Answering "Why MBA?" essay for IBD Hopefuls
Hi all,
Note: If you' don't want to read the entire post, skip to the bottom paragraph.
I'm preparing my b-school apps for the class of '18 and am seeking advice on how to angle myself given career goals. My dilemma is simple, hear me out.
For those getting an MBA for something somewhat unique and pioneering , the approach to the essay seems obvious:
"I want to create a [insert innovative idea here] leveraging the technical knowledge I gained during my time working in [insert non-businessy pre-MBA career here] and an MBA from [insert MBA program] will help me gain the skills needed to build a business from the ground up."
BUT...
The reason I'm getting an MBA, to be blunt, is because I need the top-5/top-10 MBA badge on my resume and access to on-campus recruiting in order to crack into IBD (or ideally PE/HF) . Since undergrad, I've been working in a strategy [read: internal consulting] role for a top-10 bank, initially on the consumer side (pricing deposit accounts), and now, the Commercial side (analyzing performance of portfolios of loans to middle market companies). Some overlap with IBD, very analytical role, quantitative, but I don't get any exposure to accounting or traditional financial analysis that IBD seeks.
So my question is: For someone making a career change into IBD, how would you position a career goal/"why MBA?"-themed essay? Because I can't say "I'm seeking my MBA from Wharton so that investment banks will consider hiring me as an associate because that's the only way to enter the industry without starting as a 28 year old analyst." Thanks for the responses, I'm hoping to get some advice as I'm about to start writing a bunch of these essays.
While it's true admissions committees fall all over themselves for people with a story about how they're going to solve world hunger with their mobile app start-up if they just had an MBA, there is nothing wrong with wanting to go into finance. My Why MBA essay basically said, I want to work at a hedge fund and your program is my best chance of getting into a hedge fund for x,y,z reasons. It was more personal than that but that was basically the gist and I had no problem getting in to finance focused programs.
M7 MBA here, completely agree with what MBA coach said (not a plant!)
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