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

JonFrank

Hi Frank, quick question that needs your opinion on it!

How should I mitigate the negative impact from my underpaid salary? The market is not good and my employer just freeze our salary increase....

thanks!

-- by 会员 负喧高歌 (2012/9/14 12:08:15)

Hey there,
Thanks for dropping us a note here . It’s not necessarily that negative to have a low salary. Especially for international applicants. The AdCom knows that your salary is not going to be as high as American or European salary, and it’s something you really don’t need to worry about at all!
Hope this helps?



Jon Frank

careerchange

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your great efforts and contribution. I think most CDers do appreciate your work.


I have a quick question, as far as you know, which schools are more friendly and open to lawyers? Also, what do those MBA lawyers do after graduation, especially for those with PRC background, I know it really depends on their personal profile, preference and prior experience, but just want to have a general idea what kind of options we may have in the real world.


Thanks much and have a good day.

JonFrank

Hi Jon,
Deeply appreciate your advice and sharing

I have a question here:

Comparing to an early applicant in 2nd Round, would a late applicant in 1st round have a better chance?
Or basically there is hardly any difference btw 1st and 2nd round application?

Thanks a lot!

-- by 会员 liuq0008 (2012/9/16 23:10:55)

Hey there,

Well “helping” is my middle name

If you can have an application of exactly the same quality, it is better for you to apply to R1… so as early as possible always. But it shouldn’t come at the expense of the quality of your writing. let me know if there is more i could help with

Jon Frank

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your great efforts and contribution. I think most CDers do appreciate your work.


I have a quick question, as far as you know, which schools are more friendly and open to lawyers? Also, what do those MBA lawyers do after graduation, especially for those with PRC background, I know it really depends on their personal profile, preference and prior experience, but just want to have a general idea what kind of options we may have in the real world.


Thanks much and have a good day.

-- by 会员 careerchange (2012/9/20 1:23:58)

Hey there,

It’s a very good question you ask. First of all I haven’t noticed any school “having preference” for lawyers. Actually, there are very few lawyers who apply to B-school (comparatively) and from what I have seen it’s always a very appreciated background. Of course that doesn’t mean your goals don’t have to make sense! Meaning, when you apply, you shouldn’t be “abandoning” your law career, but “making best use of it” so that you can make a gentle shift into business BUILDING upon your experience. What do MBA lawyers do after graduation? Well, it depends on what sort of law you studied and your specific background. “General Counsel” for corporate entities could be one good example. Traditional consulting would also certainly fit the bill. If you have valuable PRC knowledge, you can definitely find some good work in merging business with legal consulting to offer unique insights to firms which want to do business in PRC. It’s hard to say EXACTLY without knowing your profile intimately, but hopefully this should give you some ideas.

Jon Frank

JonFrank

Question:

I’m making a career switch and my recommendation letters are coming from non-business people. Is there any advice I can give them about writing MBA LORs?

Answer:

This is a great question, especially around this time of year. The case for career switchers is always a harder one to make, and part of making that case comes from SOLID letters of recommendation.

Now, ready for a shocker? These awesome LORs that you need to wow the adcom? They don’t have to come from business people, and don’t actually need to talk about “business.”

How can that be? Well, let’s look at this reasonably, shall we? If you don’t have “business” experience, a letter of recommendation isn’t going to fix that, whether it’s from a CEO or a country doctor. So, what DOES an good LOR give you? Credibility, insight, enthusiasm, and corroboration. You don’t need a guy with an MBA to write something like that for you.

So, what kind of LOR has all of these things? Here’s a sample of what the adcom is looking for:

I can’t recommend Harvey enough for your MBA program. He is the most intelligent and creative junior technician I’ve ever worked with in my twenty years as a senior technician. I once locked him in a closet with a candy bar and a toothpick, and an hour later he walked out with a solar-powered iPad that could fly.

It never mentions “business” stuff, but it’s a STELLAR recommendation. What does this recommendation have that makes it top-notch?

Glowing, almost hyperbolic enthusiasm.
The idea that you are the BEST at whatever you do.
A CONCRETE story with an impressive achievement.
A demonstration of MBA-related skills (creativity, intelligence, problem solving, inititative).
So, if your recommender says, “But I’m not a businessman,” just tell him or her, “It’s okay, you don’t have to be.”

-Jon Frank

haiwen

Hi Jon,

I'm planning to get a recommendation letter from my previous employer, either my previous manager or the director, and I need your advice as for who to approach.

Previous manager:

Cons: he's my 'direct manager', the one who did the performance appraisal for me, but he was not working directly with me. In other words, I'm not very positive that he knew me (my posernality, my petential etc) very well. I was working in a city with another peer about two hours away from my manager's city, and he only drove to our office once two weeks or so. So he didn't really get a lot of chances to know me well. Though he got me a pretty good performance appraisal, I think the idea most likely came from my peer and the director.

Pros: he's a very nice person and very approachable. I'm sure he'll help me out if I ask him for the recommendation.

Concern: I'm worried that his LOR will be sorta general good lines like everybody else's and lack the insight of who I am or what I can do.


Previous director (my nanager's manager):

Cons: he's super busy and he's a tough guy, not very easy-going. He brought me from China to USA, but I'm not sure whether he 'likes' me or not. I'm sure he appreicates my working attitude and my performance.

Pros: he seems to know me much better. Maybe because of his seniority and experience, I think he 'reads' people better and knows who we are and what we want. If he's willing to give me a recommendation, the recommendation is probably in depth and more compelling.

Concern: I'm not sure if he's really willing to sacrifice his time to do me this favor. He may turn me down or just be perfunctory.


Jon, can you tell me who should I approach? thanks a lot!

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

I'm planning to get a recommendation letter from my previous employer, either my previous manager or the director, and I need your advice as for who to approach.

Previous manager:

Cons: he's my 'direct manager', the one who did the performance appraisal for me, but he was not working directly with me. In other words, I'm not very positive that he knew me (my posernality, my petential etc) very well. I was working in a city with another peer about two hours away from my manager's city, and he only drove to our office once two weeks or so. So he didn't really get a lot of chances to know me well. Though he got me a pretty good performance appraisal, I think the idea most likely came from my peer and the director.

Pros: he's a very nice person and very approachable. I'm sure he'll help me out if I ask him for the recommendation.

Concern: I'm worried that his LOR will be sorta general good lines like everybody else's and lack the insight of who I am or what I can do.


Previous director (my nanager's manager):

Cons: he's super busy and he's a tough guy, not very easy-going. He brought me from China to USA, but I'm not sure whether he 'likes' me or not. I'm sure he appreicates my working attitude and my performance.

Pros: he seems to know me much better. Maybe because of his seniority and experience, I think he 'reads' people better and knows who we are and what we want. If he's willing to give me a recommendation, the recommendation is probably in depth and more compelling.

Concern: I'm not sure if he's really willing to sacrifice his time to do me this favor. He may turn me down or just be perfunctory.


Jon, can you tell me who should I approach? thanks a lot!

-- by 会员 haiwen (2012/10/2 9:49:46)

Hey there,

You are asking a very tough question! Because their pros and cons of each choice almost balance out perfectly. However, my gut instinct says to go with your manager’s manager. He may be a bit less friendly, but still he should know what it is to write a recommendation and understand what is expected of him. If you get the feeling that this really wouldn’t work out, then you can fall back on your first choice. Of course, whoever writes – the most important thing is that the recommendation feel EXCITED!! So try and pull that out of whoever ends up helping you out.

All the best,

Jon Frank

transiencesisi

Hi Jon,

I'm working on Darden's ONLY ONE big essay "Share your thought process as you encountered a challenging work situation or complex problem. How did this experience change your perspective？(500 words)"

I really don't know how to address the topic and differentiate myself with only 500 words. You've got to spend quite a few words explaining the situation and describing what you actually DID because thoughts, if without actions, neither work by themselves nor help unfold the story as a whole. Therefore, I don't have much space left for "thoughts".

What do you think the adcom really want to see here? I am worried that if I'm going with a wrong focus, I will lose the only chance to differentiate myself.

Thank you very much Jon! You are always so helpful

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

I'm working on Darden's ONLY ONE big essay "Share your thought process as you encountered a challenging work situation or complex problem. How did this experience change your perspective？(500 words)"

I really don't know how to address the topic and differentiate myself with only 500 words. You've got to spend quite a few words explaining the situation and describing what you actually DID because thoughts, if without actions, neither work by themselves nor help unfold the story as a whole. Therefore, I don't have much space left for "thoughts".

What do you think the adcom really want to see here? I am worried that if I'm going with a wrong focus, I will lose the only chance to differentiate myself.

Thank you very much Jon! You are always so helpful

-- by 会员 transiencesisi (2012/10/6 20:32:37)

Oh! I LOVE being helpful. It’s my middle name. I’m kidding of course… J

But anyhow, what does the adcom want to see here? Really they want INSIGHT into the REASONING that you are using to make a decision. Of course they want to see the actions and the results too, but here they are very interested in the PROCESS that LED you to get these results. I understand that it is difficult to get this in the space allowed, but that is the challenge!!!!

Jon Frank

JonFrank

Question:

How much detail – and what kind of detail – do I need to give when talking about my short-term goals in the application essays?

Answer:

When it comes to application essays, the granddaddy of MBA app essays has GOT to be the career goals essay. This essay is the place where you tell the adcom why you need the MBA degree and why they should be the ones to give it to you. It’s the “I think I’m awesome and here’s why you should agree with me” essay. Essentially, this is your distilled sales pitch for the rest of your superstar business career. This essay is the ultimate expression of the Admissionado mantra: connect your past experience to your future goals. Needless to say, it’s the most important essay in your application.

So, when it comes to these essays, how important are details? Well, let’s say two people offer you a briefcase full of money. The first guy doesn’t tell you what kind of money or how much money is in his briefcase. The second guy says that his briefcase has $50,000 in $100 bills. Could the first guy’s briefcase have more money in it? Sure, but you’re taking a MUCH bigger gamble by accepting the briefcase from the first guy.

The lesson here? You’ve GOT to be concrete with the details. Be as specific as possible about the important aspects of your plan right after graduation. What’s that mean?

That means that you tell them three things:

Specific title and role. You’re not just going to get a job in finance. You’re going to be a Personal Financial Consultant, managing private investment portfolios and collaborating with analysts and brokers to maximize medium- to high-volume investor accounts.
Specific industry. You’re not just going into private equity. You’re going into Southeast Asian private equity in the healthcare sector.
Specific companies. You’re not just going to work for a finance consulting firm. You’re going to work for Deloitte or Ernst & Young.
Now, once you start talking more about the details of what you will do in this role, the key is emphasizing on-the-job skills and experience that LOOKS FORWARD to your long-term goals. If you’re going to be performing audits in your post-grad job, but don’t plan on doing audits in your long-term goal, don’t talk about auditing. If you want to start a venture capital firm in ten years, talk about making the important industry connections and gaining high-risk sales and management experience in your short-term goals.

Just remember, these essays (in the VAST majority of cases) have word limits, so they’re already telling you that you can’t get into TOO much detail. But make the details that you include SPECIFIC, and make them count.

– Jon Frank