What’s good, fam. I hope you’re all doing well as you’re reading this entry. As I write this entry, I’m thankful to have this blog to distract me from the ups and downs of this thing called life. Sometimes, I wish I had a “Marquis” that I could email for guidance when I need it, but I haven’t found him/her yet (if the person is even out there). Until then, I’ll just keep on responding to y’all and get the boost that comes with knowing that y’all are checkin’ for The Kid and the perspective provided here. Anyways, let me get to the lead-in for this entry’s topic…

The email below is from a Chinese national who has an interest in pursuing a Stanford MBA one day, but feels that his career is currently in a rut…a story that is common to a lot of MBA aspirants. The complication here is that he’s taken a couple of steps in his career that have painted him in a corner, far from his goal of becoming a consultant. I’ve done my best to give him some decent advice, but a lot of it will be based on how he sees his own chances for success. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for him.

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BP wrote:

“Hi

I like your blog very much and I admire your experience and you are really great as you have get the MBA from Stanford business, I have adream that one day I can enter Stanford for the MBA degree in future.

I have some questions and I hope you can give me some advice.

I am a Chinese and I am major in management, after graduation I find it is very hard to obtain a job with my majority so I choose to accept my relative help then enter traders’ hotel to do cost control and some logistics and warehouse management. But I resigned from it after one year then begin to get a new job because I find that I do not like to commit me in this industry. Now I do some assistant for CFO in a small business which is going to go public in NASDAQ, but after several months I find that I can only be a translator without using any of my profession.

Now I am thinking about my next step. I like consultant very much and I guess that it is for top people in my heart. My experience is not enough to support me to do the consultant work. So what kind of people do you think is fit for the consult field?

My next question is If I plan to take a MBA in the USA within 5 years, what do you think I should do now to make a good preparation for it? I am improving my English and I think working experience is very useful but I am lack it now. so I try best to get more and more business experiences. So do you have any good advices?

So many thanks.

BP”
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My response:

BP,

What’s going on. Thanks for checking out my blog and thinking of me as a resource for your questions. I’d also like to say that I admire your willingness to reach out to me given that you’re still working on your English. I thought your email read very well and you’re well on your way to being ready to write your business school application essays in English. It sounds like you’re pretty distressed about your current career situation and you should know that you aren’t alone. There are likely thousands upon thousands of others who believe that their careers haven’t gone in the right direction. What will ultimately matter most is how you respond to this challenge. I hope that my words below are some sort of help to you as you figure out how to do that.

Let’s tackle your question about the type of people that go into consulting first…I’ve answered this question on here a couple of times before, so I’ll give you a quick response here. In consulting firms, you’ll usually find people who are strong problem solvers, good team players, and analytical thinkers who have a desire to help clients address their most pressing issues. Of course, each firm has its own culture, which results in different personality types among their consultants, but you would have to interact with those consultants to get a read on those differences. I’d suggest that you reach out to some consultants in your area or alumni network to discuss the types of people in their individual offices between now and when you might try to move into that industry.

In terms of applying to B-school within five years, the following tips might be helpful to you:

- First, I would encourage you to remember that you have been accumulating some interesting work experiences so far in your career. It may not feel like they’ve been the perfect set of experiences, but you’re in a much better position than some people who have lost jobs and are struggling to find a way to re-enter the job force. So, instead of focusing on what you haven’t accomplished in your career, try looking objectively at your diverse work experiences and how those could be tied together into a coherent story to describe yourself. Look through some of my old blog entries and find the ones where I discuss the concept of “positioning” as it pertains to describing yourself in your business school essays. I think you’d get a lot out of those tips as you think about developing your “MBA story”.

- Take the GMAT as soon as possible!!! If you’re planning on applying to business school within five years, then get the GMAT exam out of the way as early as possible so you don’t have to worry about it while writing your essays. Your GMAT scores will be good for five years, so you’ll be doing yourself a service by knocking that test out earlier sooner than later. Start prepping for the test soon and then get it out of the way as early as feasible.

- Start thinking about the different business schools that you might want to apply to and begin researching them. The best way to write good application essays and producing strong application packages is to know as much as possible about your target schools. I’ve heard many stories about folks using a single set of essays and changing the names to go with each school’s application and that’s just not a way to be successful. You’ve got to know about the schools to which you’ll apply and then you can focus your essays on what those schools are seeking in candidates. You’ve got a lot of time until you’re going to apply, so take advantage of it by doing your research now.

Good luck in your employment and educational pursuits. I know that you may be feeling lost right now, but you’re addressing the issue head-on and you’ll find your way one day. Just keep at it and know that everything is going to be alright.

-Marquis