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

flyingnoodle

Hi Jon,

I have been a housewife since I quit my job last year. Do you think this career gap could be a huge disadvantage? My last job was at a global consulting firm, and acutually I quit just because I want to have a rest and stay at home to take care of my family. Should I tell the true reasons when asked by schools? Or find some better explanation?

Regards,
LL

Streeter2012

Hi Jon,

I read your analysis of the HBS essay 2, the three setbacks. I would like to know does my story necessarily have a happy ending? I mean may I just write a failure as one of the three serbacks?

Best,

S

yuanyuanxin

Great! Thanks a lot!

JonFrank

Dear Jon,

What kind of long term goals are compelling enough for top 15 school?
I heard that American always prefer starting own company than working for corperate. Corperate seems to be the last way out?
Is GM for a division of a multinational grand enough for the time span of "long term"? How about senior management?

-- by 会员 needthat (2011/12/5 3:30:06)

Hello my friend—business schools need a class that has MANY different types of people.  All schools need a good mix of future consultants, general managers, and entrepreneurs.  The best bschool applications, however, are the ones that connect applicant’s past experiences to their future goals.  you should pick whichever career goal suits your PAST experiences the best—wherever it will be easiest to get a high-paying, influential job.  Make sense?


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

I have been a housewife since I quit my job last year. Do you think this career gap could be a huge disadvantage? My last job was at a global consulting firm, and acutually I quit just because I want to have a rest and stay at home to take care of my family. Should I tell the true reasons when asked by schools? Or find some better explanation?

Regards,
LL

-- by 会员 flyingnoodle (2011/12/5 14:57:46)

Hey there—yes you should tell the truth!  But…you should change it just a bit so that the adcomes respect it.  Why did you quit?  Did you just have a baby?  Was there timing involved?  If you can explain that your family NEEDED you, you will be just fine.  That is your best bet—tell the truth, but make it seem like you HAD to quit, to take care of your family.  We work with folks who have this type of work gap every year!


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

I read your analysis of the HBS essay 2, the three setbacks. I would like to know does my story necessarily have a happy ending? I mean may I just write a failure as one of the three serbacks?

Best,

S

-- by 会员 Streeter2012 (2011/12/6 14:15:57)

Hey there—and I am so glad that you found our essay analysis useful!  Yes, you do need to talk a bit about what you learned from the failure.  And ideally, you can link it somehow to a way in which you have used the lesson IN A POSITIVE WAY in the future.  Does it need to be “happy?”  No, but you do need to show that you’ve since applied these lessons, somehow, in real life.  Make sense?


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

needthat

Dear Jon,

What kind of long term goals are compelling enough for top 15 school?
I heard that American always prefer starting own company than working for corperate. Corperate seems to be the last way out?
Is GM for a division of a multinational grand enough for the time span of "long term"? How about senior management?

-- by 会员 needthat (2011/12/5 3:30:06)

Hello my friend—business schools need a class that has MANY different types of people.  All schools need a good mix of future consultants, general managers, and entrepreneurs.  The best bschool applications, however, are the ones that connect applicant’s past experiences to their future goals.  you should pick whichever career goal suits your PAST experiences the best—wherever it will be easiest to get a high-paying, influential job.  Make sense?


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2011/12/8 22:33:18)

Makes alot of sense Jon, thank you. Another question I have is whether it would be OK to write that you want to work in the US for your short-term goal for international applicants? Does that raise a question mark for the Adcom whether you can eventually land on a good job and sponsorship? Less credible and achieveble?

JonFrank

Dear Jon,

What kind of long term goals are compelling enough for top 15 school?
I heard that American always prefer starting own company than working for corperate. Corperate seems to be the last way out?
Is GM for a division of a multinational grand enough for the time span of "long term"? How about senior management?

-- by 会员 needthat (2011/12/5 3:30:06)

Hello my friend—business schools need a class that has MANY different types of people.  All schools need a good mix of future consultants, general managers, and entrepreneurs.  The best bschool applications, however, are the ones that connect applicant’s past experiences to their future goals.  you should pick whichever career goal suits your PAST experiences the best—wherever it will be easiest to get a high-paying, influential job.  Make sense?


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2011/12/8 22:33:18)

Makes alot of sense Jon, thank you. Another question I have is whether it would be OK to write that you want to work in the US for your short-term goal for international applicants? Does that raise a question mark for the Adcom whether you can eventually land on a good job and sponsorship? Less credible and achieveble?

-- by 会员 needthat (2011/12/9 0:42:51)

Hey there—no, I am not worried about that at all.  After all, most international applicants hope to stay in the US for some period of time, to learn best practices, and get additional credibility internationally.  Just be sure to list a job or types of jobs that are actually possible, even likely to get upon graduation. Management consulting, management trainee programs—all these companies DO hire international students.  You should be fine here!


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

needthat

thank you Jon

JonFrank

QUESTION:

It is OK to get two LORs from two different people at the same company? I worked with them both on different projects so they will have different things to say, but does it look bad coming from the same place? And if it’s a problem… who else can I ask? I’ve been at the same company for 5 years…

ANSWER:

Who knew LORs could be so complicated, eh? When you think about it, how hard is it to get two people to write glowing recommendations for you? But as you’ve seen here, and we’ve seen countless times, it’s not a simple as it seems.

Let’s imagine things in an ideal world, shall we? In that perfect place, you’d have two people from two different companies praising you for two completely different jobs/roles/experiences. And that would be wonderful. Of course, we don’t live in a perfect world and in your world, where you’ve worked at the same company for 5 years, that can’t happen. So… what now?

Well, if you don’t have a choice, you don’t have a choice. Get those 2 LORs from two people in the same company. Just make sure that they speak about you in different capacities. What you DON’T want is both guys talking about your part in the same project, or even the same role you held in different projects. You want them to highlight two DIFFERENT aspects of your candidacy and abilities… otherwise, why not just have one letter, right?

If that’s not possible, and sometimes it’s not, then you may want to think outside of the office for your second LOR. Now, this isn’t ideal – you are applying to BUSINESS school, after all, so having 2 professional LORs is always better – but sometimes things happen and you have to think outside the box. So find someone who can speak about you from an extra-curricular, an organization, or something that’s not your job. The key here, though, is to have them highlight stories/experiences/stuff that would still impress a b-school adcom: leadership experiences, management experiences, fundraising projects for a non-profit that were successful. Think BUSINESS… not just what a stellar guy or girl you are, or how fun you are to be around.

Now, just to make sure we’re clear here, let’s break it down nice and simple:

Ideal: 2 LORs from 2 people in 2 different companies.
Next Best: 2 LORs from 2 people in the same company that can speak on 2 different things.
Last Resort: 2 LORs from 1 professional and 1 non-professional recommender.

Got it?
Great!

Good luck,
– Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay