JEREMYCWILSON.COM

Education Pioneers. Hear Bernanke’s call to close the opportunity gap!

Hey Everyone, hope all of you are doing well.  As you know, I’m in the process of thinking about recruiting for next summer, so I’m trying to put up as many posts as I can about the MBA recruiting process. However, I figured I’d devote this entry to something a bit different.  Instead of simply talking about my own experience, I thought I’d use my site to spread the news about a fantastic organization that’s growing exponentially. It’s also an organization that’s recruiting candidates here at Kellogg.

That organization is Education Pioneers. Education Pioneers has been growing exponentially over the past few years, and it sounds like they do a lot of recruiting from many of the people who might be following along on my site. A broad group of readers that value diversity. Those who give back to their communities. Those not only seeking to do well in business but also in the social sector. And last but not least, those with a relentless focus on the education space.

I know a couple of people who have gone through the summer program and they can’t say enough about how good the program is.  As such, I figured I’d pass along the word to those readers here on my site. Below is an email I received directly from the Education Pioneers recruiting team. Also below is a video that came along with the email I received.

Best of luck with your recruiting seasons.

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

——

EMAIL

Your last chance to apply for Education Pioneers 2011 Graduate School Fellowship is approaching quickly! Apply by February 1. Education Pioneers can help launch you into a transformational career that addresses the civil rights issue of our time: a high-quality education for every child.

Watch this video clip to hear Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke discuss why he thinks the income disparity gap is based on education.

Are you ready to lead? Apply today!

Best regards,
EP Recruitment Team

—

Job Interviews Begin

After months of waiting for Kellogg to begin, and then months of attending recruiting events during the first quarter of school, interview season is finally here at Kellogg. While many of my classmates spent the last three weeks applying to jobs and bidding on positions to get a few additional interviews, last week marked the beginning of the real interview season. Every day at Jacobs, people are dressing up in suits, taking up study space to do mock interviews, and waiting in the career center to take part in interviews with firms.

Just last week interviews began here on campus. A couple of marketing jobs finally kicked off earlier in the week, starting with Coke, which hosted interviews on Tuesday. One of the big consulting firms also got underway just a few days ago, as did a few finance firms that are hosting their interviews off campus. And you can definitely tell that the time is here. Everywhere you go, there’s not only a lot of people, but also a lot of nervous energy and a lot of people working hard.

To get one of these coveted interviews though, you first have to successfully apply on the Kellogg online application system, which requires submitting a resume and cover letter and filling out an online application form on the company website. But even if you weren’t successful in that process you could also bid points to interview for the position, since we’re all given a total of 800 points to bid on jobs. But some jobs tend to go for a lot of points, so bidding isn’t quite as easy as it sounds.

For some, the process is actually quite strategic, and for others it can take quite a bit of planning. It’s no wonder there are less people at the local Keg these days.  Not only do people don’t have the energy after a full days events but they also don’t have the time, since we still have to figure out school work as well.

But don’t worry, good things will happen if you put in genuine effort. At least that’s what people are saying. But it’s hard to imagine that that’s the case for everyone here.

Most students didn’t get “ALL” of the job interviews we wanted. And some missed out on quite a few and have to employ a bidding strategy. The logical next question is, well what went wrong? Especially if you had straight As, had solid business experience before school, have a couple of extra degrees in your back pocket, and can pull the 99th percentile GMAT card if you’re questioned by employers.

Every now and then, some people submit the wrong cover letter. Whoops! But fortunately that’s pretty rare for Kellogg students. Others submit way too many applications, which is not quite as rare. In fact, it’s possible I even fall into that camp. For them, maybe focus is an issue, and you you should have spent more time refining materials for less job applications.  Others couldn’t decide on what they liked and may have missed the boat on certain jobs. And finally, some students got interviews, thought they did well on game day, but didn’t get positive news.

On the other hand, there are those who are lucky enough to have good fortune on their side. They not only get the interviews with the firms they were hoping for, but they hit a home run and land a job they actually wanted. They seize the moment.

What’s funny though, is that many of these people even admit that they thought they blew part of the interview. Perhaps the lesson is that finding the right job isn’t a perfectly defined process. And while some have the good fortune of landing one quickly, others spend different amounts of time, depending on what they’re aiming for and depending on the role of luck in the process. Either way, good luck to everyone in the search.

Happy MLK Day & Application Question: Can I Submit a GMAT Score Late for the MLT Program?

Happy belated MLK Day Everyone! I hope that you were able to observe the holiday and commemorate the day that has helped to change America over the last few decades. At Northwestern, there were a number of scheduled events over the past week, so hopefully it was the same in your geography as well. Last year, I posted a post about leadership lessons from Martin Luther King (click here for the post).  But this year however, I thought I’d try something different. In the spirit of the MLK holiday, I wanted to respond to one of my reader’s questions about Management Leadership for Tomorrow, one of the world’s most influential programs for up and coming minorities in America.

Before I dive into the question, first, I want to emphasize that MLT is a wonderful program, and that anyone who is eligible should consider applying (click here for my last post about applying to MLT).  For years now, MLT has been helping up and coming professionals all over the world achieve their full potential by assisting with career visioning and planning.

Below is my reader’s question and below that is my response.

—

READERS QUESTION

Dear Jeremy,

I was recently accepted into the MLT program, but will not receive my official scores by the deadline of February 1st. I expect my score to be well above the minimum requirement for entry into the program, and need either- an extension, or provisionally sustained enrollment until the end of February. Do you think this would be possible??? I do not want to pass up on this opportunity OR to postpone all of my plans for another year… Who should I talk to about this?

Thank you!

(Name)

—

MY RESPONSE

Dear Reader,

Thanks so much for your question. First, congratulations on getting accepted into the MLT MBAP program. What a wonderful accomplishment! In my view, MLT is one of the best organizations anywhere for business professionals. Not only because of the support it provides to applicants during the application process but also because of the networks of friends and colleagues it provides you in the journey.

In regards to your question, there are a couple of things to keep in mind-

One, it is important to know that MLT is organized just like a business school. MLT has its own admissions process, has tangible application deadlines, and asks that you to write thoughtful essays and submit GMAT scores to gain acceptance.

Second, the program itself is also highly structured. You have a formal set of rules that you’re asked to comply with as a fellow.  There are a number of assignments that you must complete on time throughout the program. And you have a set of deadlines and due dates that more often than not are not negotiable.

As such, I think it’s important that applicants also do their best to adhere to the deadlines and meet all the requirements, which includes sending GMAT scores on time at the onset of the program. Applicants that don’t do this can risk of missing out on admission.  On the other hand, MLT also understands that sometimes logistics are not always in your control. So you should let them know the specifics about what happened and your workplan for completing the exam.

In my personal experience, I recall that a few people also had trouble with the GMAT timing right as MLT was beginning, and MLT was able to accomodate those that had solidified a date to take the exam.  However, this was also a few years ago, before MLT moved many of its deadlines earlier and began emphasizing how important it is to finish the GMAT earlier than later. In fact, my MLT class was the first to really prioritize the  idea of moving the GMAT earlier, when we provided feedback after our fellowship year.

So if you have a solid reason for not being able to submit scores on time, then it would make sense to speak with someone directly from the organization and ask what the protocol is for exceptions. First, I’d try contacting the person who admitted you into the program, since they are likely your point of contact. Second, you can find MLT’s contact info on this link. http://www.ml4t.org/contact for more general questions, or as a second point of reference. And third, for more specific questions, you can feel free to drop me a line and I will connect you someone else who can help you. But from what I know about the program, I suspect MLT has already provided you with the right contact information.

Back before I conclude, I want to re-emphasize that MLT runs its program this way for a reason. In my view, one of MLT’s greatest lessons for its fellows is the importance of structure — Being on time. Following protocol. Playing by the rules.  And being organized. It’s not because they want to make your life more difficult but because business school moves at a faster pace and if you are not organized, you might miss she chance to sign up for an event, miss out on a class you were hoping to take, or worst of all miss the drop deadline for a resume submission.

But like I said, MLT also understands that logistics can be tricky. So try to get in touch with the person who contacted you regarding admissions. And if you can’t, send me another note and I’ll put you in touch with someone I know at the office.

In any event, congratulations again, best of luck in the admission process, and perhaps I’ll see you in March at the MLT kick-off event!

—

Note: I will also note that I got this great picture from Orlando, who is in Kellogg’s Class of 2011. He has a great blog that is very helpful for those who are considering Kellogg and are seeking information about the school.

Chicago Winters

When I moved to Chicago from Boston last year, I figured surviving the winter would be a piece of cake, give I’d spent a few years in New England hiking through the flurries and digging my car out of snowstorms six months every year. But it turns out  the winters here in Chicago are also pretty cold. And despite having a fairly mild winter last year, this year we’re not quite as lucky. So far, there’s been a lot more snow, and the weather seems like it’s lot colder than it was last January.

Don’t get me wrong, the cold weather here in Chicago does’t come as a huge surprise. After all, Chicago has always been one of the coldest places in the country. The city sits right on top of Lake Michigan, it’s located pretty far north in the Midwestern United States, and it’s surrounded by even colder midwestern states such as Minnesota and Ohio.

Some people like to argue that wind is also why the weather feels so cold. However, one interesting fact about that is that Chicago is not called the windy city because of its wind.  The real reason for the name was actually because of the culture of the city many years ago.  Specifically, Chicago has been called the “windy” city to metaphorically reflect some of the people in Chicago, since people have long considered the politicians to be full of “hot air.”

But the running joke I’ve heard a few times in Chicago is that the city is actually starting to earn its nickname because it is actually windy, especially in the city, where there are a lot more building creating wind tunnels.  I’ve personally noticed the impact of the wind, and I’ve even broken a few umbrellas walking outside on windy days this year.

But the weather doesn’t stop people from going out in Evanston.  After all, it is essentially winter here for well over 6 months of the year, and you can’t stay inside the whole time. So there are always a lot of people outside. Kellogg students still go to places like Pete Millers and the Keg in the evenings, and they still go out to grab food at local bars and pubs in downtown Evanston.

Besides, students here at Kellogg have a lot more to worry about right now. This week officially marks the first weeks of on campus interviews. Hopefully none of us will have too many days where we have to go to interviews in the snow.

What Types of Jobs to Apply to?

The best advice that many speakers who come speak at Kellogg tell us is that we should find a job that we love. After that, the money won’t be important, and in many cases it will eventually come falling in our laps because we’ll be more successful in our jobs.  Most of us admire the people that say this, especially when they take their own advice. On the other hand, most of us will also apply to more typical jobs, not only for the summer but also for full time employment after graduation.

As the quarter goes on, you see that a large number of students who over time lose sight of their personal passions and start interviewing and recruiting for the typical types of roles – investment banking, consulting, and brand management. In fact, I recently an email from Bain & Company saying that they received a record number of applications this year.  It’s not to say that people don’t want to do these professions. After all, working in any of those industries can give you strong training and can be a great launching pad for your career. So people are preparing intensely for their interviews there.

On the other hand, it’s clear that a lot of my classmates who have applied also have other interests. Many prefer to work in the technology space or in the media industry. Others prefer to work at non profit organizations or have an interest in public finance. And others are excited by the idea of joining a start-ups and or helping to grow an emerging company. But in the end, many of them see value in working in a more traditional job or industry in the short term, so for now, they are putting their interests to the side.

Is this the right move? Well, I’m not sure there’s a single answer to that.  And it’s likely that the answer is different for everyone. Either way, during my time at Kellogg, I’ve learned that achieving the right balance between passion and profession is hard and will never cease to be difficult.

Less Is More

A few short days into the second quarter at Kellogg, many of us have finally come to realize how busy things were last quarter and how busy things are now. Upon reflection, it’s clear now that we joined way too many clubs, took on too many leadership positions, and got caught up in too many activities. But as recruiting season is in full swing now, most of us also come to realize that it’s time to cut out the clutter where we can. That sometime having less things on  your plate is better.

Everywhere you go now, whether in Jacobs, in McManus, or in other apartments near campus, people are spending a little less time on school than before and a little more time on other things. More time for recruiting. More time for friends. More time to think. And more time to reflect.

In business school, these activities are all crucial and neglecting to spend enough time on them can come back to haunt you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that anyone spend less time being productive. After all, my days tend to be pretty long. But rather, I simply mean that sometimes it’s helpful to become less busy and use that time to catch up on other things. And so you have the extra bandwidth to pursue the most important things.

I suspect that this trend of being less busy with school activities will continue. At least until people start getting jobs.

In the spirit of this message, I’m going to keep this entry short.

Race To Land A Summer Internship Position

From the minute we walked back on to campus after winter break was over, people were already in a race to land a summer internship position. Those running the hardest were those looking for positions in management consulting, investment banking and brand management. In part, that’s because these are the three mostly highly sought after industries at Kellogg. But it’s also because these industries are very structured in how they interview, so students are doing the best they can to prepare for the interviews to come at the end of the month.

At long last, it’s finally second quarter here at Kellogg, the time that many students have been waiting for. Not that most of them are excited to embark on the quarter after spending a week ski’ing in Aspen, spending a few weeks in front of the TV back at home, and now immersed in the pressure to scramble and find a job for the summer. On the other hand though, it is the reason that just about everyone came back to business school.

As I mentioned, those in banking and consulting are up first. There are dinners and receptions taking place this week, hosted by some of the industries’ top firms, such as McKinsey. Many of these firms put an enormous amount of time, and resources, into the recruiting process, not only by having dinners, meet-and-greets, and receptions, but also by having “atrium hours” at Jacobs and by having “alumni” and current consultants lingering around campus talking to prospective applicants about the firm.

This Friday, some of the closed listed interview results will finally be released. Most of them will be from banks and a few others from consulting firms. Likewise, other big names firms, like Monitor Group, have drop deadlines this Friday, so lots of people are still writing cover letters and submitting applications.

Meanwhile, we all also have to figure out what classes we want to take, step up our involvement in clubs again after a few weeks off, and figure out the details for the KWEST trips many of us will be leading next summer (click here for my post on KWEST last year).

Sound like a lot of chaos and pressure at the same time? Well, I suspect it will be over the next few weeks. But thankfully, most people at Kellogg usually end up doing well across all these activities.  As a class full of smart, accomplished, achievers in our past professional lives, they can at least be assured they’ll have summer jobs and won’t be facing long term unemployment after school.

While those prospects certainly won’t necessarily make everyone happy, from a 30,000 foot view, it’s important to keep in mind that we all have a lot of opportunities at our finger tips, that we’ll all get another shot to try for new opportunities in the following year, and that we all get to go through the process with a great set of Kellogg classmates.

It should be interesting to see how those opportunities get spread out amongst the class. Stay tuned to hear how things play out.

Job Opportunity: Spark Seeks Managing Director in Chicago

Dear Friends, I got this in an email about a job opportunity from a friend of mine and thought some of you might be interested. While I don’t typically use my site to post job opportunities or for promotional reasons, I do like to use it to help non profits and other social ventures, especially ones that I have some connection to. In this case, that organization is Spark, a noprofit dedicated to educational reform.

Spark is an organization that helps 7th & 8th graders find apprenticeships in their dream job which helps them think about their career and relationship to education.  A good friend of mine sent me a note about the organization and recently passed the word that Spark is seeing a new Managing Director in Chicago. Specifically, the organization is seeking an entrepreneurial leader to help launch the Chicago office in 2011

Take a look at the rest of the post if you are interested and feel free to pass along the attached job description to others you think may be interested. See below for a few notes on the organization and role. And click here to see the full job description.

—

Background:
Spark is an award winning, growing youth apprenticeship program. Spark works to reduce the high-school dropout rate with a unique apprenticeship program, focused on at-risk middle-school students. In partnership with district and charter schools, Spark creates one-on-one apprenticeships in real workplaces, where youth explore careers and develop the skills and motivation to succeed academically. Funded by a number of major foundations, including the Packard Foundation, Cowell Foundation, as well as leading companies like Genentech and Gap, Spark is demonstrating a powerful new approach to addressing the high-school dropout crisis, one that draws in new resources by turning workplaces into learning places.

Responsibilities:
Provide leadership to ensure overall success in Chicago:
• Build, manage and develop an exceptional local team to accomplish three core goals: (1) successfully manage relationships with Spark’s schools partners, including training and ongoing support, (2) build a sustainable Chicago fundraising base, and (3) cultivate a network of corporate/organizational partners for apprenticeship placements. The Chicago team will grow to 3-6 full-time staff by end of 2011.
• Develop and leverage a Chicago Executive Board and a Chicago Advisory Board to support fundraising initiatives, guide strategic planning, enhance local networks of supporters, and contribute to overall external communications and publicity for Spark in Chicago. By the time of this hire, we expect to have 2-4 Chicago Executive Board members and 6-8 Chicago Advisory Board members already confirmed and active in Chicago.

Lead Chicago Fundraising & Financial Management
• Create and lead a local fundraising strategy for Chicago, in collaboration with Spark’s Development Director and Development team in San Francisco, ensuring that Chicago programs meet a 2011 fundraising goal of approximately $250,000, drawing from foundations, corporate sponsors, and individual donors.
• Effectively utilize and manage the local site budget to implement the program and sustain the Chicago office.

Oversee Successful Programming & School Partnerships
• Work closely with Spark’s national team to support implementation and growth of Spark’s Chicago apprenticeship program, focusing on training school partners and supporting their implementation of the program.
• Leverage and build alliances in the private, government, and non-profit sector to establish a network of individuals in diverse fields to draw upon in Apprenticeship matching.
• Work in partnership with initial school partners to develop and grow Spark’s programs, beginning with 2 locations in Fall 2011 and expanding in 2012. Develop a strong system of communication with school partners to support their successful management of program operations.
• Cultivate new middle school, after school, and summer program providers to meet established program growth goals.
• Facilitate the compilation of evaluation data, including students’ academic performance data.

Applicant Question: Tips for MBA Admissions Interviews (Continued)

December is the season where a lot of MBA applicants are looking for that one special gift. A call from admissions committees telling them they’ve been admitted to their favorite MBA programs. As such, applicants begin to focus more on their applications and prepare intensely for interviews. Unfortunately, executing a good interview is a difficult task.  Like just about every meeting you’ve ever had, an MBA interview can take an innumerable number of twists and turns, so it’s imperative that you go into your interview prepared.

In a recent post on MBA interviews (click here to read the post) I wrote a bit about what it means to be prepared, discussing “research” and “fit”  This post is an extension of the first post. And here I not only emphasize how to prepare for questions that might come up, but also how to stay prepared for the twists and turns that the interview might take.

Below are two additional tips that will help you to successfully navigate the interview process.

1.  Know Your Application. Part of proving fit in the application process is being consistent with what you wrote in your application – what you included on your resume, the information you wrote in the data form, the high level content of your recommendations, and the stories you described in your essays.  Generally, be ready to discuss every line of your resume and to elaborate on the important pieces of everything else.  Specifically, focus on the high-impact issues, which can be critical in shorter interviews because time is limited, the stakes are high, and in many cases those issues add more value to your candidacy.  Similarly, focus on issues that may appear to be inconsistent on the surface as these subjects tend to catch the attention of interviewees right away. And remember that anything you wrote in your application is fair game; so never be caught off guard.

2.  Don’t Memorize. Because time is limited, in most cases it doesn’t make sense to try to memorize details of your application. First, it won’t do you much good if you invest time in areas that never come up, which is likely in a 30 to 45 minute MBA interview. Second, even if it does come up, you don’t want to appear to be robotic or be too strongly convinced that the interview should go in a certain direction, especially if the interviewer is steering you otherwise. On the other hand, not memorizing also means that you won’t have time to think about every possible answer that may arise. But that’s fine. It’s more important that you think critically about the issues and provide thoughtful and organized responses, in place of memorized ones. So think about all the issues ahead of time and be prepared to discuss them analytically. The best way to prepare for that is to practice. But once again, don’t memorize.

If it’s any consolation, I’ll be employing many of the same methods during my MBA recruiting process too. Not only do many of the tactics will overlap but the timing does as well, as many MBA interviews also happen in January and February.

Best of luck everyone with your upcoming interviews!

2011 Summer Job Hunt Begins

Although we’ve been taking part in lots of recruiting events over the past few weeks, the summer job hunt seems to finally be picking up now that ski trip is over. How important is it to find the right summer job, you ask? Well, that answer depends on who you ask. While some people are okay recruiting again going into their second year, others are dead set on that coveted consulting, banking, or brand management job they’ve been seeking for years now. For them, the hunt is on.

Ever since the end of the quarter, most of the first year students have re-engaged with the recruiting process again. During ski trip, a number of job applications were due, especially in the consulting industry. A number of students, myself including, had to take time away in first few days of the trip to finalize cover letters, fill out a few data forms, and submit applications not only on the firm websites but also on the Kellogg CMC website.

Filling out applications during Ski Trip was definitely not the highlight of the post finals celebration in Aspen. In fact, many students still aren’t sure why the deadlines fall during this period. Some students did a good job of submitting their firm applications before they took off for the trip, since most of the application deadlines had been set well before the trip. On the other hand, most students didn’t have much time to finish the applications in advance given the tight schedules between final exams and departing for ski trip.

To everyone’s surprise, one firm actually moved its application submission date forward. And even though it first listed a due date in early January, right after exams the firm changed its due date to be during ski trip. I suspect that doing this was a way to ensure applications came only from those who were most interested in the firm. Fortunately, though, most applications were due during a two day period so most people were able to get most of the work applications done in one to two sittings.

Since returning on ski trip, recruiting activity has increased again. Kellogg students have been flooded with emails from employers and the career center, they have continued spending time tweaking cover letters and resumes, and everyone has finally starting to prepare for interviews. Sounds fun, right? Well, fun or not it’s definitely going to be a lot of work over the next few weeks.

But in my view, nobody here at Kellogg can complain. After all, recruiting is the reason many of us came to business school in the first place. Further, we all have great access to an innumerable number of companies, not only that we can apply to in the short term but also that we can form relationships with in the long term.  It will be interesting to see how the recruiting process evolves over the next few weeks.

Stay tuned to hear how things shape up.

First Set of Final Exams at Kellogg

Just before Ski Trip, the fall term ended with final exams in all of our first quarter classes. In just about all of our classes, exams are open book and last for a three-hour period.  In most classes professors told us that if you’ve been coming to class and put the hours in during exam period, that everything would be just fine. But the question on everyone’s mind was, is that really true?

In some cases, students took the professors up on their “offer” and did very little preparation for some of their classes, though in other cases students spent an innumerable number of hours in the QSR (i.e. the Kellogg library) preparing for upcoming exams.  For some that’s because they felt more urgency to do well, given firm they’re planning to interview at firms that will ask for grades. For others, it’s because they’ve done well their whole lives so don’t want to start performing below that standard now.

For me, the biggest hurdle felt like Finance. Ironically, I enjoyed the content of the class and I also thought pretty highly of the professor. But the content itself was challenging, especially since I come from an anthropology academic background and from a generalist professional background that had less pure finance material.  On the other hand, many of my classmates came from more traditional finance backgrounds. And others were looking to go into banking, so they had a bit of a head start on me in the class. So more than the other classes, I made sure to put time in studying, putting together templates ahead of time, doing practice exams, and going to review sessions. The exam was difficult, and I didn’t actually finish all the questions, but for those I left unfinished, I did put some notes down about what I would have done had I had a bit more time to work through the problems.

After the exam was over I didn’t talk to too many people, but the ones I did talk to confirmed that the exam was difficult not just for us but also for everyone. This was pretty different to my experience in law school, where hordes of people gathered after each exam during the first quarter to discuss how they answered the problem. Fortunately, my finance exam came at the end of the week, so once that was over I knew I was finished.

Logistically, most of us took our exams with our section mates and classmates. Usually, we’d split up into two rooms to accododate the size of the classes, while also giving us more room in the exam to put our notes, jackets and other things.  Before exams, most people preferred to chat rather than cram through material, a stark contrast with the way law school exams worked. Similarly, most students didn’t spend too many hours putting together nearly perfect outlines like my law school classmates did. Instead, they put together short, succinct note pages with the most relevant material and relied on exam performance during the three-hour period. The process proved to be the same for most of our classes – strategy, accounting, DECS (i.e. stats), and MORS (i.e. leadership class).

In the end, doing well on class and exams doesn’t have much bearing on how you will be as a business leader.  However, only time will tell how much bearing it has on job offers and professional opportunities that will be available. While many of us hear it doesn’t, I suspect it still may factor in to some jobs on the margin, again, a stark contrast to law school, where grades are king and where things like fit, professional background, management style, and leadership experience are all secondary.

But more important than how grades turned out, at least for now, was that exams were over, which meant that we could finally get ready for Ski Trip at Kellogg. And so nearly 800 Kellogg students would be jetting away to Aspen Colorado not only to ski but to celebrate the end of their first quarter with their new classmates.

Stay tuned to hear how Ski Trip turned out.

The JD-MBA Revolution

There is a new movement taking place in the world of business education, which seeks to combine some of the world’s most challenging business problems with other problems in the world. One way it’s doing that is by combining the challenging business and legal problems in JD-MBA programs. The JD-MBA program is an accelerated course of study that allows students to graduate from business and law school in three years. And it not only allows them to take courses in business and law, but also then also work in areas such as finance, entrepreneurship, business law, real estate and an endless number of other professions.

Top MBA programs, of course, will continue to thrive, and they will continue to enroll some of the most talented business people in the world.  But more and more these program will integrate with schools, such as law, public policy, education and others, as business continues to become more cross disciplinary and as teams become more cross functional to tackle today’s most important business decisions.

Meanwhile, everything in the JD-MBA program exudes that integration. Because it not only gives you the legal and business training but also the networks and resources from both schools. A network of diverse students and alumni, professional and academic resources, professors that you can call upon later in your career, and a mix of interesting classes to help you triangulate around your interests, both in business and law.

Sound like something you might be interested in?  If so, then you’re definitely not alone. People are increasingly starting to look more and more into the programs. And further, schools are also becoming enormously interested. This year Columbia and Cornell recently launched three year JD-MBA programs and last year, Wharton and Yale came out with accelerated programs.

• Click here to learn more about Kellogg’s dual degree program. Launched in 2001, Northwestern had the first fully integrated JD-MBA program and today it continues to serve as one of the leading programs, given it’s size, number of alumni, and reputation with recruiters.
• Click here to learn about Columbia’s new dual program, which will begin in 2011. Also, click here to read their press release from Wednesday. Given its NYC location, the Columbia program will be a good draw for many students.
• Click here to learn about the Wharton program, which was launched in 2009, as the second fully integrated JD-MBA program. The creation of Wharton’s program was significant, as it helped spur Cornell and Columbia to recently to launch their respective programs
• Click here to learn about Cornell’s new program, which began last year in 2010. Cornell was the first school to launch a program in NYC
• Click here to learn about Yale’s program, launched in 2009. Given its unique application procedure – must apply and get into the Yale Law and then apply to Yale SOM as a 1L – the program will likely be a good draw for students more interested in law than in business

On the other hand, some top schools are still in decision mode.  Stanford, for example, has decided against the program so far. Just last year, the Dean of Stanford University Law School, said they also thought about creating a program (i.e. shortening its four-year program to three years) but decided not to create one. (click here to see the article). I’m interested to see if they change their mind over the next few years.

But more important than them, what about you?  Are you looking to join the revolution in the business and legal worlds? And are you considering a joint program in business and law? If so, then check out the programs above, and see if one of them sounds appealing to you.

Personally, I’m a big proponent of the Northwestern JD-MBA program, but I suspect different programs will work better for everyone, depending on what you want to get out of the experience. Best of luck in your choice and feel free to get in touch with me if you have any immediate questions.

Facebook, Social Network, Divya Narendra, and the Kellogg JD-MBA Program

Few companies can be said to represent the spirit of an entire generation. Well one of those companies is Facebook, as the company has not only transformed the way people use the Internet, but also the way people fundamentally interact with others on a daily basis. Recently, the movie Social Network portrayed the story behind the founding Facebook, and the move is a hit across many college campuses. The movie was also a hit here at Northwestern, as one of the main characters played in the movie, Divya Narendra, is one of my fellow classmates here in the Northwestern JD-MBA program, class of 2012.

Before the founding of Facebook back at Harvard, the thought of connecting with others online was not the standard, it was moreso a good idea. And when Divya and his old classmates discussed the idea for social network at the time, they had no clue it would lead to one of the most popular companies in the world today.

But the most interesting part of the story isn’t their personal success. In fact, if you get to know Divya today, you will quickly realize that his personal success doesn’t necessarily play a huge part of his day to day decisions. Instead, Divya’s main mission is continue to improve professionally as a serial entrepreneur and to create value in online spaces where he sees opportunity to make the world better.

Today Divya works on his company SumZero, while studying full time here in the JD-MBA program. Similar to the original intention of ConnectU, SumZero (i.e. the opposite of Zero Sum) is an internet tool that’s focused on helping people grow their professional networks, except this time his site is tailored for investors who want to share investing information.  And similar to Facebook today, the networks on the site are immense, as nearly every major fund is represented, including Citadel, SAC, Blackstone, Farallon, and KKR, among others.

Because Divya’s company has taken off and because of the success of the new movie, a number of articles have recently been written about him and the Facebook story, including an article put out by Northwestern yesterday.  Below, I’ve posted a number of those articles, including a link to learn more about the JD-MBA program here at Northwestern.

In my view, the JD-MBA program is the perfect fit for any entrepreneur, as you not only get the legal and business training that can be immensely valuable as you start an enterprise, but also the networks and resources from both schools – current entrepreneurs, small business clinic resources, professors that understand the start-up space, classes on forming and managing new businesses, and a network of lawyers, business people and investors.

• Click here to see an article written on Divya by Northwestern yesterday
• Click here to see an article written by the Northwesern Daily newspaper a few weeks ago
• Click here to see a Kellogg press release on the story
• Click here to learn more about the Northwestern JD-MBA program
• Click here to learn more about Divya’s company SumZero

See below to read a preview to the first article above, written by Northwestern University News Center

—–

Life Beyond Facebook

Real-world movie ‘Social Network’ character has no time for regrets By Wendy Leopold

EVANSTON, Ill. — Divya Narendra was having dinner with his girlfriend when a fellow Northwestern University student recognized him for his real-world role portrayed in the blockbuster movie “The Social Network.” “He, of course, mispronounced my name,” said Narendra, still adjusting to the spotlight since the release of the movie.

One of the film’s three Harvard graduates who alleged Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook was based on Narendra.

How accurate is the story of what was deemed “the movie of the decade” by some critics? “The way our personalities are colored is exaggerated at times, but the underlying story is a lot closer to fact than fiction,” Narendra said.

(Click here to read the article online)

Applicant Question: Do Law Firms Ask JD-MBAs to Submit an LSAT Score?

This post is part of my focus on answering applicant questions during the MBA and JD-MBA admissions process, something I’ve been concentrating on for the past year and a half now.  In my view, there has been an increasing need for such collaboration and information sharing, not only for the MBA admissions process, but especially for the JD-MBA admissions process, given the lack of information on the programs and on the process of applying to those programs.

I recently received a question about Northwestern’s JD-MBA program. The question comes from a potential applicant that has asked about the role of the LSAT in the application process and later in the recruiting process. I also received the same question from a JD-MBA applicant who I met with on campus this past week, as he was preparing for his on campus interview at Kellogg. As such, I figured the question was worthy of posting here on my website.

See below for the reader’s question and below that for my response.

Thanks for reading.

—

Applicant question

Hi Jeremy,

Hope you are doing well.I have recently started thinking about applying for NWU’s JD-MBA program.

I am currently working in investment banking and have already taken my GMAT. I understand that LSAT is not required for the JD-MBA program; however, the LSAT (or lack thereof) would be a problem if I choose to pursue a career in law? More specifically, do law firms require one to submit LSAT scores as part of the application/interview process?

I also reached out to some members of the Law School Career Services and they responded to my question.

Thank you for your help.

(Name)

— This mail is sent via contact form on www.JEREMYCWILSON.COM

—-

My response

Hi (Name),

Thanks so much for writing and for your question about the JD-MBA program. I’m glad to hear the law school has already responded to your question, and I’m happy to provide a quick follow-up as well. Since it sounds like your question was pretty technical, I suspect our answers will coincide, so I’ll keep my response brieft.

The short answer is that law firms do not ask students about their LSAT scores. This is something that the JD-MBA program has also listed on the admissions website.  Instead firms tend to rely more on a number of other data points.

First, firms usually ask about data points such as law school GPA and the schools journals you’re a part of.  This tends to be enough information for the firms to assess your “intellectual ability” and writing ability, without asking for your LSAT score.  Secondly, law firms will also ask about a range of other things, such as extracurricular activities, leadership experiences, and work history, though these things still tend to play a much smaller role than grades at most firms. And even though that trend has been evolving over time, at most firms, grades still usually outweigh those other factors. And finally, all firms will take the interview process itself into account. Law firms, just like anywhere else you interview at, are looking to hire people that are good fits for the firm and that get along well with the current employees.

For specific reference, about 50% of JD-MBAs go into law every year (i.e. the summer prior to graduating) on average, and the the LSAT score is never brought up. And that fact is not only true of the JD-MBA program but also for the law school students at Northwestern Law. The only time its ever tends to come up is during the admissions process. But even then, it’s often the case that it you only have to put it in your application and don’t have to talk about it during you interview.  In fact, I recently received a question about whether the LSAT will come up during the JD-MBA interview (different from the JD-only interview), given the test is not technically required. Please click here to read the post.

I hope this information is helpful. Good luck in the application process.

Jeremy

Student Lunch with Kellogg’s Professor Hennessey

Just two weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of having lunch with one of Kellogg’s most regarded professors, Professor Julie Hennessy. Not only was it a great chance to talk with one of Kellogg’s revered marketing experts but it was also a way to get her thoughts on the leading companies in the industry and some of the innovative marketing strategies they’re employing in the future.

One of the things I learned quickly at Kellogg, is that business school has much more to offer than academic and professional (i..e recruiting) experiences, it also provides students with access to a variety of other things, social, cultural, and professional. One of those resources is having access to are the top notch professors.

Every student, both first and second years, has  lots of opportunities to interact with the professors both inside and outside the classroom. One of the first ways students do that is by taking part in lunches that most professors host with students at the Allen Center.  Professors will invite the class to attend lunch in small group sessions, where you’ll have a chance to chat with the professor and other students in a more intimate setting over a good lunch. And the lunches are filled with free quality food that is usually reserved for executive programming that takes place during the day.

In this case, we were a group of about a dozen students from my marketing class, and we had the pleasure of attending lunch with one of Kellogg’s best marketing professors – it usually costs more point to get into professor Hennessy’s class than any other introductory marketing class.  So after my marketing class finished on a Friday afternoon, we went over to the Allen center, and chatted about how school was going, how we thought class was going, and what her recommendations were for future classes in the marketing department. We also discussed marketing more broadly and about things that we thought were most interesting in the class.

Toward the end, I asked her, “what companies do you admire” seeing if she’d give the group a bit of insight into her marketing genius.  Professor Hennessy mentioned a couple of companies she thought had great strategies, including Apple, Walmart, Target, and Costco. Her response was interesting because we had students at the lunch who had previously worked at Apple and at Target. And I was also excited for her response, because Costco is also one of my favorite companies. I’ve always admired its branding strategy not only to consumers who span all income and geographic segments, but also to employees who in aggregate seem to really enjoy working there, especially when compared to other companies.

Before Kellogg I never thought that this would be such an important part of my business school experience, but today I thoroughly enjoy it, and am fortunate that at top business schools these types of experiences are common. For example, I’ve already had similar luncheons with Deans and Professors at Kellogg this quarter. Today, I have a lunch at the Allen Center with my Median Management Professor, Daniel Gruber. And tomorrow I have lunch off campus with my Finance Professor, Jiro Kondo.

It’ll be interesting to see how the next few lunches turn out.

Businessweek 2010 MBA Rankings

Over the past few years, six-figure jobs out of business school have become harder and harder to obtain given the way the economic environment has impacted MBA recruiting.  With that in mind, applicants have recently become more concerned than ever about MBA rankings. For the typical applicant, being in a higher ranked school not only impacts the way colleagues will perceive them when they graduate but more importantly the way employers will read their resumes during the recruiting process. But there’s just one problem. Given the large number of sources of MBA rankings, most of which disagree with each other and use different methodologies to rank, how do you know which rankings are correct?

Fortunately, recent times has brought some good news – the MBA job market is picking up, and students are starting to get jobs in large number again (click here to see the pace of consulting recruiting). Top programs, like Kellogg, have a lot more companies coming to campus than they did a few years ago and they’ve also starting reporting higher percentage of students with summer and full time offers. This means students across all the top schools are benefitting, which for some applicants, helps take off some of the pressure to get into a top five ranked school.  On the other hand, this still doesn’t stop a lot of applicants from closely following a school’s  national rankings. After all, everyone that graduates from an MBA program carries with them a school’s reputation and resulting alumni network for decades to follow.

My personal view on the topic is threefold. First, that U.S. News tends to be the most widely used source for business school rankings, and for all other program rankings. Though over the past decade or so, a lot of people have also increasingly began referencing BusinessWeek.  Second, that all sources can be good data points and provide different perspectives in the market. This is especially true because most sources use different methodologies, so you can look at things such as return on investment, post MBA salary, students survey responses, rankings based on prestige, and international reputation. And finally, my experience is that most similarly-ranked schools have access to very similar job roles after business school, whether banking, consulting, marketing, general management, or anything else you can think of. Because what really matters to recruiters is not a magazine’s ranking of the school on your resume but instead the experiences (and results) on your resume, and future potential as an employee at the firm.

Because of that, my view is that fit is especially important when selecting a business school. That means understanding what school appeals to you most and has the highest number of classes you find interesting. Which students you fit in best with. Where did the energy levels inside and outside of the classroom best match your energy level? And what place will not only set you up personally to be most successful after graduation?

But it also means understanding which “program” might be best for you.  Today, more students than ever are more interested in programs, such as study abroad programs, skill-based training programs, and most notably dual degree programs, such as the Northwestern JD-MBA which I’m a huge proponent of.  But being in the program isn’t necessarily the same experience as being at Kellogg, nor does it draw the same reaction from recruiters.  So it pays to understand the program more deeply and see if actually makes sense for you to apply.

In sum, if you want to select the ‘best’ business school for you, you should not only look at rankings but also look at fit and program options before making your final choice.

Without further discussion, here below are BusinessWeek’s 2010 MBA rankings. And below that, are links to the articles on the BusinessWeek website.

Top Ranked U.S.
1  University of Chicago (Booth)
2  Harvard University
3  University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
4  Northwestern University (Kellogg)
5 Stanford University
6  Duke University (Fuqua)
7  University of Michigan (Ross)
8 University of California – Berkeley (Haas)
9 Columbia University
10  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
11 University of Virginia (Darden)
12 Southern Methodist University (Cox)
13 Cornell University (Johnson)
14 Dartmouth College (Tuck)
15 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
16 University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler)
17 University of California – Los Angeles (Anderson)
18 New York University (Stern)
19  Indiana University (Kelley)
20 Michigan State University (Broad)
21 Yale University
22 Emory University (Goizueta)
23 Georgia Institute of Technology
24 University of Notre Dame (Mendoza)
25 University of Texas – Austin (McCombs)
26 University of Southern California (Marshall)
27 Brigham Young University (Marriott)
28 University of Minnesota (Carlson)
29 Rice University (Jones)
30 Texas A&M University (Mays)

Click here for BusinessWeek’s interactive rankings table

Click here for BusinessWeek’s profile on Kellogg

Click here for BusinessWeek’s slide show on the programs

Click here for BusinessWeek’s article about the rankings

Click here for BusinessWeek’s ranking methodology

Tags: BusinessWeek, MBA, Rankings

Recruiting for the Consulting Industry

For the past week, MBAs at Kellogg have attended dozens of recruiting events put on by consulting firms. Rumor has it that the firms are doing well again and are looking to hire in record numbers for the summer of 2011. As such, Kellogg MBAs want to be sure to put their best foot forward for their interviews that will take place in January and February.

In recent blog posts, I wrote articles about the campus visits of BCG and McKinsey when they came to campus over the last two weeks. Since then Deloitte consulting has also visited campus as has Monitor and the Parthenon Group. Internal consulting group American Express also came to campus a couple of weeks ago and next week the internal consulting group for Fidelity is coming. And as the semester continues, more and more people seem to be  attending these events, and I suspect a lot more will be submitting applications in December.

About one year ago, most people in my class of 2012 had just finalized their applications to business school. Some of them had plans to enter the consulting industry, the day after submitting their applications, but for many of them, their goal in coming to business school was not necessarily to enter the industry. But over the past months, a shift has taken place, and more and more people have had a change of opinion, evident by the increasing number of people that continue to attend these networking events. Most recently, over 150 people attended a BCG reception and Bain’s reception in two weeks is anticipated to have more than that.

Inspired by the large number of smart alumni in the industry that are coming to campus talking about their jobs and future exit opportunities, students have increasingly become more interested in the field as time passes. Similarly, as the firms continue to come to campus not only for information sessions but also to host receptions, provide free open bars, and hang out and talk to students in the atrium, students continually become more attracted to the idea of working for one of the firms. At Kellogg, many people understand this phenomenon as the “atrium effect.”

And why does the “Atrium effect” happen every single year, you ask? Good question but upon reflection the answer is pretty simple. One reason is the fact that you see many of your classmates doing the same thing. And when you see 50 intelligent people with impressive backgrounds trying so hard to enter one industry, it’s nearly impossible not to take a second look and consider it yourself. A second reason is because you also see another one or two dozen smart and happy  alumni who you admire that are at these consulting firms.  Often times, you see people in high level positions you want to be in, and they’ve often spent time at some of these consulting firms prior to that and speak highly of those experiences.

Now, given what I’ve said above, fast forward about six weeks into the first quarter. And imagine our session now, where the classroom was jam-packed corner to corner with eager first year students ready to start prepping for a consulting job next summer. And as time goes on, everyone is starting to realize that there’s a lot of competition, so it’s going to take a lot of prepping to land one of these coveted consulting jobs. And that’s in addition to school work, outside activities, and social activities that everyone is involved in.

The question that many people will have over the next few months is, is all the work required to get a consulting job worth it? And more broadly, maybe the better question is “are MBAs with strategy consulting experience better off as business leaders?”

In my view, that’s probably not quite the right question to ask. The right question might be something more like, “will consulting make me specifically a better business leader in the long run, given my specific career goals and current skill sets? And if so, which firm will offer the best training to do that, and will I be happy there?” And even if the answer to the latter question is no, then is the time I spent at the consulting firm still worth it for me personally?

In my experience, most people don’t know their answers to these questions just yet, and they tend to go through the recruiting process first and then ask themselves this question second.

Stay tuned to eventually hear how these decisions play out over the next few months. I’ll be sure to post regular updates and answer applicant and career questions along the way.

Google Comes to Class

Leaving your job and coming to business school is both an exciting and scary step for MBA students. For most it means going through the recruiting process again and for a subset of those it means doing some serious soul searching first. But no matter which category you fit into, some companies manage to grab everyone’s attention when they come to campus. These companies not only have strong brand names but they also have passionate employees that work on some of the world’s most cutting edge problems.  Well, last week, I had the privilege of seeing one of those companies firsthand, as Google came to speak in my Leading and Organizing Media Companies course.

One of the best things about coming to a top business school like Kellogg, is that there’s no dearth of great companies and speakers on campus. On any given day, there’s ten different companies on campus and just as many executive level speakers. This is good for MBA students who may not know where they want to work when they graduate and it’s even better for the students interested in learning more about the business world more broadly.

After spending a few months here on campus, it’s clear that investment banks and consulting firms are still popular choices.  But at Kellogg, so are other function and industries, like general management, marketing, CPG, internal strategy, and the technology industry.

Of the those listed above, the technology industry tends to be a favorite here at Kellogg, so my class was quite fortunate and happy to have  three folks from Google pay a visit.

During class we talked about the overall state of the company. We discussed issues such as the current job market, how to get a job at Google, and Google’s evolving business model. We also dove into the company’s People and Human Resources Strategies as well as talked a little about Google’s history and plans for the future. And finally, our professor budgeted in about thirty minutes for questions.

One interesting fact I learned from the event is that Google receives about 7,000 applications per day. As you might imagine, I was quite shocked at the number, so my natural reaction was to ask a few questions in return – how many of those are viable candidates, how do those viable candidates get filtered, and do some people ever slip through the holes?

I also asked questions about Google’s culture and whether that culture is evolving over time as many people have the perception that Google is becoming a big company.  Google had a lot of great answers last week and in one response they said that they still consider their culture to be a unique competitive advantage, and that they consider themselves to still be more like a start up, so are still looking for more entrepreneurial applicants.

On the other hand, they also admitted that the company is reaching a pivotal moment in history. It currently has more employees than it’s ever had before and it’s reaching a new segment of its company life cycle, so has to start managing its growth differently. One way Google has done that is by keeping its hand in a lot of interesting areas, for example in helping create the self driving cars (click here to see article on cars)

But perhaps more interesting (and more relevant) than the long list of vastly interesting things Google is involved in is the fact that the company maintains a relentless focus on the Google mission. The representatives not only referred back to the mission on multiple occasions but they also stressed that it’s important to keep that at the very core of what they do.

And that’s pretty interesting, right. After all, most of us think more of nonprofits when we think of mission statements because those are what inspires founders to create the organization and they’re what drive board members and volunteers to stay involved.

But for Google, having a mission statement and a set of associated values is critical.  And as a result, today Google remains like a highly driven entrepreneurial community of people despite it’s increasing size. And having a community with a shared purpose, and a habit of collaborating and sharing information will not only help Google reach new heights for years to come, but it may also help them to change the world.

Boston Consulting Group Firm Reception

Last night, I attended a firm reception with the Boston Consulting Group. I attended a similar event with Mckinsey & Company last week (click here to read), and tonight, Monitor is having its own version of the event. Other than the fact that these consulting firms are all coming to campus during midterm week, the events are a lot of fun. Not only is it a good way to help differentiate all the firms, it’s also a way to get to know a lot of interesting people, both at the firms and in the Kellogg class of 2012.

With a group of 20 or more consultants from 7 to 10 offices, BCG filled up the Orrington Hotel yesterday to talk with students intersested in working at the firm. Our discussion focused on what to think about as you go through the recruiting process – what criteria are important for getting hired, how to think about choosing offices, how to approach cases, and the importance of getting to know people at the firms.

Among others, the Chairman of BCG, Carl Stern, was in attendance and he kicked off the event by making a few remarks. In large part that’s because he works from the Chicago office. But it also because he wanted to personally address the Kellogg students, giving us his take on the firm and on the consulting recruiting process in general. Chief among those things is that consulting field, and BCG specifically, are looking to hire its biggest class ever next year.

As he made the comment, I looked across the room, left to right, and saw a ripple of smiles, as the Chairman emphasized–as I recently have in a number of my posts–that the economy is doing well and that the firm is looking to not only hire great people but hire more of them than ever before. He said that’s because the job market is doing well for skilled people, and that BCG is doing exceptionally well. He followed that by gestfully making a comment that we’d all have a job at BCG if we just applied.

I’ve have heard similar messages at other company presentations I’ve been to recently, including Mckinsey’s last week, which has come as great news to Kellogg students. And that’s especially true now, given recruiting has been down in recent years, not specifically at Kellogg but across the nation and not only in business school but also at law school and in other programs. In fact, last year (for summer 2010) represented the worst legal recruiting year ever.

Granted, no one is under the impression that they are guaranteed a job in the consulting field. After all, a consulting job has long been considered one of the hardest things to get coming out of business school. And to be successful in the consulting interview process, you’d better be able to ace the case study! And that’s in addition to doing well on all the other things too – going to information sessions, meeting consultants, understanding fit and firm culture, doing well academically, and translating all of that into a great interview on a single day in January.

Right now there is an appealing growth and excitement in the consulting market for MBAs. The question is, who is going to ride the wave in the summer of 2011. And who is going to ride the wave with BCG?

Though perhaps the more applicable question for my class right now is  how do you stand out so you can be sure to ride the wave? With exactly 150 people registered for the event yesterday, there unfortunately won’t be room for everyone, even all the highly accomplished, smart and motivated students at Kellogg.

Stay tuned to see how things play out!

Applicant Question: Two Tips for MBA Admissions Essays

Looking at your background, it’s clear that you’re a competitive candidate for admissions into a top business school.  You have relevant work experience and interesting experiences as a leader.  You also have proof that you’re highly-motivated and a hard worker.  All good traits. That said, what else can you do to stand out from the other five thousand applicants?

One of the best ways to stand out in the MBA admissions admissions cycle is writing a first-class set of essays. Essays not only give you the chance to elaborate on the things you couldn’t fit into other parts of the application, they also give you the chance to really tell your story – who you are, what obstacles you’ve overcome, the details of your professional experiences, and the things that make you stand out as an eventual leader in the business world.

What’s ironic though, is that in general, most people’s essays could still use some polish. After all, we’ve all been out of school for years and don’t spend nearly as much time writing and editing as we used to. Similarly, writing multiple essays for multiple schools can be difficult, not only because most people are busy and can’t devote as much time to write but also because the process is difficult – telling a full story to the committee, determining which stories fit best for which schools, writing in a style that’s both eloquent but also concise, and finally using your essays to say as much as possible while still making the essay readable and enjoyable. A herculean task by all measures.

Because I’ve been getting a lot of requests to help with essays recently, I thought I’d write a few “guiding” rules I like to think about as I write and review essays myself. I’ll share two of those tips with you here today, because I’ve recently edited a couple of essays where they became relevant.

1. Answer the question: One easy, but often overlooked rule of thumb for writing essays at any school is to answer the question. For some schools the essays are different than others so you have to understand not only what things you want to express to them but also how to actually answer the question. MIT’s questions, for example, are stylistically different than those of other b-schools, as they ask “…explain what you said, thought, felt and did.”  When I was apply to MBA programs, an alum of the school once told me that “MIT is thirsty for the details of the story, not your impressions of the story in retrospect …  Be explicit about what actually happened.” So always go back and re-read the question. Be sure of what it’s asking. And make sure that you not only answer the question but also that everything in your essay supports you answering the question. Because the worst thing you can do is answer an essay with your own agenda in mind. Admissions folks can see this a mile away, and I suspect that it’s a sure fire way not to gain acceptance into a good number of schools.

2. Headline: When possible try to set the tone of your essays by engaging your audience. Admissions committees have read thousands of personal statements and essays, so it’s important to set the tone for the statement and get the reader’s attention right away. Like any good book or New York Times article, a good opening line, whether an anecdote or a personal story, can be helpful. Just as long as it grabs the committee’s attention, while also reinforcing the topic. But also remember, just because you start the essay off in a casual or funny tone, doesn’t mean you should write the whole thing that way. Use your discretion but also remember that you’re writing an MBA essay so formality should also be a consideration.

This year shaping up to be just as competitive as the last few years, so you definitely want to do your best to land a spot at a great school.  So keep these things in mind as you’re writing your essays.

Also, be sure check back here, at jeremycwilson.com, for more essay and interview tips over the next few weeks.

Good luck!