Developing My Story for B-School
Want some help developing my story, at the moment I have a lot of cool experiences, but really have trouble bringing it all together for MBA.
1) Consulting at IT Healthcare for internship
2) Work experience in Tech for large company for Bus Dev (eg. Google, Facebook, etc) for internship
3) Comp/Bus Double Major
4) Software research while in undergrad
5) Working in MBB (still deciding what to focus on, any suggestions good)
6) Academic experience as part of consulting group for non-profit while in undergrad
Anyone have any suggestions for how to bring my story together or what experiences would make sense to bring it all together?
I am really interested in both consulting and getting a lot of experiences and tech, also do some non-profit on side, but I am trying to fit all those interests into something that makes sense, would be a contribution to the business school community, and help show that I am a strong candidate.
Not to discount your career achievement, but these don't really strike me as "cool" experiences.
But it seems that you like IT and consulting. Maybe you could go for how you love helping fledging software development companies get off the ground and make the world a better place. That ur experience with big cos taught u bus dev models that can make non profits very efficient and capable of creating greater good. Then add a dash of something that's actually cool (like teaching kids in Africa how to sell stuff on craigslist, thus raising some tribe's income by 500%)
non profit you can do for your ECs... are you at MBB now or what you say you are interested in it so not sure if youre in it or not
First you need to figure out why you "need" the MBA ie. what you want to do afterwards... Some form of this question pops up in all the apps. Then use your past experience to shape how you got interested in it and why you think you will be able to get the job you are looking for once you have the MBA. In my mind, thats your first task...
Then for example, if you want to work in IBD you can say that you got interested in helping Tech compaines grow during your biz dev and software stints and you think this background along with the MBA network/recruiting will help you get into this... etc
If you want to keep doing consulting draw on these expierences...
First you got to figure out what you want to do though, thats very important in the app
To me, having people on a website write your story is not going to get you into business school. It sounds like you have the tools (i.e., experience and education) so find out what makes you, you, and figure out why a business school would want to invest in you. If you can get that down on paper, you'll be able to do worlds more than someone on WSO can do for you.
To answer some questions:
Regardless of if you are thinking of a few different things (obviously not uncommon) you are going to have to pick one road and stick with it for your story... once you are in then do whatever you want but in terms of your app and interview you want to have one view of what your goals are...
In terms of how you can package your background into a good story, maybe say that you want to continue to do consulting at MBB at a higher level for a few more years post b-school and then take your background and MBA and transition into an high level position at a growing tech company and continue to work your way up to the CXO level... you can play up how your past exp. got you interested in this path, your pre-MBA consulting confirmed it, the MBA will broaden your business acumen and give you an expanded network that will do you well once you are an executive... then you can also play up that you are all about growing businesses, creating jobs and products that make businesses more efficient or improve the lives of a large population (think anti-virus or even fb, etc) and overall increase the well being of the world, etc...
This story shows that you are going to go for a job post MBA that you are likely to get (VC may seem a bit difficult) and that you are interested in "making a difference."
thanks midcoast! i think that your suggestion sounds great and also gave me some other ideas about doing more research and expanding on reasons why I can say I joined consulting to fit my story (even though some reasons may be more of an afterthought). Another question: clearly I have worked in IT and tech (they aren't exactly the same thing, but very related. eg. Bus Dev at Google is very different from Computer Programming/IT for Genentech. Any thought on how I could relate the two, other than just "interested in technology and computers"
All your "cool experiences" seem to be work / school related. You need to branch out. Hobbies / Community / Whatever -- that is what will round out your story.
My hobbies I feel are too common or too nerdy if they are not work related: I have won prizes for gaming and basketball, and certainly am not a gold medalist or anything special. I am interested in helping the community though. What are some typical community activities that careers with little time (banking/consulting) typically get involved in?
BSchool Stories (Originally Posted: 07/31/2006)
Can somebody please post your "story" of how you got into Bschool? Like what was your "wow" factor besides marks. Did you help the blind orphans in china (jk) or maybe you did. etc. I'm just trying to get a feel for what is a "good story" to make you stand out. Thanks
GPA was not fantastic but my story was working in 4 different countries and show increasing responsibilities for each promotion. Diversity and leadership is what made it for me.
Did you show this story in your essays?? OR did you let them know this during your interview? Thanks!
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