What’s up, everyone. The email below is from a teacher who is interested in applying to International Business programs. This is a totally new area because I didn’t look at any programs that focused on that area, so I hope he still finds my perspective useful…even if it is admittedly somewhat uninformed.
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JR wrote:
“Marquis –
First of all, great blog. I just found it and it’s the best thing I’ve found yet regarding my situation.
I’m in the process of applying to MBA programs as a career change. I’ve been a teacher for 3 years now, but I’m ready to do something else. My undergrad degree is in Economics and I interned at a commercial real estate company in college, so I have some (albeit not much) background in business. I also went back to school last summer to take additional undergrad business programs.
I know I want to pursue a degree in International Business, so I’m only applying to programs that have strong international programs (Thunderbird and South Carolina are my top choices right now). I’m also not applying to top 10 schools, but the admissions are still somewhat competitive. I did teach in Germany one summer, so I have work experience outside the country. I think it’s difficult to say, however, exactly what I want to do after I finish an MBA (consulting, banking,etc.) and I’m worried about that.
In your opinion, is it enough to state in my essays that I need an MBA to work in International Business? Or do I need to find a more specified focus? I realize it’s a difficult question to answer, but I’m not sure what my next step needs to be.
Thanks for any reply,
JR”
——————-
My response:
JR,
Thanks for checking out my blog and reaching out to me as a resource. I’m sorry for taking so long to get back to you with a response. The past month has been really busy and I’m seriously behind on emails from readers. I didn’t apply to any International Business programs, so I didn’t really look into your target programs, but I’ve been thinking about your issue and I have some ideas that might be helpful. I hope I’m not getting back to you too late for anything I say here to be useful.
So, I’ll start with a quick response to your question of “In your opinion, is it enough to state in my essays that I need an MBA to work in International Business?” And, remember…I’ve never worked in an MBA admissions office, so my opinion doesn’t have any foundation in experience reviewing applications. In short, the answer to your questions is “no”…I don’t think it is sufficient to say that you need an MBA to work in International Business because that really isn’t true. If you were so inclined, you could leave teaching and take an entry-level job that would expose you to international business, but that wouldn’t be preferable, right? Of course not…you’d probably rather go into that kind of job at a higher level, which you might need the MBA for given that your previous work experience is in Education. Given this, it might be worth it for you to come up with a more specified focus for your application essays and this sounds like it’s where you’re stuck.
Unfortunately, I can’t advise you on what to describe as you future career direction for the purpose of your B-school apps. But, if you think through the following components of your overall “story”, it might help you in coming up with something more specific worth writing about in your essays:
- Who: Before even laying out the question, we know that the obvious answer here is “YOU”, but that’s not the important part. What’s important is who you are now and how is that person different than the guy who started teaching three years ago. What has changed in that time that is making you want to transition into business? Did you lose the passion for teaching? If so, why and how has it affected your professional outlook? These are the questions you’ll want to ask when trying to figure out who “you” are presenting yourself as in the applications.
- What: What is your end goal here? This is the part that you seem to be having the most trouble with and it probably isn’t sufficient to say that you want an MBA or want to work in International Business…both of these are implied by the fact that you’re applying to international business programs. Is the issue that you’re not sure of the industry, job role, or some other characteristic of what you’d pursue after business school? If this is the case, you could go with something general like aspiring to become “a CEO of a multi-national corporation with operations in Europe” or something like that, but, even if you aren’t 100% clear on your end goal, you should press yourself to come up with something that you can work into your overall ‘story’ for the purposes of your application.
- When: What you’re mainly looking for here is a reason for why now is the right time for you to be going to business school? Would you be better suited moving into business school in another year or two? Are you sure that now is the right time to be pursuing something new? Have you topped out in terms of what you could get on your current career track? You’ll want to make sure that you’re doing this at the optimal time and then make the admissions officer see now as the optimal time for you too.
- Where: Where do you want to do your MBA and why? It sounds like you’ve got your list of target schools selected and are going for the top International Business programs in the US, but why are you targeting International business programs in particular. You could probably get an international position coming out of a more generally-focused MBA program, so what is it about schools like your target ones that appeal to you? Are there specific courses and or experiences that they offer which you find especially attractive? Are you trying to build a specific network of professionals with a similar focus on International Business? Being crystal clear on this point might help you in coming up with a more specific future career focus that’ll play well for these International Business programs.
What I’ve said above might not answer your question exactly, but I thought you might find it helpful in thinking through your B-school application story, especially if you can’t come up with a definite answer for what you want to do after B-school. Just remember that many B-school grads end up doing something totally different than what they stated in their application essays, so don’t feel like you’re wedded to a direction just because you wrote your essays about it.
Take care and good luck with your Bschool applications. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you.
-Marquis
——————-
JR wrote:
“Marquis –
First of all, great blog. I just found it and it’s the best thing I’ve found yet regarding my situation.
I’m in the process of applying to MBA programs as a career change. I’ve been a teacher for 3 years now, but I’m ready to do something else. My undergrad degree is in Economics and I interned at a commercial real estate company in college, so I have some (albeit not much) background in business. I also went back to school last summer to take additional undergrad business programs.
I know I want to pursue a degree in International Business, so I’m only applying to programs that have strong international programs (Thunderbird and South Carolina are my top choices right now). I’m also not applying to top 10 schools, but the admissions are still somewhat competitive. I did teach in Germany one summer, so I have work experience outside the country. I think it’s difficult to say, however, exactly what I want to do after I finish an MBA (consulting, banking,etc.) and I’m worried about that.
In your opinion, is it enough to state in my essays that I need an MBA to work in International Business? Or do I need to find a more specified focus? I realize it’s a difficult question to answer, but I’m not sure what my next step needs to be.
Thanks for any reply,
JR”
——————-
My response:
JR,
Thanks for checking out my blog and reaching out to me as a resource. I’m sorry for taking so long to get back to you with a response. The past month has been really busy and I’m seriously behind on emails from readers. I didn’t apply to any International Business programs, so I didn’t really look into your target programs, but I’ve been thinking about your issue and I have some ideas that might be helpful. I hope I’m not getting back to you too late for anything I say here to be useful.
So, I’ll start with a quick response to your question of “In your opinion, is it enough to state in my essays that I need an MBA to work in International Business?” And, remember…I’ve never worked in an MBA admissions office, so my opinion doesn’t have any foundation in experience reviewing applications. In short, the answer to your questions is “no”…I don’t think it is sufficient to say that you need an MBA to work in International Business because that really isn’t true. If you were so inclined, you could leave teaching and take an entry-level job that would expose you to international business, but that wouldn’t be preferable, right? Of course not…you’d probably rather go into that kind of job at a higher level, which you might need the MBA for given that your previous work experience is in Education. Given this, it might be worth it for you to come up with a more specified focus for your application essays and this sounds like it’s where you’re stuck.
Unfortunately, I can’t advise you on what to describe as you future career direction for the purpose of your B-school apps. But, if you think through the following components of your overall “story”, it might help you in coming up with something more specific worth writing about in your essays:
- Who: Before even laying out the question, we know that the obvious answer here is “YOU”, but that’s not the important part. What’s important is who you are now and how is that person different than the guy who started teaching three years ago. What has changed in that time that is making you want to transition into business? Did you lose the passion for teaching? If so, why and how has it affected your professional outlook? These are the questions you’ll want to ask when trying to figure out who “you” are presenting yourself as in the applications.
- What: What is your end goal here? This is the part that you seem to be having the most trouble with and it probably isn’t sufficient to say that you want an MBA or want to work in International Business…both of these are implied by the fact that you’re applying to international business programs. Is the issue that you’re not sure of the industry, job role, or some other characteristic of what you’d pursue after business school? If this is the case, you could go with something general like aspiring to become “a CEO of a multi-national corporation with operations in Europe” or something like that, but, even if you aren’t 100% clear on your end goal, you should press yourself to come up with something that you can work into your overall ‘story’ for the purposes of your application.
- When: What you’re mainly looking for here is a reason for why now is the right time for you to be going to business school? Would you be better suited moving into business school in another year or two? Are you sure that now is the right time to be pursuing something new? Have you topped out in terms of what you could get on your current career track? You’ll want to make sure that you’re doing this at the optimal time and then make the admissions officer see now as the optimal time for you too.
- Where: Where do you want to do your MBA and why? It sounds like you’ve got your list of target schools selected and are going for the top International Business programs in the US, but why are you targeting International business programs in particular. You could probably get an international position coming out of a more generally-focused MBA program, so what is it about schools like your target ones that appeal to you? Are there specific courses and or experiences that they offer which you find especially attractive? Are you trying to build a specific network of professionals with a similar focus on International Business? Being crystal clear on this point might help you in coming up with a more specific future career focus that’ll play well for these International Business programs.
What I’ve said above might not answer your question exactly, but I thought you might find it helpful in thinking through your B-school application story, especially if you can’t come up with a definite answer for what you want to do after B-school. Just remember that many B-school grads end up doing something totally different than what they stated in their application essays, so don’t feel like you’re wedded to a direction just because you wrote your essays about it.
Take care and good luck with your Bschool applications. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you.
-Marquis
