Yale SOM MBA Commitment Essay: Describe the biggest commitment you have ever made. Why is this Commitment meaningful to you, and what actions have you taken to support it?

Applicants seldom are part of transformational times. In the early 2000s and post-2008, applicants experienced uncertainty and a shift in the attitude of the market. However, we have seen a definitive change in the attitude of our clients. It might be generational or perhaps an idealistic call to take part in a transforming world.

Narratives, where you were part of history or contributed towards pioneering a new policy, change in culture, or technology, are application gold. Not many have the experience or the insight to measure their contribution at a functional, organizational, and societal level. Not many works in such industries.

In this example, the applicant, who is working for the Oil and Gas industry, has a rare perspective on where the world is heading. The narrative starts with the declining oil reserve in the North Sea and switches quickly to the reluctance of the industry leaders to make the transition to the inevitable.

The subsequent narrative flows from a traditional experience to a rare opportunity to be part of the UK’s National Energy and Climate Plan. The consulting engagement is the core of the narrative that captures the challenges of renewable energy startups to scale and the reluctance of Oil & Gas leaders to let go of their primary revenue source. Yale SOM’s role in helping the applicant commit to a ‘new core value’ is reiterated in the concluding paragraphs.

Sample Yale SOM Commitment MBA Essay: Oil & Gas to Clean Energy (Consulting) (435 Words)

My colleague’s exploration map of the North Sea confirmed our doubts about the declining Oil Reserve. Our competitors had moved away from the offshore in Scotland to profitable discoveries in the Texas and South China Sea. While our board hesitantly developed the 20-year strategy towards transitioning into renewable energy, <x>, the evangelist PE firm operating in sustainable energy, successfully bid for a hostile takeover. The maneuver, widely criticized within the company, had many silent supporters, including the Engineering and R&D team, who in 2016 had passed on a decisive report that recommended moving towards geothermal sources in the first phase and later towards cleaner sources of energy.

Watching the culture of the company ...