LBS MBA Essay 2: What Makes you Unique (200 Words)
In an LBS MBA class where more than 90% are international, bringing one’s unique identity to the ‘What Makes you Unique’ essay would be the only chance when competing with similar profiles from Finance, Consulting, and Technology.
Broadly, identity-based narratives fall into four themes:
a) Cultural
b) Geographic
c) Gender
d) Familial Influences
a) Cultural
Not all cultures are equal, but every LBS MBA applicant has the opportunity to bring the ‘strength’ of their culture and closely tie it to their identity.
Case Study: Cultural Identity (Farming and Food as a Communal Right)
For one applicant who grew up in a collectivist farming community in Tanzania, where principles like Ubuntu (“I am because we are”) and Ujamaa (shared economic prosperity) were lived realities, her culture valued the prosperity of the community equally as the individual or the shareholder.
Rather than framing her uniqueness around founding a non-profit, she went a step deeper into her belief in food as a communal right, not as a market commodity, shaped by supply-demand cycles. Her policy advisory role in a leading international organization also involved creating policies that ensured that no one is left food insecure, regardless of the market forces, poverty, war, or climate change influencing the supply of essential food items. Such a thoughtful framework led to better risk management.
The long-term and strategic thinking positions the applicant for an ESG consulting role where such thinking is valued.
b) Geographic
The global citizen tag is slowly evolving with restrictions on visas across Europe and the US. The emerging restrictions will make a truly global experience across Asia, Africa, Europe, Canada, and the US – or at least three of the five regions a unique quality.
Case Study: Global Citizenship and Identity
One applicant shared how his schooling in Kenya, his consulting tenure in London and Toronto, and his undergraduate degree in the US have positioned him to succeed in the next stage of his consulting career.
What most applicants want to share as their unique trait is their global perspective. This global perspective is not driven by fragmented media bubbles based on algorithmic segregation or even motive-driven mainstream media narratives.
The geographic perspective is a lived experience. And that is why schools value applicants with international work experience.
There are perspectives that one could acquire from consuming media and networking with peers from different cultures, but it is the face-to-face interactions and lived experiences in communities from which a true understanding of culture emerges.
Capturing this unique lived experience is essential to connecting international work experience to your identity.
c) Gender
Even if women are graduating at a higher rate than men, the preferences of women for certain job functions have propagated inequity in certain roles. As industries prioritize leadership roles from these emerging functions, the shortage of VP candidates in Fortune 500 companies will exacerbate.
Case Study: Empowering Women in Conservative Society
For one applicant, who was leading an initiative in her PE firm to nurture and build the talent pool for women leaders, the challenge was unique to the regional office the firm had expanded into. The culture in the country limited the travel of single women without the support of male family members. To break the ideological barrier, the applicant had to carefully plan logistics and assure the family members of the colleague’s safety.
Such changes in norms take time to fully immerse in cultures, but it is worth highlighting such long-term thinking that often triggers new trends in bringing equity in the workforce and senior leadership.
Citing examples of ‘unique’ interventions without critiquing the culture is a balancing act and should be carefully worded.
Case Study: Improving Working Conditions of Women in Male-Dominated Work Cultures
Another applicant mentioned the struggles of Oil and Gas female engineers, who had to work in uninhabitable terrains. The intervention to bring dignity to female employees with portable toilets and scheduled office hours also translated to improving the working conditions of the entire company.
Improving working conditions, offering equitable growth opportunities, and changing culture could also be phrased as a net positive for the entire company. Such narratives stand out from the often-divisive tone seen in essays on gender equity.
With 45% women in the latest class, LBS has consciously taken the first step in nurturing talent for VP and executive roles. A balanced gender-based identity narrative works for the ‘What Makes You Unique’ essay.
d) Familial Influences
A consistent theme I have read in MBA essays is the influence of family – parents, grandparents, and siblings in choosing a cause.
I would recommend that you use your family’s uniqueness as the last option. The only exception is if your parents immigrated to or reached the US/UK as refugees. The hardship in attaining a career milestone is different for an applicant from a stable family than for an applicant who had to manage the turmoil of losing relatives and settling into a new culture.
For other applicants, you don’t need dramatic narratives to show you unique traits and values.
Case Study: Positive Familial Habits and Values
One applicant shared how her early involvement in educating underprivileged children through her parents’ foundation helped her to see her role beyond an owner. The parents were hands-on, often arranging the chairs in the venue and assigning chores for the applicant. Even the purchase of books and school supplies was done in the presence of the applicant, with discussions around budgets and making bulk deals. The cost-conscious upbringing to maximize impact in communities brought financial rigor and community focus to all her involvement, regardless of the profit/non-profit nature of the project.
This unique trait translated to due diligence for PE investments, where she intervened while investing in a portfolio company. When the majority in the investment committee wanted to discontinue a product to maximize profit, she decided to visit the communities that relied on this product for their nutritional needs. She advised against discontinuing the product, sustaining goodwill among the community during a challenging 2020 to 2022 period.
Keep the familial influence to traits, habits, and values.
Read F1GMAT’s LBS MBA Essay Guide, where Atul Jose, the Author and Founding Consultant of F1GMAT's essay guides demonstrates how to write the uniqueness essay, with resourcefulness as a theme.
Reach out to Atul Jose to collaborate for your LBS and T20 MBA or Master's essays
