Welcome to F1GMAT’s #askAtulJose series. I am Atul Jose. Today’s question has remained consistent in interviews across schools that value Entrepreneurial thinking. The question is:
Q) How should I answer the ‘biggest risk taken’ MBA Admissions interview question?
Risk is a relative term. I remember watching an entrepreneur’s talk at Stanford’s e-corner series. He was adamantly defending his position that risking his entire life saving on an unproven technology was not risky but just the right thing to do. He went on and on about how much he has researched, and because of his knowledge about the market and potential to tap into an unexplored problem, it was not a risky decision. Everyone around him, including entrepreneurs who themselves have risked way bigger than the ordinary person, began smiling. It is a delusion that we take every decision with a lot of data and analysis. However, the MBA Admissions team wants to see how far you came out of the comfort zone with the ‘biggest risk’ question.
I have heard of clients saying – taking a gap year was a big risk. I immediately disagreed and pointed out the comfortable financial backing the person’s parents had for her to make such a decision. On reflecting, she could agree to my observation. Employers are not going to hold a gap year against you, even if it was voluntary or involuntary as long as it was between school and college. But they will consider anyone in the market without a Bachelor’s degree or a degree in a stream that is not conducive for job offers as risky. Dropping out of college is a risky decision if it was voluntary. Pursuing research or a master’s degree when you had multiple offers from Fortune 500 companies is a good example of taking the risk and pursuing a passion. Some take risks with creative careers and, although achieve significant momentum, come back to business education. Many choose to start companies straight out of college, and once they can’t achieve a particular milestone, they come back to traditional roles, although with a much better perspective on markets, people and funding.
So if you have any career-based decisions that are out of the ordinary, then you should mention them.
Another example is about relocating. A lot of clients come from humble backgrounds and relocate to the city or a college town while pursuing their master’s or bachelor’s degree. But if the trend nationally confirms that most students relocate to pursue their higher education, then your narrative will not hold. If the decision was driven by your parents, again, it would not be an appropriate answer for the biggest risk taken question. I have, however, heard of candidates whose families truly didn’t have any exposure to diverse career opportunities and encouraged the person to pursue their family’s business or profession, or legacy. Such examples could be termed as the biggest risk provided you can capture the pressure you faced in following your parent’s footsteps. For this example, the family’s economic status is not a factor. I remember a client whose parents were part of a military community with a proud legacy. The person didn’t continue the legacy. Instead, he started a company that served the community with Financial Planning services. He could capture the emotion and the pressure he faced while sharing his career decision with his parents.
An ideal biggest risk taken example should be related to a professional project. For this example, you have to offer a lot of context without jargon to leave an impact. Some of the examples include – choosing a technology, canceling a contract with a renowned supplier, intervening in a deal, building a team and supporting someone who didn’t deliver before, going ahead with a risky marketing idea, choosing a strategy that didn’t work out previously, and any examples of prioritization that the team didn’t agree will be a good answer. Make sure that the cost of the mistake, if it had happened, is also captured clearly in the narrative.