7 powerful techniques to ace your MBA personal statement!
Applying to an MBA program is a long and exhaustive process with 100 steps (kidding!) along the way! Some steps are relatively easy to climb, and some might take a little more than just writing.
One of them is writing an MBA personal statement which many students might feel intimidated because not only does it hold a lot of importance in your candidacy, but it also gives you a reality check of where you stand. . This part of the process can be a deal breaker for you!
We are not saying an essay is the only requirement they want, as there is no doubt getting a good score on the GMAT will increase the chances of your selection. But an extraordinary personal statement is important to stand out from the crowd with a great score.
Here is a quick guide on how to write an MBA personal statement with dos and don’ts with some real and successful examples so that you can grab the attention of the admissions team.
TIPS ON WRITING MBA PERSONAL STATEMENT
Focus on the Question
Understanding the question is winning almost half the battle (well, at least 30%!). The most beautiful MBA personal statement can be worthless if you are not answering the question. You must address the question in an impactful and concise manner. Don’t waste your space by giving unwanted information; utilize it effectively and efficiently.
Introduce Yourself
This is the part where you can win your seat by introducing yourself in a way that also reveals what is your interest and what you truly desire. This will help them to know about you as a person and if you are actually the right candidate for them and fit their community.
Get to Know the School
It should also be evident in your MBA personal statement that you’ve invested time into getting to know the school that you’re applying to, to its core. Let the admissions committee know why you think their MBA program is the best fit for you. If you can think of specific things that their program provides, such as experiential learning, internships, or their culture/community, mention why these opportunities will benefit you.
Suggested Reading – 4C’s of researching and selecting the right MBA programs.
Highlight Your Leadership Qualities
If you are successfully able to show the school’s admissions committee that you carry the potential to become one of the greatest leaders, it will undoubtedly pique their interest in you.
However, it will take a lot of introspection and dwelling upon the right anecdotes from your personal and professional journey and then bringing a huge quantitative and (more important!) qualitative impact from it. Mention the experiences where you showed your strength, motivation, and analytical skill, which present you as a proactive person who takes charge of situations.
Suggested Reading- STAR Approach to writing the essays impactfully
Achievements and Setbacks
Telling about achievements and setbacks which you encountered in your journey is the best way to prove to them how you will contribute to the school and learn and grow from setbacks. Focus only on those achievements and setbacks which, in the true sense, had a huge impact on you as a person.
Back-Up Your Claims
As we said earlier, mentioning examples in each circumstance is the key to proving your honesty. Your claims will feel empty and baseless if you don’t have real-life examples to back them up.
Show Your Passion
Let your passion shines through in each and every part of the application so the admission committee will be bound to pay attention to your personal statement. The motive of each school is to fill its cohort with future leaders who are passionate and driven to succeed. Let them know what kind of business goals you have in mind and give them an idea of the change you aspire to make in the world.
EFFECTIVE MBA PERSONAL STATEMENT PRACTICES
Vibrant and authentic personality
Your essays should reflect your personality, bringing some interesting personality flavors. What is the point of writing so beautifully if it does not happen? The admission committee relies on their questions. Try to understand if this is someone you would want to sit next to in a case method class.
Authenticity and Sincerity
If the committee essentially wants a meaningful connection with a complete stranger, and if you try to present yourself as something or someone you are not, you will fail.
Reflectiveness
Candidates must present examples demonstrating their introspection and self-awareness about their domain, short-term goals and long-term aspirations, society, environment, etc.
Thoughtfulness
Candidates must present themselves as showing careful attention or consideration, including consideration of other people’s needs.
Active Voice and Verbs
Avoid writing Essays in a Passive voice. That looks more authentic and easy to read.
MISTAKES TO AVOID WHILE WRITING MBA PERSONAL STATEMENT
Talking about Your Job Too Much
This is important if you are a traditional MBA applicant. If you work in private equity or consulting, MBA programs already know the ins and outs of those jobs very well; after all, they wouldn’t be particularly good business schools if they didn’t. Describing or ‘over-talking about your job to them will waste your space which you could have better utilized to differentiate yourself.
Too much “Storytelling.”
Many people want to turn the MBA personal statement into a creative writing endeavor. They believe that a creative style or a novel storytelling structure will look impressive. It is something to avoid. This doesn’t look professional.
Don’t Please
Many people make a common mistake when writing their MBA personal statement by focusing too much on writing exactly what they believe the committee wants to hear. It will look dull and underwhelming MBA personal statement. Beyond fulfilling specific requirements, you should demonstrate that you have character.
No Need to Apologize
A general rule to keep in mind when writing your MBA personal statements is to avoid making any apologies. If there is a portion of your application that you aren’t feeling overly confident about, don’t draw attention to it or if needs explaining, use the optional essay.
Suggested Reading- Examples of Optional Essays of successful applicants
Being Dishonest
The biggest mistake! Honesty is paramount in your application essays. Feel free to mention your failures and be bold enough to talk about sensitive topics, as this will show them that you do and believe what you have written.
SOME EXAMPLES
Sample Introduction:
We’ve tried to cover almost everything about MBA Personal Statement. Hope you find this article helpful.
We are determined to help you develop a unique structure for each essay question providing step-by-step procedures to build a specific answer that would help you stand out among the crowd! We are a team of expert consultants who follow a unique process to achieve maximum efficiency, quality, and interaction, ensuring a 100% unique and authentic application! Enhance your career in business and gain success.