Ask Jon Frank- P69-Q&A:WHY MBA? 7 OVERLOOKED REASONS TO GET AN MBA

JonFrank

Hi Jon, I've been following your tips for long. Thank you so much for the generous sharing! I believe all of us appreciate that a lot! Wanna ask a general question: Some schools' essays or interviews would ask about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate. "ay too much attention to details" and "pursue perfection" are attributes that are being talked about too often. But for "too little experience", it might not be appropriate if the weakness should be a personality one. Therefore, wonder what do you think are the good answers here? Anything that can be improved via MBA program and at the same time are real weaknesses? Many thanks!

-- by 会员 jueasign (2010/12/12 20:14:30)

Hey there!  Rather than get into the details here, I wanna share our general approach to strengths and weaknesses.  We all have strengths.  That’s easy. Lets call out two for example: creativity, and friendliness.  Just as an example.  THE BEST WEAKNESSES ARE THE ONES THAT REFLECT ASPECTS OF YOUR STRENGTHS.  Now.  This does NOT mean that you should talk about a strength, and try to pretend that it is a weakness.  That is a horrible idea!  What it means is that you should think about what logical weaknesses someone with your strengths would have.  So take “creativity.”  I am very creative. What is a logical weakness?  Well…I lose sight of the details.  Too busy being visionary.  Or take “friendliness.”  I am very friendly.  So what would a good weakness be?  “I have trouble saying no to people.”  Or even, “I take things too personally.”  Those are REAL weaknesses, but they shed some light on your strengths.  So that’s how we like to approach these questions.  Good luck!


Jon Frank

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

The Wharton essay " if you were able to create a Wharton course on any topic, what would it be?"  I don't understand what they really want you to say here. Could you give me some insight?

The other one " discuss a time when you navigated a challenging experience in either a personal or professional relationship".  Here the "relationship" refers to the relationship between people, right?  Can you give me some insight about what i need to address in this essay?   Thank you very much.

-- by 会员 chengya (2010/12/12 12:20:27)

Hey there!  First of all, make sure to check out our website—we do have analysis on most of the schools’ essays.  But let me try to shed some light here.  As you write your Course essay, keep in mind that other people need to want to take the class.  So…if you are a specialist in traffic studies, for example, you might be tempted to make a class in “Traffic Studies.”  That way, you could write an essay aaaaall about your expertise.  But here’s the thing—your classmates would need to WANT to take the class.  Right?  Why would your Wharton classmates care about “Traffic Studies?”  Instead, you may need to make the traffic class RELEVENT to everyone else.  “The Business of Traffic in the Developing World.”  Now THAT sounds cool—that could be relevant to many of your peers.  Right?  Anyone interested in China, India, developing markets, entrepreneurs, you get the idea.  So that’s one of the keys to this Wharton essay, remember—it has to be a class that people will wanna take.  J  And yes, the answer to your other question is that the relationship will most likely be between people.  They wanna see how you deal with difficult interpersonal circumstances.  They wanna know that you can solve problems not just w the company, but also…with people.
Good luck!


Jon Frank

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2010/12/13 0:08:31)

Thanks for your advice, Jon. I read the articles on your website. They are really great. But I still have a question on this Course essays. What I should write there? Explain the content of the course? or explain why I want to create this course? What kinds of business mind should show here,  leadership (doesn't sounds like), innovative thinking or others?


I can think of a course I want to create, but I am not sure what kind of content I should write about this essays? BTW, i am in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry.  Thank you very much.

-- by 会员 chengya (2010/12/13 9:52:50)

Oookay.  Lets get a bit more specific.  Beyond the fact that you need to make the course approachable to lots of peers, you also need to get good and specific.  So for example, how many modules will the class have?  Who will teach it?  What will the grading process be?  Why?  How will the course be laid out?  Case studies?  Will there be a field trip?  Describe a real course here—don’t just get lazy.
Now.  One other thing that you CAN do, if you wanna get fancy, is find a way to talk more about your passion, background, interests, etc.  After all, to do that in the 300 words only (essay 1) would be quite hard.  But always fight the urge to be so specific that nobody (but you) would take that class.
Hope this helps…and good luck!


Jon Frank

honeybutter

Hi Jon,

Thank you for helping here.  I think all the applicants here will be grateful for your inputs.  Most of your answers gave me insights to the application process.

If you got the chance to choose between Columbia, Harvard and Wharton, which would you pick? Is location really important to recruiting and school life? Please do a simple summary of the comparision among these 3 schools. such as pros and cons.

Regards,
christy

-- by 会员 honeybutter (2010/12/13 13:27:32)

Christy, happy to offer up some thoughts here.  Well I would pick…Harvard of course.  After all, that is where I went.  I got into all the schools you mentioned, and chose Harvard because of its reputation, network, and being surrounded by the smartest people…on earth.  Next I would pick Wharton—it has a slightly better reputation than CBS, although still not quite as competitive (or exclusive) as Harvard.  But it is great for finance, and international aspects also.  While Im not a huge fan of specialized programs (real estate, Lauder, etc.) it does offer some benefits in those areas as well.  And finally, there is CBS.  Great access in NYC especially, although not a ton of school spirit.  Remember tho, CBS is VERY hard to get into at this stage of the game—they’ve already accepted a BIG chunk of their class.  As of today, Wharton is most likely the easiest (of the schools you’ve listed) to get into.  J Good luck!


Jon Frank

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2010/12/14 0:16:47)

Thank you for your reply. I learned a lot from your thread!
Let's see, Boston is about 4 hrs to NYC, Philly 2 hrs.  So, isn't CBS has some recruiting and intern advantage here? since most financial companies are located in NYC.  Also, I remember second round deadline for CBS is Jan. 6 and Wharton is Jan. 5. They both only have 3 rounds. Why you say CBS admitted large chunk of their class already while Wharton still have a chance?

If I add Stanford, LBS, INSEAD to the list, can you do some explain on the pros and cons as well?  I have a finance background and want to find a job in banking after graduation.  But at the same time I like to get some exposure in business school to global business and entrepreneurship just in case in the future opportunities coming up, I can be my own boss one day. Thank you.

honeybutter

Hi, Jon

Here is another question for you from my friend.  How to do the explaination of work gap for a housewife for more than one year if she decides to go back to school and gets her MBA? She had almost 4 years w/e in finance industry and two master degrees both in science and finance before her off work. Any extra infor needed to answer the question? Thanks.

-- by 会员 honeybutter (2010/12/13 13:53:18)

Hey there!  This is…a bit hard to manage.  But if I were you?  I would be…100% honest about it.  I took time off to raise a family.  And this is a benefit to my class—I learned work life balance, I learned AAA and BBB.  Now, beyond just the work life balance stuff, I would also make a point that you did other stuff during this time too.  Like…taking classes?  Learning a language?  What did you do to better yourself during this time?  Hopefully, you have soooomething that you can point to here.  In that way, you can split your answer into two.  Family stuff, and then work-ish stuff.  Not ‘worl’ in the traditional sense, but ways that you were bettering yourself while you stayed home.  Hope this helps!


Jon Frank

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2010/12/14 0:21:34)

Hi Jon, If I show I learned photography, travel, fashion and cooking during the year which are all not workish or job related, will diversified hobbies imply the applicant is distracted?  Will too many hobbies hurt?

BTY, I doubt any housewife will sharpen her excel or financial skills daily.

honeybutter

Hi Jon, Out of curiosity, do you have a profile on linkedin I can take a look?

honeybutter

Hi, suppose a guy has worked for three years. He changed his job function and company each year. it's not the typical job responsibilities growth in one company pattern. How to make the change sounds more reasonable and encouraging? If his job involves three different areas in finance but not investment banking, can he set his after graduation goal as investment banker? How to make the jump sounds more convincing to adcom? Thank you for the help.

JonFrank

Hi, Jon

Here is another question for you from my friend.  How to do the explaination of work gap for a housewife for more than one year if she decides to go back to school and gets her MBA? She had almost 4 years w/e in finance industry and two master degrees both in science and finance before her off work. Any extra infor needed to answer the question? Thanks.

-- by 会员 honeybutter (2010/12/13 13:53:18)

Hey there!  This is…a bit hard to manage.  But if I were you?  I would be…100% honest about it.  I took time off to raise a family.  And this is a benefit to my class—I learned work life balance, I learned AAA and BBB.  Now, beyond just the work life balance stuff, I would also make a point that you did other stuff during this time too.  Like…taking classes?  Learning a language?  What did you do to better yourself during this time?  Hopefully, you have soooomething that you can point to here.  In that way, you can split your answer into two.  Family stuff, and then work-ish stuff.  Not ‘worl’ in the traditional sense, but ways that you were bettering yourself while you stayed home.  Hope this helps!


Jon Frank

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2010/12/14 0:21:34)

Hi Jon, If I show I learned photography, travel, fashion and cooking during the year which are all not workish or job related, will diversified hobbies imply the applicant is distracted?  Will too many hobbies hurt?

BTY, I doubt any housewife will sharpen her excel or financial skills daily.

-- by 会员 honeybutter (2010/12/14 4:03:05)

Ha!  I am quite sure you’re right, although my mom always was responsible for balancing the check book every month.  J  I wasn’t suggesting that a mom would be doing financial analysis—only that if we can show some targeted passion—perhaps pursuing a modest arts career on the side, leading some community activities, etc.  THAT is the stuff that we would like to talk about.  In the instances where we have worked with housewives successfully, there has always been something beyond “just staying home” to discuss.  Some projects to speak of.  Not a bunch of hobbies, but one or two targeted ones.  Something that she has accomplished.  That would be ideal, anyway…

jueasign

Thanks much Jon! It helps a lot!!

JonFrank

Hi Jon, Out of curiosity, do you have a profile on linkedin I can take a look?

-- by 会员 honeybutter (2010/12/14 5:57:30)

Hey there!  Sadly no, I don’t do Linked In.  But I can walk you through my resume quickly.  I graduated from Brown University in 1999.  From there, I worked with ING Real Estate in NYC for two years, before going out to Cincinnati to work for a real estate development company out there.  I built about 1,000 units of new construction across the US during those two years, before going to HBS.  After graduating from HBS, I worked at Trammell Crow Residential for 2 years.  It was there that I founded , but I still worked another job for three more years, after I moved to Chicago working for another RE Development firm, Village Green.  When grew so quickly (about 18 months ago) I quit my real estate job (I had been promoted to Vice President), bought a few multifamily buildings here in town (which I redeveloped and now manage) and now I run full time—and we just got back from doing a speaking tour in China!  Feel free to drop me a line if youd like more info about me…


Jon Frank

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

Thank you for helping here.  I think all the applicants here will be grateful for your inputs.  Most of your answers gave me insights to the application process.

If you got the chance to choose between Columbia, Harvard and Wharton, which would you pick? Is location really important to recruiting and school life? Please do a simple summary of the comparision among these 3 schools. such as pros and cons.

Regards,
christy

-- by 会员 honeybutter (2010/12/13 13:27:32)

Christy, happy to offer up some thoughts here.  Well I would pick…Harvard of course.  After all, that is where I went.  I got into all the schools you mentioned, and chose Harvard because of its reputation, network, and being surrounded by the smartest people…on earth.  Next I would pick Wharton—it has a slightly better reputation than CBS, although still not quite as competitive (or exclusive) as Harvard.  But it is great for finance, and international aspects also.  While Im not a huge fan of specialized programs (real estate, Lauder, etc.) it does offer some benefits in those areas as well.  And finally, there is CBS.  Great access in NYC especially, although not a ton of school spirit.  Remember tho, CBS is VERY hard to get into at this stage of the game—they’ve already accepted a BIG chunk of their class.  As of today, Wharton is most likely the easiest (of the schools you’ve listed) to get into.  J Good luck!


Jon Frank

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2010/12/14 0:16:47)

Thank you for your reply. I learned a lot from your thread!
Let's see, Boston is about 4 hrs to NYC, Philly 2 hrs.  So, isn't CBS has some recruiting and intern advantage here? since most financial companies are located in NYC.  Also, I remember second round deadline for CBS is Jan. 6 and Wharton is Jan. 5. They both only have 3 rounds. Why you say CBS admitted large chunk of their class already while Wharton still have a chance?

If I add Stanford, LBS, INSEAD to the list, can you do some explain on the pros and cons as well?  I have a finance background and want to find a job in banking after graduation.  But at the same time I like to get some exposure in business school to global business and entrepreneurship just in case in the future opportunities coming up, I can be my own boss one day. Thank you.

-- by 会员 honeybutter (2010/12/14 3:36:39)

Hey there!  Yes, you are 100% correct.  CBS does have an advantage with the companies that are located in NYC of course, just as Stanford has an advantage with CA firms and HBS has an advantage with Boston firms. So in finance, where most US companies are based in NYC, Columbia is in great shape.  And yes, the reason CBS is hard to get into at this stage of the game, is that they have accepted a bunch of folks ED.  We know one guy who got into HBS and Stanford in Round 2…but was wait listed by CBS!  So that happens every year. INSEAD is a VERY cool program, and truly international. We send some clients there every year…and they LOVE it!  So I would recommend it for sure, especially since many Chinese applicants don’t apply. Same with LBS, although that app is tough!  Hope this helps, and good luck!


Jon Frank