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

Netherlander

Dear john,I'd appreciate if you could help to provide a comment on my questions:


First, I only got a 3.0 GPA in my undergraduate degree,,GMAT 770+5.5 as well as TOEFL 108+, is it possible for me to target schools such as Ross or Duke as my dream school?  I am kinda depressed about my lower GPA


Second, now I am working in supply chain function in manufacturing industry, is it okay to state my career goal as " working in general management in high-tech industry OR come back to manufacturing industry". Is it okay to simultaneously state two possible industries in the essay?


thanks a lot, my friend?

负喧高歌

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!

JonFrank

Dear john,I'd appreciate if you could help to provide a comment on my questions:


First, I only got a 3.0 GPA in my undergraduate degree,,GMAT 770+5.5 as well as TOEFL 108+, is it possible for me to target schools such as Ross or Duke as my dream school?  I am kinda depressed about my lower GPA


Second, now I am working in supply chain function in manufacturing industry, is it okay to state my career goal as " working in general management in high-tech industry OR come back to manufacturing industry". Is it okay to simultaneously state two possible industries in the essay?


thanks a lot, my friend?

-- by 会员 Netherlander (2012/9/13 10:47:23)

Hello there friend!!
So, first of all: Stop worrying!
You have decent grades, and an AMAZING GMAT. You have done the best thing possible to make up for your lower GPA by getting your GMAT score, and the schools you mentioned above are TOTALLY POSSIBLE!!!! J

So, now all you have to do is make an amazing application and apply. Let me know if there is more i could help with


Jon Frank

liuq0008

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!

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!