You’re applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your resume, academic transcripts, extracurricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores, and what your recommenders have to say about you. What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy? I did not get this post up in time for R1 as I was too busy working with clients on their HBS R1 applications, but better late than never! SORRY ABOUT THE FORMATTING ISSUES BELOW. I WILL ADDRESS THEM AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. essay on career goals and aspirations have been admitted to the regular HBS for the Classes of 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, and 2005. My clients’ results and testimonials can be found here. In addition to providing comprehensive application consulting on HBS, I regularly help additional candidates with HBS interview preparation. I have worked with a large number of applicants from Canada, Europe, India, Japan, other parts of Asia, and the United States on HBS application. I think that this range of experience has helped me understand the many possible ways of making an effective application to HBS. This post was created by Essay Writers.
My best HBS client results were the best ever for the Class of 2016. I had six clients admitted from five different counties. Their backgrounds and essays varied greatly. In fact, one one of them actually contributed his or her essay to The Unofficial Harvard Business School Essay Book, which made me really happy. I can’t tell you which one. I do highly recommend reading this book because it will give you a really good idea about the range of possible answers and dispel any myths about needing to submit something that is professionally written. I would also recommend the old book that contained HBS admits essays. That collection is still a good read for understanding how to put together an MBA essay though the specific que stions are no longer being asked by HBS. Combined, both books are really great guides for someone looking to see sample successful MBA essays. Beyond those essay books, a piece of absolutely required reading for HBS admissions is Poets & Quants' John Byrne's interview with Dee Leopold, Managing Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard Business School.
If you are looking for one article to give you overall insight into how HBS makes admissions decisions, John Byrne has done an exceptional job of asking Dee Leopold the right questions. I will quote from that interview below. Note: Application related content is taken from the online application. Instructions: Please provide a current resume or CV. The resume has always been an important part of any HBS application. You can find a resume template I have linked to on my blog here. That resume template can also simply serve as a checklist for what to include. While many schools prefer a one-page resume, HBS really does not care. Depending on a client’s background, I will recommend 1 or 2 pages. I think it best to think of a resume as a record of accomplishment. If you have sufficient accomplishments, 2 pages is fine. Some applicants try to a use an MBA student’s recruitment resume format as the basis for their own resume, but I generally don’t consider this a good idea as such resumes serve a very different purpose.
An MBA resume should really designed to focus on you overall, that is your academic, professional, and personal accomplishments and key facts. A recruiting resume is meant for a different kind of audience, recruiters, and typically focuses on a much more narrow range of information. 1. It is a great way for any applicant to summarize the most important information about them and their accomplishments. It sometimes helps applicants actually remind themselves of what they have done. 2. For me, it is a way I learn about a client so that I can better understand their background. One key thing to remember about what you include on your resume: Anything that is there, just like any component of the application, may become the basis for a HBS interview question. Therefore if you don’t want to talk about it and don’t need to write about it, leave it off the resume. While not mentioned in the HBS essay question, there is also an Employment Section of the application that provides space for you to discuss two positions in detail including providing brief descriptions of your professional accomplishments and challenges. To some extent this information will overlap with the resume.
This is nothing to worry about. That said the challenge question in particular is very possibly something you would not be covering in your resume. Stanford has a similar detailed employment section in their application, which they seriously. I assume HBS does as well, so just as with the resume, make sure your answers in the application are as effective as possible. Don’t treat it like some form you do at the last minute. First, keep in mind that admissions officers read transcripts and are trained to know what they are reading. They don’t just look at GPA (If your school calculates it). If there is something really bad on your transcript (a fail, a withdrawal, etc) or odd, you really do want to explain it in the additional section or, in some cases, in the essay. If is just a C and you have no specific excuse, don’t bother trying to explain it.