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The importance of career goals

June 28, 2016 by EssaySnark 2 Comments

Another reblahgolicious post today – because this stuff is important, and we realize that not all of you are digging far enough back in the archives to find all of it!

We’ve had this here little blahgolicious project going for three years now, [UPDATE: ALMOST SEVEN! -ES 2016] and while we recognize that it’s a virtual treasure trove of useful information on applying to a top MBA program, we also realize that much of the accumulated wisdom is a little spread out. We know we’ve talked about, for example, the utter criticality of a solid set of career goals as a key ingredient in a successful application to the vast majority of business schools.

But we don’t recall having said this straight-out and direct to all of you anytime lately.

So here’s a reminder: CAREER GOALS ARE IMPORTANT.

At almost every single school you can name, the goals are super mandatory to have nailed down. They will form the backbone of your application. The goals, and some clear statements around why you need an MBA, form what we call “the pitch.”

Another reminder: The most common flaw that we see in essays — and the #1 reason people are rejected — is unclear career goals.

There’s a vast array of reasons why goals might suck. And even sight-unseen, we can predict that you are likely committing one of these standard career goals sins in your essays. The odds are just not in your favor. (After all, who writes MBA admissinos essays for a living? It’s not like you’ve been trained in this task before.)

We are early enough out in the process that this is a fine time for you to leverage the resources available. The EssaySnark Career Goals App Accelerator is designed as a quick-hit tutorial that explains everything you need to know about how to craft a good set of career goals.

The tutorial portion of the App Accelerator:

  • offers tips for positioning goals for a career changer
  • provides a special option for review of reapplicant career goals
  • touches on multiple paths and this year’s Stern essay 1
  • includes a section for constructing goals if you’re going into family business
  • features over 25 pages of guidelines, tips and advice

The App Accelerators are unique supports to your MBA application process: Not only do they lay out what you need to know to develop your own set of exceptional career goals for presentation to the adcom — but they also offer the opportunity for you to get personalized, private feedback from EssaySnark on the goals you construct.

The Career Goals App Accelerator is included in the Complete Essay Package or you can buy it standalone here (current price is $ 175.00). This is a cost-effective way for you to examine your own pitch and make adjustments to it early — while there’s still time.

When we read someone’s drafts, we almost always we point out ways where their career goals are off. It’s highly unusual for someone to have nailed the goals the first time out (unless of course they have been studying one of the many SnarkStrategies application guides that explains how very important the goals are). Even a decent set of goals typically has room for improvement.

The Career Goals App Accelerator has one of the best ROIs around: If your post-MBA career goals are off, your chances of getting in are seriously slim.  Why risk it? Sign up today and find out if you’re on track with the most important element of your application.

Filed Under: career goals, EssaySnark products & services, family business

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Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

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Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

Here's what others have said about this:

  1. BSer says

    December 4, 2012 at 6:36 am

    Stopping by (hi ES!) to emphasize from a first year’s perspective why they matter: you start making those career goals happen within weeks of arriving! You had better know what you want to do after school so you can hit the ground running. That doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible, but at the same time, you need to be able to commit to a path, because there’s no way to attend every career possible recruiting event just to figure out.

    Reply
    • essaysnark says

      December 4, 2012 at 3:50 pm

      @BSer, thanks for the firsthand perspective! But shouldn’t your handle be different?? You’re in the glorified ranks of full-on bschool student now!!!

      Reply

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  • 2020: ($) Updating the adcom on a job change
  • 2019: ($) "What if School D gave me money but I really want to go to School A?"
  • 2019: ($) The BSer's Dilemma: Deciding between two top MBA programs -- what to do, what to do?
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