The economic downturn made looking for jobs only more difficult even for MBA degree holders. Searching for high-paying jobs in finance and business industries is no walk in the park, since a lot of companies are now more selective. In effect, some MBA graduates have to consider other industries and even non-business careers just to survive what seems to be a meltdown in some sectors. According to some MBA students and graduates, this made them evaluate their options further besides the targeted finance and business industry. Here are some of the non-business career options for MBA graduates:
Career in education
With your MBA degree, you can teach in technical colleges, universities, and training institutions. You can even offer employee training through workshops and work as a consultant in some companies. Knowing the latest in business philosophies and technologies, you can aim for a teaching position and use your MBA skills to train other people. Some find this career more rewarding than working in finance and business industries.
Career in publishing
Finance articles are a hit among consumers, especially during the recession. With your knowledge and skills in business, finance, and marketing, you can use it to your advantage as a business writer for a newspaper, website, or any other publication. Aside from being a writer, you can also work as an editor or other positions in the editorial staff. You can work part-time or full-time.
Career in the government
If job security in today’s economic downturn is your primary concern, then you may want to consider working for the federal government as a career option. There are various opportunities for people with MBA degrees in different agencies of the government, especially since budget and finance has been a top concern of the government when making policies and implementing law.
Writing a personal statement MBA is easy if you keep in mind some writing tips for effective admissions essay writing. The University of Idaho has some helpful information that you can use when you write your admission essay. Read on.
The purpose of personal statement MBA
Usually the purpose is to persuade the admissions committee that you are an applicant they should choose. You may want to show that you have the ability and motivation to succeed in your field, or you may want to show the committee that, on the basis of your experience, you are the kind of candidate who will do well in the field. Whatever the purpose, it must be explicit to give coherence to the whole statement.
You have to be clear in stating your purpose in your essay. Remember that your personal statement for MBA is one of the keys that could get you accepted into the school of your dreams.
Organize your personal statement MBA
Organization is the macro level of clear writing. Not only should each sentence be clear, but the entire text should flow together in a logical order.
Start your essay with an attention-grabbing lead — an anecdote, quote, question, or engaging description of a scene. End your essay with a conclusion that refers back to the lead and restates your thesis.
Put the most important sentences at the beginning and end of the paragraph. When people skim passages, they look at the first and then the last sentence. Make a good first and last impression with substantive statements. Don’t begin or end on fluff.
A clear and well-organized content would make your essay attention-grabbing. You can also add enough dose of creativity in your essay to make it more interesting. However, getting creative doesn’t mean adding fluffy words or statements that don’t support the thesis at all.
Read sample essays and start a draft
Write a rough draft in which you transform your outline into prose according to the organization you have chosen in Step 3 (do it without reading sample statements, you might get some really innovative ideas that way). Set it aside. In the mean time read as many sample statements as you can, pay attention to how and in what good statements differ from bad ones, look at the good word combination, try to invent your own. Next day or a few days later, read your draft. If it still sounds good, make changes and additions according to what you have learned from sample statements and go to the next step. If not, rewrite it until it sounds right.
Reading sample essays will help you write a good one. However, make sure that you don’t plagiarize them. Sample essay should only serve as guides.
Edit and proofread your essay
The Capital Community College Foundation shares some pointers in editing and proofreading.
Try reading your paper into a tape recorder and then play it back to yourself, slowly. It’s important to hear your paper as well as to see it on the page. Your ears will catch clumsy phrasing and botched sentences before your eyes will. If your outside editor and you can apply both ear and eye to your paper, that’s four separate faculties being brought to bear on the matter. Your chances of catching problems before they make their way into final text have just improved remarkably.
You can also ask a family member or peer to read your essay aloud or to read it silently and comment on it. Getting opinions from others is one good way of identifying errors that can sometimes make or break the success of your essay.
An attention-grabbing personal statement will give you more chances for admissions into the school of your dream. This is why you have to exert effort in writing it.
The personal statement MBA is one of the most important tickets to a prestigious MBA school. Writing one can be a daunting task. However, the result is worth it. Dartmouth Career Services shares some interesting pointers that could help you when you write your personal statement MBA.
How to start your personal statement MBA
Start early, plan on writing and revising several drafts. Schedule specific times for this important and time-consuming task. Understand the questions thoroughly. Brainstorm your achievements, career goals, leadership, and personal interests. Narrow your emphasis to one specific theme or point. Begin your essay with this theme and the following paragraphs should logically develop and illustrate it. Work towards a rough draft. Then revise it. Have others read it. Continue to revise the draft until you have a clear, concise, error-free essay.
You need to start early to avoid pressure. Aside from starting early, you also have to begin with a good introductory paragraph. You have to brainstorm for and plan your essay. Cramming is never a good idea.
Choose a relevant subject matter
Do not waste space telling the admissions committee what the profession is like. Similarly, do not write your life story or concentrate on a high school or earlier experience. Avoid using your statement to provide a laundry list of your accomplishments; this should be found elsewhere in your application. In addition to the content of your personal statement, presentation is also important. Follow writing guidelines and use a font size that is easy to read.
The personal statement MBA is supposed to be short. This is why you have to ensure that your admissions essay’s content is full of relevant details. Here are some topics that could interest the admissions panel.
- Significant travel, work or volunteer experience
- Loss of a family member or friend
- Personal triumph, achievement or revelation
- Overcoming or understanding a hardship, disease, injury or loss
- Significant personal influence in your life
- Significant piece of learning, text, reading or painting
Writing a notable conclusion for your essay
You have to grab the readers attention on the first few lines of your essay and maintain their interest in the body. Aside from this, you have to make a conclusion that they would never forget. The Capital Community College Foundation provides tips on how to write a conclusion.
This paragraph should include the following:
1. an allusion to the pattern used in the introductory paragraph,
2. a restatement of the thesis statement, using some of the original language or language that echoes the original language. (The restatement, however, must not be a duplicate thesis statement.)
3. a summary of the three main points from the body of the paper.
4. a final statement that gives the reader signals that the discussion has come to an end. (This final statement may be a call to action in an persuasive paper.)
The use of an allusion and restating the thesis statement shows that you essay is coherent and has unity. Summarizing the main points of your essay ensures that each sentence fully supports the topic. A final statement makes sure that your readers grasp the overall point of your work.
In order to write a notable personal statement MBA, you need to start planning early, choose a relevant subject matter, and write a notable conclusion.
Personal statement MBA is one of the most important requirements in entering the MBA school of your dreams. It is important that you know the ins and outs of writing a personal statement for MBA. Owl Purdue shares some of the rules and the pitfalls to avoid when writing a personal statement for MBA school.
Personal statement MBA rules
Strive for depth rather than breadth. Narrow focus to one or two key themes, ideas or experiences
The rule here is quality over quantity. You don’t have to talk extensively about many things. All you need are a few subject matters that are relevant to your application. The point here is to present these topics as best as you can. Some other tips include the following:
- Try to tell the reader something that no other applicant will be able to say
- Provide the reader with insight into what drives you
- Be yourself, not the ideal applicant
- Get creative and imaginative in the opening remarks, but make sure it’s something that no one else could write
The point of writing a personal statement is to introduce yourself to the admissions panel. And because of this you have to speak through your own voice. Adding a dose of creativity on your admission essay will grab the attention of the admissions panel. However, you must be careful not to overdo it.
Personal statement MBA writing pitfalls
- Do not submit an expository resume; avoid repeating information found elsewhere on the application
Your essay should contain information that could not be found in your resume. The personal statement is your means to sell yourself, do not waste it by repeating your resume. Another pitfall to avoid is whining and preaching.
- Do not complain or whine about the system or circumstances in your life
- Do not preach to your reader. You can express opinions, but do not come across as fanatical or extreme
Whining is an immature way of handling problems, so you have to avoid doing it. Preaching is also a no-no. This may offend the admissions panel.
UC Davis’ admissions advising blog shares other no-nos in writing a personal statement for MBA.
Avoid cliches. Don’t start your statement with a quote from a famous person, the committee wants to read what you have to say.
There are many other means to be creative than opening your essay with a line from a famous person. For instance, you can start with an anecdote. It is also important that you strike balance among the elements in your essay. Avoid being too gimmicky.
Your personal statement for MBA school should be perfect in all aspects. You have to edit the content over and over again. Aside from this, you also have to ensure that the content is flawless.
Your personal statement MBA should be close to perfect if you want to be admitted into the MBA school of your dreams. Here are some tips on how to write an attention-grabbing personal statement. Some of these tips come from How to E-D-U.
Write a personal statement MBA outline
Regardless of your personal statement’s topic or length, it is always easiest to write this kind of essay if you start with an outline. Start with an introductory paragraph, list the points you want to talk about in the body, and close with a final paragraph that sums up the essay.
You have to brainsrorm for ideas first and then start an outline. The outline is your guide when you write your admission essay.
Talk about your good points
Your essay should talk about personal attributes that aren’t listed elsewhere in your application packet. Some colleges ask you to answer a specific question with your personal statement. Others simply want a comprehensive essay about you. In either case, you should think about the attributes you possess that you want to highlight and fit them into the essay. What is special or unique about you?
Your statement of purpose is your chance to sell yourself to the admissions committee. Because of this, it is just right that you take this opportunity to highlight your strengths.
Show don’t tell
It isn’t enough just to talk about characteristics that make you a good catch for the school. Showing is always better than telling, so give some examples of how you have displayed these attributes throughout your high school career. Talk about what you’ve learned and how this has added to your character overall.
It is best that you give specific examples and not just general ones. Incorporating specific examples will make your admissions essay unique. According to this site:
Use specific, concrete examples and language. Avoid generalities like being on the track team was fun and go right for the details. Make sure your response directly addresses the prompt, avoid a collection of facts or examples, and expand on ? don’t simply repeat ? information contained in your application.
In order to obtain admissions to the school that you want, you have to write a personal statement that could grab the attention of the admissions panel. First you need to make an outline. You have to include your good points. It is also necessary that you use specific examples.
