Pre-MBA Employer: Facebook
Pre-MBA Title: Product Manager
Post-MBA Title: Associate
Post-MBA Employer: Venture Capital Firm
Foundational Knowledge: Because the candidate has extensive experience in Technology, the curriculum mentioned in the goals essay was customized to include foundational skills in Finance and Investments.
Experiential Learning and Long-Term Goal: To disrupt the fund dispersal and consulting ecosystem in Africa, AI could be a game changer. With the Haas IMPACT fund, the applicant plans to gain hands-on investment.
Problem: Evaluating the current experience of the applicant in understanding Investments outside of Technology.
Problem (Explained): For this Sample MBA Essay, the goals were two-fold – a shift in industry and function in the short-term and a long-term goal to start a fund.
Feasible Goals: We looked at the Single Digit Rule (both target industry and function in Single Digit percentage) and found that although VC/PE representation was less than 5%, the Finance function had 20% representation.
Short-term Goal: Venture Capital
Long-Term Goal: Fund for AI in Africa
Long-Term Goal (Value from Berkeley Haas): Berkeley Haas MBA is not known for cutting-edge AI initiatives, but UC Berkeley has one of the strongest Computer Science programs in the US at undergraduate and graduate levels. Also, the AI courses at the undergraduate level have been featured in the top 5 (US News Report). Mentioning the value of the university would be a much better narrative.
Admission Consultant’s Note
While dedicated VC funds for industries are unlikely to be a feature in top schools, search funds, IMPACT funds, and similar portfolio management where applicants get the opportunity to fine tune their due diligence and investment decisions is sufficient to fill this gap.
Investment Hands-On Experience: Search Funds course and Haas IMPACT fund
Experience (Applicant): The applicant has extensive experience in conceptualizing, developing, integrating, and gaining mass adoption of an AI solution at a Technology giant. Although her role is functional, her persuasion, communication, and leadership skills are validated by her supervisors.
Extra-Curricular (Applicant): The applicant’s Asian heritage and long-term goals in Africa seemed disconnected until we began analyzing her journey. With a year working in Africa for a leading non-profit in the education industry, her experience is grounded on real experience and a deeper understanding of the multiple forces at play limiting the growth of Africa.
Knowledge Gap: Finance, Accounting.
Electives and Experiential Learning: We have shortlisted electives and experiential learning according to the knowledge gap and goals of the applicant
Opener: I wanted to summarize the applicant’s entrepreneurial mindset as the long-term goal is entrepreneurial in nature (start a VC fund in AI for Africa).
Strategy: I have used a vulnerability strategy – building the narrative to demonstrate growth and then reveal a vulnerability in experience, pursuit of a goal, skillset or all three.
Challenge: The challenge is the segue into the long-term goal as the applicant is planning to switch both industry and function – not an easy task for structuring an Essay.
Sample Berkeley Haas Short-term and Long-Term Career Goals Essay (Product Management to Venture Capital) (299 Words)
I thrive in an Entrepreneurial culture, and implemented the first AI-driven software programming module that improved the product shipping time by ~20%.
Implementing frontier solutions is exhilarating. Looking back, I ..
