Unusual career paths to Investment Banking, Portfolio Management, or PE are some of the best narratives I have read in open-ended essays.
You should incorporate the narrative even for the goals essay for these 3 scenarios:
Non-Quant Background to Investment Banking
If you are from a Math or Engineering background, the narrative that you pivoted to Investment Banking, although inspiring, is not far-fetched. The foundational skills in math and logical deduction are similar among the three specializations. But when you say you are from an Arts or History background and found a way to work with a cohort of quant-aligned peers, it shows comfort with uncertainty and challenges that not many career switchers can quote.
In a sea of IB professionals fighting out deal size and alpha male posturing, you can show a balance in perspective that will be valued in an increasingly complex global system. In this system, most have access to the latest analytics tools and the best data sources.
Finding insights becomes an exercise in networking. Share how you networked and found the opportunity in IB.
Itch got Scratched, but Need Something More than IB
The path to Investment Banking might be inspiring. Still, the applicant often finds the culture to be a misfit or the long hours of drudgery in a cubicle less enticing than the long hours of waiting in airports and eating stale airline food. And so the draft for the MBA goals essay to pivot into Consulting begins. You must establish early through the resume or a phrase highlighting your achievements in IB to demonstrate that the second career transition is from reflection and finding a better career fit and not from incompetence.
Many applicants seek Consultant’s help to position gaps in employment, layoffs, and career missteps. In a competitive M7 and T10 landscape, each question is precious.
Non-Profit Engagement
It is surprisingly consistent how a non-profit engagement is an impetus to pivot into Consulting and Entrepreneurship for an MBA candidate. A unique perspective to help the beneficiary or disrupt the funding, policy, or operations is often met with resistance. The status quo seeking founders or risk-averse non-profit collaborators limits such adventure. When an idea is too strong to be ignored, applicants choose entrepreneurship as a post-MBA career goal.
Many use the school’s diverse global consulting engagements as another opportunity to fine-tune their consulting skills. This is one clichéd reverse advertisement that works.
