By now you’ve surely noticed this question, yes? In the Harvard application? No, HBS doesn’t have a career goals essay – but they do still ask about goals. They ask specifically why you need an MBA to get there. Here’s what one Brave Supplicant sent to us: I am pursuing a career as a consultant…
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TY says
Yes, I was pretty lost when trying to answer that question. Of course I need an MBA! Look at what I have done and where I want to go, can’t you figure out why adcom!? I felt like this question was made for someone else the answer was so obvious for me.
So why did I still fail at actually answering the question? I don’t know, dear lord, please forgive me. I guess I just wanted to throw in too much stuff. I have taken a stab at a new direction that lays out the “no duh” of it.
“From mediation to gutting information processing systems to tackling marketing and accounting in an emerging market I throw myself at problems and figure out what needs to be done to achieve success. I would like to transition my problem solving skills into a position as a consultant in North Africa/the Middle East for a large American firm, and an MBA would help provide the necessary bridge.”
How is that direction?
I know they don’t specifically ask about Harvard, but should something be included??? Perhaps the actual reason why I want Harvard (which is NOT its FIELD program)? Something along the lines of:
Harvard’s strong commitment to ethics will aid me in making the right decision in difficult situations.
And I kid you not, with that thrown in at the end I have 500 characters exactly.
What of that is the right direction, and what is still wrong?
bulaohu says
@TY — I humbly submit my take on the new version submitted in your comment:
You are right, the Adcom will likely see you resume and essays and understand why you need an MBA. BUT, what if the very first thing YOUR AdCom reads is this brief “Goals” section in the app, BEFORE s/he reads anything else? If s/he doesn’t know anything about you this paragraph won’t tell them much. Goals as written are still kind of confusing. Sentences are long and convoluted, goal at the end of paragraph, English not perfect. “Transition skills into a position”… doesn’t read right to me. How about something a bit more straight forward in structure:
[REWRITTEN GOALS DELETED BY ESSAYSNARK]
Thanks having the guts to submit your draft for us all to see, it is always really helpful to see how others are approaching these prompts. Make sure you listen to ES and not us commenters. Just ignore this post if it’s all wrong, it was helpful for me to spend some time thinking about it. Many thanks!
essaysnark says
Very much appreciate the enthusiasm and interest in helping others – but we don’t write stuff for BSers, ever.
bulaohu says
Very very very sorry. Didn’t mean to cross any lines. I have editing on the brain
essaysnark says
No problem bulaohu, your intentions were good!
brightwinds says
@TY–For that most recent draft, just make sure your timeline is clear. Right now it’s hard to tell what’s past that you’ve done, versus things you consider to be “characteristic” (e.g. “I am an optimist” versus “I was the only one in my office to ever see the silver lining”). Even though this is short, or maybe because it is, everything needs to be crystal-clear.
And if you have space, tying it to HBS is a good plan. Just make sure that, as elsewhere, you are as specific as possible and showing, not telling. My one worry about your ethics line is that it sounds like other schools aren’t committed to ethics–can you find a specific item that illustrates H’s commitment, rather than talking about it generically?
Good luck!