Today I'm respondent a question that's extremely common in the universe of business school finishings. MBA hopeful William contacted me with this conundrum:
"Hi Stacy, I believe that I'm a strong so-and-sodidate for a concealment business school. The problem is that when I look around me, close to of the people that I pick out, who also graduated from a cash in one's chips school and engage a high-powered job, ar also qualified. I struggle with how to make myself erect out from my peers when we truly don't invitem all that different."
Like countless others, William is undervaluing his uniqueness. Prospective students often fainthearted a delegacy from sharing small exclusively important elaborate closely themselves that can help them stand out from the crowd. They think, "Admissions committees don't wishing to hear nigh that side of me," or "Business schools don't destiny people who are interested in that." Or, "If I converse about this, it will sound like I'm boasting."
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It's time to live over all of that. If you indirect request to do well in the admissions operation, you have to communicate who you are, not on the dot what you do. Bruce DelMonico, director of MBA admissions at Yale University School of Management, isn't kidding when he says the high hat tip is to simply be yourself.
"This sounds obvious, but many a(prenominal) applicants get tripped up trying to get within our heads. Don't outthink yourself. Tell us about what you care about, not what you think we want to hear," he wrote.
Here are three tips to keep in mind if you play yourself falling into a rut thinking that you as an individual are the same as on a one-page résumé:
1. Tell your personal story: Whether in opus the essay or during an interview, every time you talk about what you've done, also tell why. Share the things in support that exalt you, what matters to you, or what moved you to make the decisions you have made.
Derrick Bolton, director of MBA admissions at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, has said the best advice is: Don't try to stand out.
"I think standing out is a spin-off of telling your story in a really innate and compelling way. It takes some reflection," he told the Wall Street Journal.
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If you have trouble getting started, try creating a "brag weather sheet" for inspiration. While the résumé is a solely nonrecreational document, the brag sheet is the opposite. This manuscript talks about who you are outside of your headmaster career and discusses information about your family, passions, and obstacles.
You can make your own sheet by answering questions such as: How many languages are you fluent in? How many countries have you traveled to? Does your family have any interesting traditions? collect you encountered and overcome any significant obstacles in your life? at once you have filled out your brag sheet, you can relegate through it and select the themes that resonate most.
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2. Tell what you value and believe in: Business schools really do want to know who you are—the whole you—not just you as a professional. You want to present a balanced, all-around(prenominal) human being who has many dimensions to contribute to an MBA class. When you talk about your love of basketball or your concern for global warming, rationalize why those subjects are meaningful to you.
"Often times, applicants belittle [or] put down their hobbies," said Megan Solinger, assistant director of admissions of the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University, in a recent live chat on standing out in MBA admissions.
"This is a great way to highlight some uniquely defining characteristics and experiences you've had that make you, you! neck that there is no 'cookie cutter' student we're looking for, and when we're developing a class, we want diversity. We want people with various educational and professional backgrounds, non-traditional students, and those who have done some interesting things in their life [or] career," Solinger said.
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3. Add some personality: Top b-schools know you have the credentials; the essays offer them a chance to see your personality. You may not be a natural writer, but that doesn't mean you can't make an effort to inject some desire and empathy, or talk about your vision or your fears. denudate back the layers a little bit, because talking about what's inside is what will differentiate you from all of the other analysts and engineers in the applicant pool.
To paraphrase Jay-Z, there's nobody built like you—you designed yourself. persist in that in mind as you're going through this process and you'll be able to submit a distinct application that reflects who you really are.
Materials taken from US News
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