Volunteer abroad

its awesome stuff, did it 2 years in a row. But, I'm not completely sure how they look at it. During SA interviews last year, they barely asked. It was mostly more focused on work experience. But it might have helped give me interviews. But I was on executive board of my volunteer organization.

I spent sophomore summer at an MFI in sub-saharan Africa, for SA spots they loved talking about it. Haven't had a FT interview yet.

Yeah, that is what I am thinking. I don´t envision it helping too much as far as getting me in the door for an interview, but I think it could really help out once I am in an interview and able to talk about it. Just have to get one first...

There's an article in Poets and Quants that talks about common traits for HBS admits. One of those is having significant international work/volunteer experience. If international volunteer experience is viewed favorably by Harvard, it's not a stretch to assume employers will view the experience favorably as well.

Who’s Applying to HBS and Getting In?

"Explorers – Given the rapid globalization of business, HBS is placing an even greater emphasis on admitting students with diverse and international perspectives. Over a third of the HBS class continues to hail from outside of the United States, and American applicants must also strive to demonstrate significant international exposure. Applicants with lengthy and robust work/volunteer experiences abroad have a tangible advantage in the application process (sorry, study abroad programs and frequent international vacations will not cut it). If you have not worked abroad, demonstrating success on diverse/international teams is a must."

http://poetsandquants.com/2011/04/25/whos-applying-to-harvard-business-…

I def can - I'm a NYer but worked and lived in Asia for 3 years. I have a friend who runs an orphanage in Cambodia.

Can guarantee it will be one of the best trips of your life (its safe relax).

Message me if you want more info

On your resume, a couple of thoughts: - formatting wise, I would use a more standard font (Arial, Times New Roman). - This is semantics but I don't think "Multinational" the way you used it is the best choice of words / correct usage. "International" would be more standard. 1) Multinational usually means involving several (more than 1) countries, whereas you only have 1 experience abroad (at least listed so far) and 2) Multinational is frequently used as in "Multinational corporation/company"-- a company or entity operating in multiple countries-- which isn't precisely what you're trying to convey

haha thats a good reason to volunteer...

My uncle was one of the VPs of sustainable harvest international, they do a lot of latam microfinance/sustainable farming practice stuff that is aimed at getting agrarian communities up to par -- have them do a lot of organic growing and the like to substantially boost their incomes YoY. but i think the majority of the short term trips are generally (across the board) paid for by the visitor that comes to help and learn. look up 'voluntourism'

Brady, just go to Vietnam, bang some hookers and take pictures with poor kids and tell the adcoms that you built a hut or something.

This.

Booth has a powerpoint presentation for their applications? That's ridiculous...

What's next? Probably video demo reels/resumes like Aleksey Vayner...

It's getting harder to take business schools seriously.

waitlists at booth have to make a video reel :)

its not all supposed to be quantifiable jerkoffs ;[

shorttheworld:

waitlists at booth have to make a video reel :)

its not all supposed to be quantifiable jerkoffs ;[

Yeah, a lot of people don't quite get what the mba admissions process is about.

Considering that about 30%of Top 10 MBAs head into consulting, which is one massive PPT marathon, it's not at all far-fetched to see how MBA candidates make their case in that format. If you're given flexibility to present yourself and you fail to exploit that leeway, I can't imagine you masterfully handling ambiguity in the workplace, which is where it really matters (and mind you, nailing the PPT doesn't guarantee any kind of success, but flubbing it definitely isn't complimentary to your abilities). Some Europeans and Asians still think it's absurd to write essays. To each their own. This isn't Law School.

I hate the Booth PowerPoint, and if I get waitlisted in R2 I will hate the video even more. The fact is Booth is a nerdy school and they are forcing themselves way too much to become a colorful school.

Brady you can go do one of these: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100014240529702035032045770399802432326…

Go take a crash course in animal husbandry http://www.heifer.org/

You can tell the adcom interviewers that 'you were thinking about HBS while you were elbow deep in a cows twat' that should work.

i actually think heifer is pretty cool despite the 'trivialism' of buying cows and oxen

Brady, dog, lets go save Cheetahs man. You can pet them also.

HBS Admissions: Tell me about some charity work you did

Brady: I fucking saved Cheetahs and have videos of me playing with them

HBS admissions: You are in bro. Naked girls are in the bio lab, here are HBS condoms.

I don't know dude. I mentally masturbate to Oxford daily.

Brady, I thought you were a Harvard man? What is the wharton or booth story?

Checking your background (HF), I would question why you want to go into wharton. Why not EDHEC, MIT-Sloan, etc. Those programs are definitely more math oriented.

And as far as admission standards go... If you really want a challenge, try applying to IIT (Indian Institute of Technology). Dare say the most difficult MBA programme to get into in the world.

Relinquis, the st.lucia volunteer trip on the globalvolunteers site looks pretty cool. It's only like a week, but it costs $2800. Not sure if it's worth it. Hard to figure out if that experience could help me at all with b-school applications.

I'm already involved in a few community service stuff here in chicago, with leadership position in one of them. But I feel like I need to do something really cool or "exotic" to stand out.

Your CV/resume (a two-pager is iffy unless you're a VP, and at that point, b-school is usually beneath you) is already an INTEGRAL part of the application and virtually no one is admitted without an interview. They are usually set for 30 min but virtually all of mine spilled over to the one hour mark, with the longest being 1h 45m. Most rejected MBA business schools">M7 applicants are already qualified for admission on the basis of professional experience and intellectual ability (Wharton has stated in the past that 3/4ths of their applicants are qualified); this is about selection, not mere qualification. I recommend you do more research because most of your statements are poorly supported (if at all) by reality, with the exception of your having identified the various essay questions as marketing moves, which of course they are (HBS and its 3 greatest achievements, Stanford's what matters the most to you essay, etc). All businesses have a marketing strategy and education is a business.

Brady, short's recommendation to you makes sense. So does Relinquis's about doing more in your home city and embedding that into your daily life.

jtb, you think voluntourism makes more sense than the global volunteer thing in st.lucia? If so, why?

Thanks.

jtbbdxbnycmad,

I agree with your latest post. I recognise that the system is set up this way and I'm jumping through the requisite hoops. I want an MBA business schools">M7 MBA so will play their game, but I'll still make fun of the process (I really hope my references fill out their online forms before the year end...).

I'm actually in a grey area as I have about 7 years or so under my belt have moved beyond the entry level MBA roles in my sector, but I see the long term value in the degree / branding. If I don't do my own thing post-MBA and I return to my sector I'll be aiming for VP/Director level roles.

In the past I was told directly that I should get an MBA / Masters by MDs/Partners who wanted to hire me for really good roles (BB IBD, top tier boutique IBD and SWFs). I held off going for an MBA as I was potentially able to make a significant amount of money at my role at the time. I knew it was a trade-off.

Brady, My advice to you is to not put off doing an MBA if you know it's what you want. Sooner is better than later. Can you make it for round 2 apps this year? As for the St. Lucia trip. Do it if you think it'll be cool whether B-School admins like it or not and you think it's worth your money. $2,800 spent creatively could have an impact on folks in your town.

www.biosphere-expeditions.org

$2600 for 2 weeks in Nambia with wild cats. And a Rhino.

Since it is charity, deduct it from your taxes also.

Bang, real simple. Go get involved with the Chicago zoo (http://www.lpzoo.org/support) and then do one of these conservationist trips. You can spin a story about how you are involved with the zoo and you did this trip to save XYZ in your spare time. Throw in some pics of you with a tiger or something and you are set.

brady -- i think the trips for sustainable harvest are liek 1400. and you learn about apiaries or growing cocoa and shit liek that which is interesting but im a foodie so i might be biased

Here you go Brady:

http://escapethecity.org/opportunities

Since I gave you this link, when you go to HBS and I go to Sloan, I expect you to look at me as an equal and not as an inferior being.

http://www.volunteerinternational.org/resources.html

Thanks for all the links guys. I really appreciate it!

This is the trip i'm thinking of doing. Thanks to short for his recommendation.

http://sustainableharvest.org/upcoming-tour-schedule/smaller-world-sche…

I have a strong career interest in commodities, so this trip jives well with that and will reinforce my narrative. Moreover, as opposed to the st.lucia trip, which can easily be perceived by adcom as a glorified luxury volunteer trip, this one would be spent in rural honduras with no indoor plumbing or electricity. So I can definitely spin this into a compelling essay or powerpoint. I will make sure to take a lot of pictures with the poor kids and villagers, so I can add them to my powerpoint for booth next year.

^^^ "I will make sure to take a lot of pictures with the poor kids and villagers, so I can add them to my powerpoint for booth next year."

Jeez, talk about being a shallow tool...hope you catch some Hep C bro.

This thread is staggering. Brady, where does it end ...

Thanks for sharing the information with us..

I particularly like the European B school set up. Students are older, more international and the program is usually only one year long. Much like law school could do away with that 3rd year, I think business school could do away with the 2nd year. I realize that it is a much needed vacation for bankers, but considering that they are a small part of the group it shouldn't really factor.

Why on earth would you pay $2800 for a volunteer trip? Half the reason these things exist is because you can fund raise and have other people pay for it. The only money you should be putting up is a token amount to show donors that you are committed to the cause.

Why not pay for it? Because you can get others to pay for it.

Why not do it? Because adcoms know exactly what these trips are and this will almost certainly not be the deciding factor in your admission. The level of shallowness with which you are approaching the decision to participate in one of these programs virtually guarantees that it won't be any sort of life changing experience for you, but maybe you'll get there and something unexpected will happen.

Personally, I would focus on building either some sort of a tangible skill like a language, which would require more than a two week trip, or a track record of business accomplishment. I think that's what adcoms would appreciate, but I don't know that for sure.

http://www.projects-abroad.org/projects/

Phenomenal resource for international volunteering.

ANT, good point.

I'm currently mentoring an inner-city kid through a non-profit group, and i've done a lot of teaching in the past. You think an international trip involving teaching kids will work better?

I talked to a few trusted friends last night about this and have decided against it. My heart is just not in it; hence, even if I were to go I probably would not get much out of it, and my essays will reek of inauthenticity and a tone of self-righteousness. My good friend told me, "don't do something ONLY because you think it will hep you get into b-school, and you would never have done it otherwise." I think that's sound advice.

Why are you writing your own essays? Pay someone man.

I'm thinking of using this site to plan something for the summer, plenty of volunteer opportunities in South Africa

http://www.aviva-sa.com/index.php

I did a two week volunteering stint in India with International Volunteer Headquarters. The cost of the program was $500 and included three meals a day and a place to live. I'll be honest, my decision to volunteer abroad was partially motivated by my desire to beef my up MBA app. I did, however, get a lot out of it, both personally and in preparing for business school. If you have questions about volunteering abroad, PM me. I did a lot of research prior to going and would be happy to share.

For all you finance types interested in volunteering abroad...

"Investours is a start-up non-profit organization which combines the power of microfinance and tourism in the form of "microfinance tours." Developing the concept for the first time, the founders of Investours ran a successful pilot program in Oaxaca, Mexico. We learned from our pilot program that these tours have the power to change the lives of microentrepreneurs, allowing them to invest in their lives, families, and communities in a way they couldn't before. And these tours have the power to change the lives of our tour participants, allowing them to engage first-hand in the poverty-fighting phenomenon that is microfinance.

Now, we are working hard to bring this incredible form of socially-conscious tourism all over the developing world. We currently offer regular tours in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and in the Puerto Vallarta area, Mexico. This year, we hope to expand our program to include other exciting places! Let us know if you are planning a trip to Dar or Vallarta, or if you think you can help us out in any way. Otherwise, stay tuned for updates as we grow – we look forward to welcoming you to the Investours family!"

http://investours.org/

Hi Brady4MVP,

Going there for research work, project and internship is more advisable then for community works to showcase you have worked in international atmosphere. You need to be building up these aspects over a period of time some make sure you plan things well if you don’t have enough ECA already. All the best!

Hi Brady4MVP,

Going there for research work, project and internship is more advisable then for community works to showcase you have worked in international atmosphere. You need to be building up these aspects over a period of time some make sure you plan things well if you don’t have enough ECA already. All the best!

As amusing it is to read Brady's MBA related threads, this is a topic that has been on my mind ever since I got accepted to a couple MSF programs. I already have a fair amount of volunteering experience as well as a track record of holding leadership positions and continue to do so but I always wondered just how useful is this whole voluntourism experience.

You go to some third-world country, pay a couple grand to play cards with orphans or track turtles and return after two to four weeks. Seems like ad coms should be smart enough to smell through the bullshit when you do this once and right before the anticipated start date of the program.

I was thinking of going abroad this summer to do something along those lines, and given my past experience, I don't think it would be miscontrued as a way to gain international volunteering experience as I have already shown a history of that. I have reservations about it though and also toyed with the idea of just tagging along with a couple of friends to the Caribbean region and finding a manual labor job in a port while volunteering in my free time. One of the people coming along has already done that so it'll be a lot easier to get things off the ground and the whole purpose of the trip would really be just to make some money, maybe network with the tourist yacht owners and actually give back to the community outside of my town while expanding my cultural awareness of that particular region.

Unless I hear back from Villanova of course, in which case I'm starting in May...

Brady, I think doing something at the local zoo shouldn't be too hard to pick up, not to mention nearly every chick loves animals to death so this could be a "two birds with one stone" kind of a deal. You'll save money, it will look much more genuine, easy to explain and you can add on to it later with something abroad. As the poster above mentioned, don't just volunteer in a general way. See if they need help with a project or something concrete that you can elaborate on. I know you're only thinking of this to add another dimension to your profile, but you're intelligent enough to realize that if you're actually passionate about whatever it is that you want to engage yourself in, it'll be an exponentially better experience for you and that will come across in the interview. You might even find a new interest or meet someone great.

If you're already in business, why don't you try something else entirely? In college we had these feed the homeless days where you went in and made sandwiches and then handed them out to the homeless, which was always pretty cool. Not saying you HAVE to do that, but it got me out of my bubble for a while and made me more appreciative of my life.

Interested in this as well, afid seems good but it looks like they only take CPAs/practicing accountants?