quote, is there an example that particularly illustrates this? So again we’re looking for specifics or Judith not only exceeded her sales quota but also became a regional expert on blah, blah, blah, blah. Of course when she exceeded her sales quote, by how much is what we’re really wondering about. Then again just remind us, is this impressive to have exceeded by this certain amount. So basically when we step back is a recommender can really only write a recommendation letter as good as the information that they have about you. One of the ways you can help give them better information about yourself is to always plan to write about a two page summary letter in which you remind your recommender all about what you did on the job and the kinds of things that you would like to see put into the letter. So what this really does is the recommender reads of course your two page report that you give them and then what they will do is they will often funnel some of this detail into the recommendation letter. Sometimes the recommender will even let you have a chance to look at the recommendation letter. Again one thing is if you ever have a chance to see one or “coach” your recommender you always want to look in terms of detail. You know is this really supported the way I think it said. Don’t want only things in the general; I want to find points to hammer away the detail.”

Essays, letters of recommendation, examples of leadership, extracurricular activities, these are the ways that you articulate to the admissions committee who you are. The key to creating a killer application is being able to do this well. Again, Ann Richards, “I think that the MBA application process is very introspective, it really forces candidates to think about themselves. And those candidates who stand out really it’s clear that they know themselves well. They know their strengths, they know their weaknesses, they have taken steps to address some of their weaknesses and they’ve really capitalized on their strengths. That’s one of the ways that I think students stand out. It’s by being self-aware. By knowing what the program is looking for, what the school is looking for and being able to say I can deliver that, I am multi-dimensional, or I do have strong leadership skills, or I will bring a unique attribute to your program. So there’s no particular activity or accomplishment, I think that I would say across the board will help somebody stand out. I really think it has to be personal based on their life experiences and what does make them unique, in what way can they really add a new dimension to the class or add value to the class or the school that they’re considering. I think that applicants sometimes fall into a trap of thinking I need to write or I need to say what I think the admissions team at Kellogg wants to see, or wants to hear. Versus, we want to know you, tell us all about you in your own voice, in your own story.

More information, advice and to register for your weekly MBA podcast visit mbapodcaster.com. I’m Janet Nakano for MBA Podcaster. Listen next time for another topic to help you succeed in your MBA application process and life beyond. Thanks for joining us.