Transitioning from the military to Harvard MBA is not a dream of many when there is close to 20% unemployment rate among American Military veterans. Such ambitious goals are feasible only for a select few who have understood how to structure their Harvard MBA application, including essays and recommendation letters.
Before you write the open-ended Harvard MBA Essay, keep in mind these 5 strategies and tips to improve your MBA admission chances:
1) Uncertainty Narrative
Finding a structured approach to address uncertainty is a rare quality that most Veterans demonstrate. While writing MBA essays, applicants from the military are unaware of how unique this mindset is. Many try to fit in with narratives around the most obvious quality – courage. It is a pre-requisite to joining the military and often the #1 trait that anyone who hears about the military associates with. Instead of writing about the obvious, you can bring a non-obvious but important trait to thrive in the civilian and especially corporate world.
Choosing examples that showed how you mitigated uncertainty with planning, systems, processes, and effective communication is one way to reiterate your systemized thinking.
2) Leadership Narrative
T25 schools have a high affinity for military applicants for their transferable leadership skills. Often, the narrative around leadership is all from the time in the military and rarely around narratives from childhood.
In the Sample Harvard MBA Essay – Military and the Search for IMPACT, I had to structure the essay in such a way that the motivation for joining the military happens right in the middle – a section where the reader’s attention wanes. The 2nd hook is where I introduced the legacy of the family. But for, the first half of the narrative, it is around the applicant’s childhood, his team-building skills in sports, and a broad understanding of Science and Math. This narrative helped us break out from military applicants who are from traditional backgrounds.
3) Combat vs Non-combat
Combat vs Non-combat narrative is another challenge for Military applicants. Including the gore of the war is not recommended for all applicants. But without offering some context, the admissions team is unlikely to understand the stress you faced, the perspective you gained, and the resilience you developed with the experience.
Clearly, schools value the experience of a combat applicant over a non-combat applicant. This is especially true now when there are multiple geo-political developments happening in the East.
When is Non-Combat Military Experience Valuable for Harvard MBA Essay?
Understanding what to highlight and the role of positioning military assets in influencing leadership in competing nations requires a strategic narrative. If you have worked in the Army Signal Corps or associated with missile systems, the non-combat experience in communicating cross-culturally, demonstrating command over a foreign language, managing critical assets, communicating across the command, and an understanding of strategic partnerships can highlight qualities that are atypical for a traditional military role confined to one function or a small unit.
4) Post-MBA Vision and Mission Driven
Often, the unique qualities in essays written by a Military applicant are the emphasis on mission and a vision for a better future. These narratives are mixed with experience from combat or a specific understanding of geo-political developments – perspectives that are unlikely to come from applicants who have worked only in Corporate America.
The challenge for military applicants is not to make the narrative too idealistic and show weakness in understanding how the civilian world works.
5) Post-MBA Career - Structure to Startup vs. General Management vs. Hierarchical Function like Banking
In my Sample Harvard MBA Essay about the Military Applicant, I highlighted an interaction with a doctor in a combat zone who offered a perspective on serving those who suffer without being in the military. Often, at around age 28 to 31, the plan to move out of the military happens for most veterans. How you include the triggering event without criticizing the military is a balancing act that I had to work hard as an editor and consultant.
The best approach is to see the transition as an experience-matching exercise. Those who have worked in diverse roles in the military are a natural fit for startups where the roles are not clearly defined and you are required to take on multiple functions.
For traditional experience in a high-stress combat zone, working in operations or a high-stress Investment Banking role is a better fit. Mentioning Finance or vision around the industry has its advantages for those with strong quant scores (GMAT/GRE) as the Diversity Programs in top Bulge Bracket banking firms value military MBAs.
The Harvard MBA essay narrative is created around feasibility, experience, and post-MBA goals.
You can also read the preview of the Sample Harvard MBA Essay for Military Applicant (825 Words) before Downloading F1GMAT’s Harvard MBA Essay Guide (includes elaborate storytelling strategies and Sample Essays)
