“Too many cooks in the kitchen”: Don’t let all that “help” turn into a hindrance
By Jeremy Dann
Second round applicants are now in the stretch run—the final thirty days or so before their apps are due. Some are tempted to take up the offer of every friend, family member or co-worker who has volunteered to chip in his perspectives on what makes the perfect essay.
Do not fall into this trap. It can lead to cluttered essays, garbled messages and strained friendships. For every typo they catch, they could very well inject an extra dose of pain or complication into your process.
Outside advisers can and should be a part of this MBA application process, don’t get me wrong (c’mon, I wouldn’t be writing all of this stuff if I didn’t believe it). But this should be a very small circle of advisers. A professional adviser—like the sort available through this service—can be invaluable by helping set a “branding” strategy, by enforcing a schedule/process, and by judiciously editing essays in accordance with the “own work” standards laid out by business school admissions committees.
“Amateur advisers” are often employed by people who are not utilizing a professional adviser and even by some people who are. I recommend applicants not take on a horde of volunteers. True, many of these people may be showing their enthusiasm and belief in you by offering up their services, which is flattering—but a lot of these people might not be good writers or editors and may not have the necessary wisdom about the MBA application process. So, I recommend approaching one or two very trusted folks, people who have a very good sense of you as a person and know how to use the English language to good effect.
Instead of tapping into 30-60 minutes of free work time from four to six individuals (or more), get one or two people to invest 4 to 6 hours of their time over a multi-week period. They will be more knowledgeable about your overall strategy and your “brand” and this will be reflected in the applicability of their comments. If you approach this friend or colleague soon, he or she can be a guide over the next four weeks. You can make it worth their while: take them out to lunch or dinner during each feedback session.
With a horde of advisers, you may find yourself “chasing your tail,” pursuing new sections and even new essays based on the whim of a person who read your essay on a crowded bus on the way to work. Don’t get caught up in this. Employing just one or two well-briefed outside advisers will allow you to execute a more efficient process. At this stage of the game, you should be locking down on your essays topics and just working out ways to better explain the points you need to prove. Late December and early January is not the time to be questioning your approach based on a couple comments from Jim in accounting; rather, it’s the time to slam home the points you’ve been working on and for final polishing and proofreading.
Good luck and happy typing!
