Haas has continued with the unusual format of asking several short answer questions and two longer required essays. The short answers are quite short, at only 250 words they are about the length of one of the three accomplishments you will outline for HBS. This challenge is an opportunity to provide a very concise and specific example for each, and to demonstrate several different aspects of your personality.

As Haas asks for your career goals last, the admissions committee will be getting to know you as a person before they understand what you are planning to do with your future. Make sure your career goals aren’t a huge surprise at the end, and that they logically flow from your attitude, personality and experiences.

Haas values leadership, teamwork and management potential as much as any other MBA program, yet specifically calls out innovation and creativity in essay 3. If you are a proactive, creative and innovative person this will be a great example for you to shine. While most of the new essay questions are quite similar to last year’s, there is a replacement for question 1, which was a mistake essay last year. This year you are being asked to describe what you are most passionate about, and why. It’s a good way to start the set of essays and should reflect a big picture passion in your life that may be reflected throughout the set of essays.

Short Answer:1. What are you most passionate about? Why? (250 word maximum)

Similar to what matters most, and why, this question seeks to get at your core values. What do you wake up in the middle of the night thinking about? (You may want to keep a pencil by your bed to get your creative thoughts flowing!) What common threads have been woven throughout your life, whether altruistic, artistic or personal?

Whatever your passion is, make sure you can draw a conclusion about why you are passionate, and preferably you are able to weave your passion through this entire set of essays.

2. Tell us about your most significant accomplishment. (250 word maximum)

Your accomplishment can be big or small, but it should be significant to you. While you have limited space, this is an opportunity to demonstrate what matters to you and to showcase one of your proudest moments.

While you are asked only about the accomplishment, the best essays will use this limited space to demonstrate clearly what the accomplishment was (be specific!) as well as commenting upon the significance of the accomplishment.

3. At Haas, we value innovation and creativity. Describe a time when you created positive change in a group or an organization. (250 word maximum)

Your own innovative and creative efforts can shine in this essay. This is an ideal place to demonstrate fit with Haas. Even if you are not someone who constantly strives for a new way of doing things, you likely have an experience where you either innovated upon a process or creatively solved a problem. This is likely to be at work, though can certainly be a significant leadership position you have held in an extracurricular organization. The key aspect of this question is to concisely describe what you did, and to elucidate what the impact on the group or organization was.

4. What steps have you taken to learn about the Berkeley MBA program, and what factors have influenced your decision to apply? (250 word maximum)

This is another great opportunity to demonstrate your fit and enthusiasm for the Haas MBA program. Basic research will certainly include a visit to the website and perusal of the course catalog. To really demonstrate fit you will benefit from visiting campus, attending an informational session or connecting with alumni or current students. The personal touch is often the most helpful, and will give you an opportunity to really understand how you can personally be connected to the school.

Required Essays:
Give us an example of a situation in which you displayed leadership. (500 word maximum)
Both required essays are the same as they were last year. In this essay you will want to think about a specific leadership experience and what you did, said, felt and accomplished. Leadership can be expressed in many ways. Perhaps you lead a team of people at work, or in a volunteer capacity. If you do not have a formal leadership role you might have led a project or contributed as a strong leader from a team perspective. Whichever type of leadership experience you had, make sure to provide specifics of the situation. Strong results always stand out!

What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How do your professional experiences relate to these goals? How will an MBA from Berkeley help you achieve these specific career goals? (1000 word maximum)

This is a fairly typical career goals essay that asks for both short- and long-term goals and the background that led you to this juncture in your career. This year it will be especially important to logically connect your background and your future, as schools will be looking for candidates who can be successful in a challenging job market.

Be specific about why Haas is the right program to pursue your goals as well. Make sure you have determined exactly what courses make sense for your career goals and the programs and clubs that you will participate in to reach your personal and professional goals.

Optional Essays:
(Optional) Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that you haven’t addressed elsewhere. (500 word maximum)

This optional essay can be used for any weakness you would like to address, or simply as an opportunity to end with some additional information that will help you stand out from the application pool. If there is an aspect of your background that was not illustrated in previous questions this can be a great opportunity.

If you have a weakness you would like to address here, focus on specifics. Describe what happened, why it is not representative of your potential, and provide specific examples of how you have performed better in your life since. Explanations and not excuses are always the best path.

This year sees a further reduction in the number and word count of the Darden essays. You will need to be highly strategic for your 2009-2010 application and know exactly what personal attributes, leadership qualities, and accomplishments are key to highlight.

While last year’s set of questions focused on the case study method, your career goals and the lessons you have learned, this year’s question includes an acknowledgement that the last 18 months have been interesting for those in the business world.

Focus on your goals and a strong understanding of your fit with Darden’s unique program will be an asset to your essays this year. Focus on providing specific answers to the questions with examples that will allow the admissions committee to understand exactly how you operate and approach the world.

MBA Application Essay Questions 2009-2010
1. How have the changes in the global economy over the last 18 months affected you and your plan for the future? (400 words)

Last year, Darden asked about pivotal choices that led to your pursuit of an MBA, and there is a flavor of that question in this revision. You will certainly want to work in some aspect of your future career goals in this essay, but can also approach it much like Stanford’s “What matters most” essay and discuss some of the perspective you may have gained in the last 18 months.

If you were laid off, for example, this essay allows you to transform such an experience from a challenge to an opportunity. What did you learn about yourself from the experience? How has it refined your goals?

Even for those whose job situation has remained stable, this question allows you to step back and think about your goals in a more holistic sense. Perhaps in the past you planned to pursue a career in a previously lucrative field and have re-assessed your options in light of the economy. Maybe a poor economy has led you to consider less typical MBA career paths. Whatever your personal path, you will want to relate it to the global situation and events of the past year and a half.

Your plans for the future are a second important factor of this essay question. This should certainly have a career component, and relate clearly to the changes you identify with in the economy.

2. What will you contribute to an MBA program and what are your personal and professional expectations of the program you attend? (600 words)

This question is an opportunity to both describe your fit with Darden and sell yourself to the program. Starting with what you bring to the table is an effective way to approach this essay. What are your points of differentiation from other MBA candidates? Do you bring a unique leadership style or knowledge you can share? How will you contribute to the classroom and the community? Do not limit yourself to purely academic pursuits as the close-knit Darden community expects involvement.

For the second half of the question, you have the opportunity to set the context for your career goals and the need for an MBA. Think about the skills you will gain, and certainly expand your expectations into the realm of the personal. How will the community be an asset to your life? What kind of personal development do you expect?

Thorough school research will be a huge asset to this essay. Do not forget the personal touch, speaking with current students and alumni will be invaluable.

The essay questions for the HBS class of 2012 are posted, along with the questions for your recommenders.

HBS has remained fairly consistent this year. Most of the questions from the previous year’s application are repeated again, with a few differences in the choices for the final two essays. Whereas last year’s essay questions had the option to choose a part of the world you were curious about, this year’s questions added two additional options, describing a difficult decision or writing a cover letter.

The limited word count for HBS essays forces applicants to be focused and concise. When you answer a question, think about a discrete example that can be efficiently described, leaving you room to discuss lessons learned. When choosing HBS topics, start with the two required questions and then pick the remaining two questions by referring back to your application strategy and the attributes and experiences you want to highlight.

Essay 1 (required – 600 word limit): What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such?
This is a great question to highlight a few important areas of your life, and the accomplishments should draw from your well-rounded life rather than just work. Try approaching this question from the “why do you view them as such?” and then working back to the accomplishment. While an incredibly impressive accomplishment is exciting, it’s most important to show the moments where you grew, changed or realized something crucial about yourself. If you were an Olympic gold medalist and didn’t explain why this accomplishment was meaningful, the question was not fully answered. Even a seemingly humble accomplishment can be illuminated with your own reflection. That being said, this is also an opportunity to share your own key achievements.

Essay 2 (required – 400 word limit): What have you learned from a mistake?
Don’t be afraid to admit you make mistakes because the key part of this question is describing what you learned. The mistake itself is less important, though choosing a real mistake that is honest in nature (not morally ambiguous) is preferable. When thinking about a mistake you might discuss, refer back to your strategic plan and the key information you want to communicate to the admissions committee. Is there a learning that has impacted your life or carried a thread through your character, goals or accomplishments?

Essays 3 and 4: Choose two of the four following questions (400 word limit each)
1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
If you are younger applicant or had a particularly strong academic experience, this may be a smart choice for one of the two remaining essays. When choosing a topic, think about an academic experience that may have shaped your future career plans, or solidified a personal passion. If you studied a topic in college that relates closely to your long-term goals it may be a great way to discuss your plans in a different light than essay 5 would suggest. Make sure your focus is academic in nature, this question does not ask about sports or community service activities, which would be more appropriate for question 2.

2. Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.
The topic of this question is fairly open – the community could be either work or extracurricular in nature. Think about the areas of your life you have covered well in previous essays and choose a different angle for this one. As you write this essay focus on what you did to engage with the community or organization and what the results were. This is an opportunity to demonstrate clear leadership or teamwork through a specific example.

3. Tell us about a time when you made a difficult decision.
This question is new to the HBS application this year. The topic is open ended and will allow you to take an example from your career, your extracurricular activities or your personal life. Ideally the decision was a turning point in your life that reveals how you determine life choices and your world-view.

4. Write a cover letter to your application introducing yourself to the Admissions Board.
This is a new question for the HBS application, though a standard question from the MIT Sloan application. Overall, it’s an opportunity to highlight your key selling points for entry into the MBA class. Similar to a job hunting cover letter, focus the letter on your fit with the MBA program, what you bring to the class, and what the MBA will help you achieve in the next stage of your life.

5. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
Though this question appears to be a standard career goals question, it is more long-term in nature. When writing this essay, focus on the big picture vision of your future career. What do you want to be doing in twenty or thirty years? Why does this vision appeal to you, and what led you to decide it was your goal? Introspection about your life goals and purpose will go a long way in this essay.

An important part of your MBA application strategy will be explaining your career progression through your resume and essays. Work history is about more than your job title, the admissions committee wants to understand how you compare to your peers, what you have accomplished both tangibly and in the realm of soft skills, and what your career trajectory might be when you graduate.

What if you have received no formal promotions, have an erratic career path, or were laid off? Even if you have one of these common career challenges, you can demonstrate your excellence in the workplace and your capacity to be a leader and great manager after you graduate from b-school.

Lack of Formal Career Progress
Does your resume show the same job title for the last five years at the same company? Some industries promote employees rarely, and others have a flat structure with little room for a formal climb up the ladder.

Even with a lack of formal title increases, you can use your resume and essays to describe the progress you have made in your career. Think about the most valuable projects and initiatives you have completed, and how your responsibilities and achievements have progressed through the years. If you have not had the opportunity to formally manage people, you can discuss situations where you have managed a project team or cross- functional initiative. Participating in the management of a junior employee can also count towards your management experience. As you build your resume, focus on highlighting achievements that demonstrate your progress through time. Your essays should also demonstrate lessons learned through your career and show that you have progressed in your knowledge and management experience. When your recommenders discuss your credentials they should explain the nature of your workplace if formal promotions are rare, and compare you against your peers to show that you are a super star even if your title doesn’t show it!

Erratic Career History
Have you jumped from job to job and industry to industry? This could be a symptom of not knowing exactly what you wanted to do, following opportunity when it arose, or searching for the ideal career for you.

While job hopping can be seen as a weakness, it can also demonstrate that you are dedicated to finding the right career path for you. The main task for you is to lead the admissions reader through your career and make sense out of the chaos. If you have been consistent in job function or industry this task will be simpler, and if not, you should find a thematic thread through your career. Have you consistently sought opportunities to build new ideas or products or do you always lean towards a job that helps others? Whatever passion you have been following, show the admissions committee why it was the right path for you to take. This is an opportunity to show your self-awareness and passion to find a career that is meaningful to you.

Laid off
Many applicants have faced a layoff in their career. While a job loss is stressful and personally upsetting, a layoff is not necessarily a deal breaker for business school. Many industries are volatile, and with the current economic situation it isn’t usual for an amazing employee to run up against downsizing realities.

Whether you were laid off last week or at the beginning of your career, it’s important to focus on the positive aspects of the situation. When explaining the situation, avoid any bitterness and state the facts clearly. Then explain how you evolved in your career or turned this temporary setback into an opportunity. A lay off can be a great opportunity for soul searching, and might even lead you to start pursuing your career goals before you go to school!

Whatever your career path has been up until this point, you have certainly learned important lessons along the way and now have the opportunity to demonstrate your introspection about both where you have been and where you are going.

So you’ve decided you want an MBA.  You’ve taken the GMAT, ordered transcripts and thought about career goals.  Now it’s time to start your school selection and research.

Criteria: Before you start researching programs, it will be helpful to understand your own criteria and preferences to take your school selection past the level of rankings.  Do you want to be in the city or in a rural setting?  What type of coursework are you most interested in?  Do you prefer a close-knit class or a large network?  Do you need to be near a particular location for personal or professional reasons?

The Internet:  One of the best preliminary resources you have at your disposal is a web search and blog perusal.  To start, you may want to visit Businessweek.com’s MBA rankings and profiles.  Another great resource for rankings and data is the Financial Times.   Rankings are a good way to understand the reputation of a program, but you should treat them as a starting point only. 

While you are visiting Businessweek you may want to investigate the forums, where applicants, experts and admissions directors chat about applications, tips, strategy and profiles.   While there is much rumor and speculation on these chat boards, there are also gems of relevant information.  Stacy Blackman Consulting also participates in Beat the GMAT’s forums, which are another source of MBA information and comraderie.

These days most MBA program websites are comprehensive sources of in depth information.  Once you have a program hit list, you can visit the schools’ official websites for in depth information on classes, faculty, student clubs and special programs.

In Person:  When you have a target list of schools you are serious about, it’s time to do the more qualitative research that will help you understand your fit with the program and community, and your interest in attending the school for two years of your life.

• School Visits:  Time and schedule permitting, a school visit is a great way to see classes for yourself, meet current students and get a sense of the campus and city.  If you plan ahead through the admissions office you can set up a class visit, perhaps lunch with students, and an admissions information session.  Allow enough time to walk around campus and explore between formal activities.
• Admissions Events:  If you are far away or short on time, admissions events are another way to have an in person touch point with your chosen schools.   Admissions officers travel all over the world to conduct information sessions with prospective students, often including alumni who can answer your questions about culture and career options.
• Your Network:  In addition to the formal admissions sponsored methods, utilizing your own network of MBA alumni is a great way to learn more about your schools.  If you aren’t part of a typical MBA profession you can ask around at work and among your family and friends to see if anyone knows an alum of your target programs.  Once you have some contact names, reach out to see if you can ask a few questions.  Following networking best practices like asking for additional contacts and sending thank you notes after every meeting is a great way to expand your learning and establish a network of support for your process.

Once you have researched all of your target programs, you will have a solid list of potential schools that you are excited about.  Make sure you take notes to cite in your essays, and keep in touch with all of your new contacts through the application process!

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

If you are applying to business school, you will need to define your career goals.  For most applicants, career is the impetus for an application to any MBA program, and the majority of programs will spend time evaluating your career goals for realism and passion.   

“I have no idea what I want to do”   A significant percentage of applicants have a desire to attend an MBA program, but no clue what specific career will be interesting afterwards.  While it is certainly the case that an MBA program will expand your horizons and open doors you never considered, having a clearly formulated goal is integral to success.  Therefore, it’s worth taking the time now to do a bit of soul searching.  Think about…

• Extracurriculars you have been involved with over time – is there a theme?  Do you have a passion for sports or music that you would like to incorporate into a career?
• Best moments in your job – what has been most exciting in your current career?  Are you excited about every consumer products company you have consulted for in your management consulting job?  Do you enjoy discussing the quarterly results with the finance team?  What functions seem most appealing to you?
• Personal goals – are you interested in work/life balance?  helping others? being a leader within an industry or company?

Passion for your career choice will show as you tell your story through essays, discussions with recommenders, and interviews and it’s worth articulating your own dreams to yourself in advance.

“Is my career goal realistic?” Along with passion, realism is an important aspect of your MBA career goals.  Consider the application process from the school’s perspective:  MBA programs want to launch productive graduates who are successful in their careers and are able to contribute to the community.  When evaluating career goals, ask yourself:

• Is this an industry that typically hires MBAs?  Certain industries are clear feeders for MBA programs, while other industries may require more research.  Many MBA programs have a list of typical companies that recruit at the school, and it’s worth investigating the industries that seem to value an MBA.
• Does my career goal require an MBA?  Even within non-traditional industries, an MBA may be valuable in certain functions.  While a film director may not benefit from an MBA, the finance director at the studio may require formal business training.
• Is the level I am seeking in my short-term goal realistic?  Investigate the typical post-MBA title for your chosen industry and function to make sure you understand the typical career path.  If you have significantly more work experience than your classmates you may be qualified for a step up, however, typically companies recruit for standard new-MBA positions.

When you have decided what your career goals are, that is a great first step in your application strategy.  Next you will want to tie your career goals clearly with your background and accomplishments thus far to create a cohesive story.

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.