Demonstrate Confidence During MBA Admissions With Numbers

Confidence influence how you are perceived among the MBA Admissions team. It starts with your written words in essays, spoken words in Interviews, and most importantly the actions you took. A thin line separates arrogance and confidence, but you have to find the essence of your confidence before articulating what confidence means for you. In simple words, Confidence is the acknowledgement of your power – as an individual, and as a team player.

The false modest ones try to hide their achievements under the garb of team’s actions. If you are a woman, you are more likely to give the credit to the men in your team, even if your work speaks for itself. According to the report created by Accenture - “The Next Generation of Working Women,” women will lose anywhere between $1 million to $1.5 million in earnings during their lifetime just because they are reluctant to take the credit for their achievements.

When such large sum of money is under hold just because you are not putting the effort to calculate your contribution in dollar value under the fake modesty of teamwork, how will you approach MBA Admissions where you have to maintain a delicate balance between individual contribution, and teamwork?

Start with Honesty

If you have a tendency to exaggerate your contributions, the admission team will figure out the hypocrisy with the number you quote. More than your exaggerated statements, they are aware of your industry, project size, and the possible revenue from the projects. When you look at MBA Admissions as an opportunity to look at your profile honestly, you will find instances where you had contributed.

With honesty, you will look at your success closely, and failures even more closely, piecing together the numbers that offer accurate feedback about yourself. When you know what worked for you, the pressure to exaggerate is gone, and you will acknowledge that failures were essential for your success. There is no longer the pressure to hide your failures, and manipulate your narrative. It is okay to write about the doubts that you had when you were trying to solve a complex Business problem. What mattered was your persistence that eventually faded away all the self-doubts and the moment when you truly felt confident about yourself. The admissions team is looking for that transformative experience from self-doubt to confidence. Don’t deny them the experience by skipping all self-doubts in your essays, and just focusing on your achievements. To feel the high when you read the essay, express the lows.

Write Down your achievements (With $ Value)

You cannot convey confidence without doing a complete audit of your personal and professional achievements. Write at least 15 achievements with a dollar value clearly written for your achievements.

Professional

Developed an application that checks Flight maintenance schedule before each flight: Saved $40 million (in lawsuits) for emergency landings resulting from faulty equipment.

Personal (Extra-Curricular)

Developed a team of volunteers for ‘Feed Africa’, an initiative that collected over $25 million in contributions and over 50000 t-shirts for the underprivileged children in Africa.

When dollar value supplements your achievements, you can write about your contribution with confidence. Without the numbers, the achievements become general statements, and your confidence about your achievements will be at an all-time low especially during Interviews when the admissions team tries to figure out the numbers associated with your achievements. The process of calculating numbers during interviews is never good, and you are more likely to fumble and exaggerate. Confidence comes when you are ready with the numbers.

Let the Recommender Brag for you

If you are an applicant who would like a third party to endorse your numbers, consult your recommender, and calculate the numbers. Select a supervisor who has the knowledge about the revenue per person in the project, and your contribution in dollar value. Let the recommender reiterate the numbers: revenue per project, team size, and your role in the team. If you ask your recommender to quote the numbers directly, it becomes too obvious that you had pushed for it. Instead, ask your recommender to quote numbers that complete the puzzle: revenue per person and total revenue.

Preparation

Confidence is expressed differently in essays and interviews. For essays, you have to articulate the value with clear phrases, and numbers. In interviews, you have the luxury to connect with the interviewer before quoting the numbers. For both scenarios, having the numbers ready is the key. Once you have internalized the dollar value of each of your contributions, confidence will come across without the need to exaggerate. For essays, use our essay guide, and for the interview, learn how to win by preparing for all the classic MBA Admission interview questions.