MBA Essay Advice for IT Applicants
We often field questions from IT applicants about how to frame their work experiences within a 500-word MBA application essay. That’s because tech industry folks usually believe providing meaningful context when describing the “What I did” aspect of the essay question is necessary.
But business schools don’t care whether you can code in Java or possess multiple certifications in Oracle, AWS, or C++. The admissions committee doesn’t even need to know about those attributes when reading about your technical projects. Getting bogged down in such details is the number one mistake that engineers applying to business school typically make.
Curious about your chances of getting into a top B-school? Contact us to talk strategy with a free 15-minute advising session with an SBC Principal Consultant.
When describing a technical project, try to sum up its essence in a non-technical way in one to two sentences. Share your essays with a friend outside of your industry to see if it makes sense to the layperson. Then, shift gears to devote the majority of the essay toward demonstrating the qualities that MBA programs do care about:
- Leadership
- Teamwork
- Problem-Solving
- International Experience
Focus Areas for IT Applicants
Tech workers have a range of desirable transferable skills they can highlight when applying to business school. IT applicants typically have a lot of experience working in teams, so play up your interpersonal skills and describe how adept you are at collaborating well with others to meet goals. As we’ve noted, leadership potential is huge at the top business schools. So, talk about how you have shown leadership thus far, or discuss any cross-functional leadership experience you have had.
With business becoming ever more globally connected, the ability to work well with colleagues abroad will become critical to success. If one of your projects crossed international lines, you can talk about how you managed working with different cultures across time zones and what you learned from the experience.
Show examples of when you solved a problem or overcame a challenge through a unique or innovative solution. Did you resolve a conflict, demonstrate teamwork, or act with integrity? The thesis of the essay should be based on one of these qualities that an MBA admissions committee would value—not technical details.
The top three reasons tech recruiters have confidence in business school graduates are their strong communication skills (84%), their versatile skill sets (74%), and the fact that they are strategic thinkers (74%). —MBA.com
Another place to differentiate yourself from other IT applicants is when describing your professional goals. Where do you envision yourself in five to ten years? Go beyond a generic goal such as “transitioning into strategy consulting.” Think about whether you ultimately see yourself owning your own business, creating innovative ways to improve cybersecurity, or becoming the CTO of an environmental non-profit.
Information technologists often fret about competing against a sizeable pool of similar applicants. That’s why your MBA essays provide the ideal platform to show you are more than your job. Use the essays to focus on the aspects of your personal life that make you unique. Think of the hobbies, community service activities, passions, and interests that make you stand out.
Listen to B-Schooled Podcast Episode #146: Standing Out From Your Competition
Differentiation is the Goal
When we began working with Abhi, an Indian engineer with his heart set on attending the Wharton School, his biggest roadblock was pertaining to an overrepresented demographic that would be competing with literally thousands of other MBA applicants.
Fortunately, Abhi had an admirable record of community involvement. But to make his candidacy stand out from the masses, we decided to focus on a unique event in which he coordinated a sizeable group to train for a marathon to raise funds to help a six-year-old girl with leukemia.
In his essays, Abhi focused on the leadership aspects of the experience. He discussed how he recruited participants, organized several fundraising events, and dealt with the inevitable obstacles that arose during the planning phase.
By allowing the MBA admissions committee to better understand who Abhi was as a person, and what motivated him and ignited his personal and professional passions, he became much more than just another male IT candidate from India in the pile… and Wharton ultimately did extend an offer of admission to him.
No matter your professional background, the MBA essays are the place to show off your individuality, leadership potential, and exactly why you are b-school material. So don’t let industry jargon or the nitty gritty of your job description get in the way of creating memorable essays that capture the interest of the school of your dreams.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs, from our All-In Partnership and Interview Prep to hourly help with essay editing, resume review, and much more! Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
