8:00 AM. July 1, 2030. The 23rd floor of the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong. A woman sitting behind the mahogany desk calls a Shanghai trader to buy 200,000 shares of Alibaba stock. Moments later, she dashes into a video conference with Tokyo analysts. When the conference finally concludes two hours later, the woman rushes down the stairs, hails a taxi to the Hong Kong International Airport, catches a flight to Thailand, and ends her day with a meeting with the CFO of Asus Computers.
I envision this future for myself; I look forward to maintaining a busy schedule as a portfolio manager of an international equity fund about ten years after obtaining my MBA. The Top School academic experience can build on my current public accounting training and my multi-cultural and multi-lingual background to prepare me for work, first as an equity analyst in the mutual fund industry and ultimately as a portfolio manager specializing in Asian Pacific equities.
As a CPA and staff accountant with Big 4 for the past two and a half years, I have developed a solid foundation in teamwork, analytical, and problem-solving skills. As a bilingual associate of the Asia-Pacific Business Group, I specialize in auditing the financial statements of in-bound Asian businesses. However, while Big 4 provides expansive career opportunities in public accounting, I have reached a plateau in developing the analytical and management skills necessary to achieve my ultimate career goal of money management. In public accounting, we measure and examine financial transactions of the past. In contrast, money managers examine the current attributes of securities and attempt to predict their future performance to maximize return for investors. I crave that forward focus and challenge.
Furthermore, an effective manager in the 21st century must be well-versed in international business transactions. Although I have utilized my Chinese language skills in servicing our Asian clients and engaged in comparative technical analysis of U.S. GAAP and French, Taiwanese, and Japanese financial reporting requirements, my exposure to and knowledge of broader transactional issues such as international transfer pricing has been limited. Finally, as our audits focus mainly on the clients' compliance with U.S. GAAP and foreign accounting and reporting requirements, they provide deep dives and narrow windows; I want to learn about the “big picture” of international business.
A background in financial reporting and servicing Asia-Pacific business clients. The ability to converse fluently in Chinese. An understanding of Chinese, Japanese, and American cultures. I will bring these qualities to the Top School program and ultimately to my career in international investment management. As a first step toward achieving my career goals, I have registered to take level one of the CFA examination in June 201X and plan to complete the entire examination series upon graduation from Top Ten. Armed with the CFA certification and Top School's international bent, strength in finance and management training, I will be ready to place that call to the trader in China, conduct the videoconference with Tokyo, and visit the CFO in Thailand.
An MBA program is not an opportunity to find yourself. It is a chance to learn and network strategically in order to take your future career to the next level. The purpose of the goals essay is to show admissions that you are coming into their program with a clear vision of where you want to be post-MBA graduation AND you have a reason for attending their program, i.e., you can explain why the MBA program at this particular school is crucial to you achieving these goals. Below I explore aspects of this essay that you can use to make your own persuasive and successful goals essay.
Essay Breakdown:
Introduction paragraph/paragraph 2: This essay takes a creative gamble, starting out with a “vision” of the future that the applicant has for her future career. You do not have to be this creative, however, to have a successful goals essay. The key takeaway here is we leave the first paragraph (or start the second paragraph) knowing exactly what kind of role she envisions for herself after she graduates. While you do not have to start with your own “vision,” providing a little story or brief anecdote, before describing where you want to end up post MBA is a great way to start this essay.The second paragraph explains what training/career she has had up until now and introduces the idea that only THIS program can prepare her for this future ( a subject she goes further into later on in the essay)
Paragraphs 3 and 4: These paragraphs do two key things: they show how she has already prepared for her envisioned future (through her current job, skills, and training) AND explain why she needs this MBA program to take her to the next level. This demonstrates that she has the skills to succeed in the MBA program, but also that she has clearly thought through how this particular program will help her achieve her clearly stated goals.
The final paragraph: here the applicant summarizes her skills explained in the previous two paragraphs, before explaining current steps she is already taking to get her closer to her desired future career (i.e., taking CFA certifications). If you have recently–or are currently or about to start– taking any sort of additional education related to your career, mention it, as it will show your commitment to your future. Ultimately the reader leaves this essay knowing the following: 1. What she wants her future career to be 2. How she has prepared already for that future career 3. Why that is not enough and the MBA (especially this program) is needed to really succeed in obtaining this career goal. Your essay should leave your readers with the same information.
Room for Improvement?
Of course there is always room for improvement! While this vision idea is creative and fun, it is not necessary and you absolutely can save those more creative openings for other essays in the application. The other suggestion I have is to spend a bit more (maybe 1-2 sentences more) explaining why this school (not just any MBA, but this one) is crucial to her achieving her career goals. She mentions the international bent of the program, but she could expand a tiny bit further.
Final Thoughts:
The goals essay is like making a vision board; it is your job to present what you see for your future. This essay can be hard for people, especially if they are not sure what they want to do. However, I suggest thinking of this essay as an opportunity to sit down and decide for yourself where you are headed next. Having a clear sense of your future goals will not only help you to get into an MBA program, it will set you up to succeed in that program because you will have a clear idea of what you want to learn and develop while you are there. Finally, sometimes people have more than one vision for your future. In the case of the goals essay, pick the one that feels most right for you at this moment. Ultimately, no one will come back to confirm whether the direction you head in your program matches what you said on your application!
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