Show Leadership and Social Awareness to get into a TOP MBA Program

Diversity in nationalities, pre-MBA experience, undergraduate degree, and socio-economic background are considered by Business Schools before finalizing the class. Students interested in Finance, Consulting and Technology constitute the chunk of the class representation but around 20-25% of the class is for candidates who might not show great academic background but has proven Leadership skills and Social Awareness. We have covered several attributes about leadership in our previous articles. But to summarize: a leader should have the following qualities:

a) Focus
b) Good Listening Skills
c) Humility
d) Gain trust of the team
e) Take personal responsibility

Social Awareness can only rise from having a high sensitivity towards the sufferings and needs of our society, not just the city or the neighborhood but the world in general. This takes years to develop but as adults, the proof is in how we acknowledge hardship in a community and take actions to alleviate the pain.

So how can you highlight Leadership and Social Awareness in your application?

a) Proven Record

You can’t start building a profile that shows Leadership and Social Awareness, just one year before the program. It should be an integral part of your personality. If you are the type of person who starts organizing people to help victims in natural calamities and other national and international tragedies, the energy and passion will come across in essays and other interactions. Business Schools will recognize your unique motivations. It is hard to coach an applicant in that direction. Either they have it or not.

Most applicants who lead will have clear objectives with their mission. They are goal oriented and do not want to waste their time on unfulfilled missions. The details covered in the plan shows the thought process to achieve the goals. Business Schools love driven, goal-oriented, and socially conscious leaders. More importantly, schools would like to hear about what the applicant had achieved and what they have not.

b) Current Involvement

It is tough to be a leader in the past and be a follower for the rest of the life. It is part of who you are. Applicants core values and beliefs can be measured with the involvement that they have with various associations. If the applicants are actively involved in educating the underprivileged children around the world, it shows the values that they believe in.

“Children are the future and it is essential to guide them to be socially aware and educated citizens”

Applicants can re-affirm this belief in their essays. AdCom can easily verify the words with actions. Applicants often fail to match action with words or undersell themselves. Both are detrimental in getting into a top MBA program.

c) Future Plans

Schools evaluate a candidate’s potential based on previous achievements, failures, and comebacks but Passion triumphs past failures and academic achievements. If applicants can convey passion through essays and interviews, AdCom will be more than willing to read the story, and realize how the individual can add tremendous value to the MBA class. Current work and plans for achieving the vision are two factors that are important to convey passion. Interviews are a great opportunity to convey your vision. Make sure that you connect with the interviewer before revealing your grand vision. Otherwise, it will be all talk and very little substance.

So how are you planning to show your leadership skills and Social Awareness? Share it with us!