Selling Your Career Change to the Admissions Committee

As we noted in this past article, shifting functions or industries upon earning an MBA is very normal – ½ of an MBA class may be seeking a major career change.  Although this is common, a career changer faces the challenge of persuading the MBA admissions committee that they are not only a strong MBA candidate, but that they will be able to break into and succeed in their new field.

It’s no surprise that one of the most common questions we receive from our clients is how they can “sell” their career change aspirations to the admissions committee.  A good way to approach this issue is to think about it in terms of writing a standard cover letter when applying for a job.  An ineffective cover letter (or goal essay) might state that the person is interested in a job and then simply regurgitate basic information about their experience that can already be found in their resume.  An effective cover letter (or goal essay) would mention the job they are seeking and then draw connections between their past experiences and specific skills and how these could be applied to the new job & company. 

To summarize:

Ineffective cover letter = “I want x job and this is a basic summary of what I have done in the past.” 

Effective cover letter = “Here is why my past experiences and skills make me a good fit for x job.”

Now let’s think about the MBA goal essay like it is a cover letter.  After clearly explaining one’s future goal it would be important for a career changer to display the relevant skills and knowledge they have that would be transferrable to their new career.  If you are an engineer who wants to jump into consulting you should find ways to display that you have some of the teamwork, communication, logical reasoning and problem solving skills that are crucial for success in that industry.  And keep in mind that you don’t have to limit your explanations to skills that you have developed or experiences you have gained in a professional context.

Since not everything can be learned in business school it is up to you to persuade the admissions committee that you are a good fit for your new career even before the MBA program starts.  By approaching your MBA goal essay like a cover letter you might find it easier to tell a more compelling and interesting story about this new career that you are so excited about!