I had a conversation with a client I was assisting with MBA Essay Editing and shared how I can’t rescue an example, no matter how much I include elements of storytelling – transformation matrix, W-pattern, or add emotional connectors in the essay. We brainstormed and found a better example.
It is like in Movies where you have great actors trying to rescue a mediocre story or a poor script. The movie is a better experience just because of the actors but there was nothing in the story that hooked the audience to ‘Why’ the protagonist was going through all these intense emotions. There was an authenticity that was lacking.
In MBA admissions, there are 3 reasons for Wrong examples:
1. Coming out of Comfort Zone – New Norm
There is a wide gap between official and unofficial expectations. In the offer letter in most technology, consulting, and investment banking firms, there are clauses that touch all the right phrases to save the company from any liability, but the culture strongly encourages working long hours. Anyone who is not willing to put in the work is considered a liability. There is no multinational or startup culture that escapes this double standard. Not because the founders had not thought about optimizing for employee happiness or avoiding attrition in the team.
The entrepreneur creating world-class products/services who are optimizing for the customer despite the work culture is winning the market share over the entrepreneur who is optimizing for the employee. In a capitalist system, $ wins, and culture loses.
All MBA applications are from top industries (Finance, Technology, and consulting) where such double standards are the norm.
In comparative exercise, the admissions team knows that increasing the revenue by 120% for a 5-team startup with similar revenue is better than increasing by 20%. When two applicants are working in similar sized teams and companies, performance metrics is the only thing that matters.
None of the narratives requires explaining if the work culture is toxic or not.
So, in any example where you feel that you are coming out of your comfort zone, check with the admissions consultant who has read the essays in the hundreds.
What you consider unique work ethics or initiative might be the standard in the industry.
2. Age and Long Hours
The currency for each team in a globalized marketplace is the long hours. The efficient Germans are desperately trying to fight off the threats from the hardworking Chinese workers in the EV industry. The former is losing.
Technology can optimize productivity to only a certain extent, but it is the spirit of human beings to endure the long hours that eventually determine the winner.
This is not the case in a knowledge economy where most MBA applicants are working (Finance, Technology, and Consulting). Here, there is a diminishing return for long hours.
Creativity and Interpersonal skills win over any other traits.
If you are from the Manufacturing/Automobile/or any old-school industries, include narratives that show the endurance required to excel at your position.
Sometimes, the awards don’t capture the hardships that one is required to face in working conditions and long working hours.
3. Creative Solutions and Networking
If you are working in a marketing function and competing against some of the best in the world while applying to a top MBA, the baseline expectations on your creative contribution are high.
In such a comparative scale, an example that shows creativity would require a special ‘use case’ that is creative in any culture.
One applicant shared how, with AI’s influx in content creation, the agency that was managing the account of a celebrity had to start a concert-like event – to give its audience the ethereal feeling that they are dealing with a real person and not an avatar.
The new revenue stream was a game changer for the celebrity’s position in the market.
Another critical example is around networking. This is one reason why any example of organizing an event in college (festivals/local events) fails to catch the attention of the admissions team unless the scale of the event is a clear challenge (organizing Olympics/Special Olympics/Commonwealth Games/Asian Games).
You are expected to have better networking skills than technical peers who are continuing in their job function.
An MBA is a management degree.
Management needs skills in managing people from different cultures, backgrounds, and motivations. These skill sets don’t emerge after an MBA. There is an aptitude that is expected when you apply.
If you are quoting any example where the baseline skills of networking are the focus, the storytelling will look stretched.
