So the reality is that you have an unusual situation that could be marked as a red flag. You don't want an admission officer to wonder about your reliability, teamwork skills, or commitment.

The best way to do this is through a two-fold strategy:

First, focus on explaining the arrangement with a positive spin. If you originally wanted the contractor arrangement to free up additional time, than you should use that time effectively. If you can't join a start-up, what volunteer opportunities are you currently involved in or could become more involved in? If you created additional value by being a contractor, the story would sound more credible.

Secondly, attack the areas of our application that might be held in question because of an usual job structure. Focus some essays on how you are good at working laterally and at taking direction from above. Erase any doubt that you have the ability to work in a system by giving clear examples from your past. If you do all this without sounding defensive at any point, than you can slide this situation right through without a red flag.

Please contact me if you'd like a free strategic positioning phone call to better prepare your application strategy.


Best,


Jason

So you're basically saying that I'll need to disclose if I am a full time employee or a contract? I am listed on my firm's website as a "consultant", just like everyone else. And I will be getting my letter of recs from people that I report to. Being a contractor really only affects the way they calculate my pay, and it's much more variable. I was planning on simply saying that I work for the firm while devoting my essays on other more important and insightful aspects of my candidacy. To me, it didn't seem to matter too much whether I'm a contractor or an employee, at least not one that warrants me using up an essay to explain.

If the difference is truly minimal and you're confident that your recommendations won't reflect it any differently, than I think you're safe.