The 15 Traits You MUST Show in Your MBA Application Essay By: Gatekeeper MBA Essay Solutions www.gatekeeperMBA.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gatekeeper-MBA-Essay/426643690705836 MBA admission committees are not fair. They’re not going to give a second chance. And when they read your essays, they need to see a real, powerful argument as to why YOU, and not the other student, is worthy of being in their respective MBA programs. Your character matters. Universities want to see that YOU are the kind of person who will enhance the program, succeed after the program, and leave a positive legacy as an alumnus. In fact, sometimes character matters even more than grades when the committees are determining who gets in and who gets left out. Look at the program’s mission. It may say so right there! Great character alone might not be enough to get you into a program, but not having it is a death sentence for your application. So, to help, here are the 14 characteristics you must communicate well somewhere in your application essay answers. 1. Intellect Intelligence. Show the admission committee that you can think in a logical way, that you’re aware of the world around you, and that you can analyze a problem and execute a solution. How? One simple way is to show you have logical plan with an understanding of the university. Basically, have you done your research? Do you understand the university’s differentiation? Do you know what courses they’re known for? Which professors are notable? Which niche they study – and how that relates to you? If you have a full account of why you want to be in the program, and you can empathize with the people on the admission committee, you’ve done it! 2. Communication Skills This is a universally required skill in the world. On an application essay, you demonstrate that you’re eloquent by having beautiful and concise writing. It’s that simple. If you can’t write beautifully, find someone who can help you. Hire someone if you need to. 3. Leadership I spoke with one consultant from the Boston Consulting Group who told me that interviewers at the firm are trained to look for the person who stands up and confidently takes charge of a discussion in a group interview. There is a premium placed on people with highly developed leadership qualities. How do you show you’re a leader? Delegation: Show that you know how to distribute jobs, control, and duties to a team of people. Decisiveness: Show that you can make decisions in the face of uncertainty and how you do so. A leader must make difficult choices. Demonstrate when you’ve done so confidently and intelligently, while recognizing and calculating the risks involved. Flexibility: Changes happen. How do you deal with them? Can you think of an example where you had to change course because of some external influence? Responsibility: Show that you own what happens to you. You understand your role in any outcome. And you do what you have to do to make sure it succeeds. You don’t look for excuses. Conflict management: Ahh…People. There’s a reason that companies have HR departments. People are complex. Social skills are extremely valuable. Mention how this is an important element in your leadership style. 4. Contribution Ah, there is almost always a question on MBA applications about how you will contribute to the university/program/student body. In this world, there are givers and there are takers. Show that you are a giver. Demonstrate that you are eager to provide a lot to the other students, to the classes, and to the university itself (if not the entire community): Examples of contribution: ‧ If you’re from Asia, you can emphasize that you want to give classmates the opportunity to learn your language. ‧ One student we helped mentioned how she would set up an Asian studies club at the university. What original club can you set up that provides special information for students in the MBA program? ‧ Cultural insights – I’ve mentioned it before. If you’re from China, you know things about doing business in China/Taiwan/Asia that Westerners don’t. That knowledge is valuable!! It can help the careers of many of your classmates. Emphasize that you understand guanxi (关系) and you want to deliver the secrets of success in Asia to your future classmates. ‧ What NGOs, professional organizations, or charities can you work with in the neighborhood? You’re into business. Tell them you’ll join the Rotary Club. You like pets? You want to volunteer at the SPCA. Find out what is important in that city. Google the news on it. And mention how and why you’re going to help. It shows you both contribute and you’re up to date on current events in the city. 5. Direction Do you know what you want? Let’s be honest. Most people are joining the MBA program in order to improve their career options or earn more money. This might be true, but it’s not a compelling reason to permit you into the program. Show that you know what you want and you know roughly how the MBA is going to get you there. What does this show? It shows that you’re more likely to be successful. Naturally, if you know where you want to go, and you know how to get there, you’re going to be successful. And the MBA programs want alumni who are successful. They donate more. Haha, kidding! But seriously, they do. Here’s an example: I initially formulated my plan in my fourth year of university when I was considering the strengths and deficits existing in our family-owned company, and how I needed to be equipped in order to join my family firm and execute the changes necessary to expand and grow. Currently, my family business is the world’s third largest luggage manufacturing company. It performs original equipment and design manufacturing for European, Japanese, and American companies and has a brand name called Diplomat with retail stores located solely in China’s major airports. My intention has always been to gain experience at a large, established company as well as at a small- or medium-sized company in order to understand the challenges and processes at different stages of business growth, and then study, with a focus on finance, the academic frameworks that enable intelligent business decision-making before successfully guiding our company toward multi-national expansion. Upon graduation, I intend to begin the rise to a financial manager position at an international retail company, ideally in the travel product retail sector. I envision myself undertaking responsibilities such as forming pricing strategies, facilitating capital budgeting, and growing the company. My long-term goal, after accumulating several years of practical United States retail market, is to join my family business with the expertise and experience necessary to expand our luggage business worldwide with special emphasis on the United States market. Read Part 2 here: http://www.gatekeepermba.com/#!15-things-must-have/c923 or check it out on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gatekeeper-MBA-Essay/426643690705836 --

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