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DEFINING EXPERIENCE ques...Which option makes most sense..?

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DEFINING EXPERIENCE ques...Which option makes most sense..?

by ECLS » Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:30 pm
I would like inputs on the following question:

1) Discuss a defining experience in your development as a leader. How did this experience demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses?

I am thinking of the following 3 defining experiences. Pls let me know which one makes most sense as a response to the above ques:

a) when i became the youngest head of dept at the age of 25 in my hotel. joined as a mgt trainee and rose to Associate Director. (however, this story is 5 yrs old.)

b) employees in my hotel were on strike incl some from my own dept. i was 25 then and those employees were in the range of 38-45. i lead the discussions and negotiations along with the HR Head and the General Manager which ended a 8 day strike. i was elected primarily because the employees thought i was not bias like other head of depts. (this was also 5 yrs back)

c) when i was given a charge of a team operating out of 4 different countries. i have about 8 nationalities in my team who speak different languages. this team lead by me achieved some amazing results for the organisation.

thx.
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by uprightcitizen » Tue Sep 21, 2010 7:53 pm
I feel "A" is too broad; being promoted is more a process than an experience, in my opinion.

B and C both sound like great examples. B sounds a little more unusual and perhaps a better story, keeping the reader's interest while answering the question.

I would surely mention C in some form in your application, but it may be more common for people at an executive level.
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by ECLS » Wed Sep 22, 2010 5:09 am
uprightcitizen wrote:I feel "A" is too broad; being promoted is more a process than an experience, in my opinion.

B and C both sound like great examples. B sounds a little more unusual and perhaps a better story, keeping the reader's interest while answering the question.

I would surely mention C in some form in your application, but it may be more common for people at an executive level.
Thank you. Your response is exactly what I was looking for.
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by ayankm » Thu Sep 23, 2010 2:27 pm
ECLS wrote:I would like inputs on the following question:

1) Discuss a defining experience in your development as a leader. How did this experience demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses?

I am thinking of the following 3 defining experiences. Pls let me know which one makes most sense as a response to the above ques:

a) when i became the youngest head of dept at the age of 25 in my hotel. joined as a mgt trainee and rose to Associate Director. (however, this story is 5 yrs old.)

b) employees in my hotel were on strike incl some from my own dept. i was 25 then and those employees were in the range of 38-45. i lead the discussions and negotiations along with the HR Head and the General Manager which ended a 8 day strike. i was elected primarily because the employees thought i was not bias like other head of depts. (this was also 5 yrs back)

c) when i was given a charge of a team operating out of 4 different countries. i have about 8 nationalities in my team who speak different languages. this team lead by me achieved some amazing results for the organisation.

thx.
I think C is the best story to discuss defining experience. The reason being the presence of people from 8 different nations. Having lived in 4 different countries, I believe and I think you will agree it needs an open mind to assimilate the bits and pieces from 8 different cultures, languages etc. And in today's business world which is out and out global, you need skills like these all the more. However, thats my opinion.

Best of luck with your apps.
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by ECLS » Fri Sep 24, 2010 12:58 am
Thank you for your response. You do have a point. But considering that most of the candidates in a Sloan program are faily experienced, I am not sure how much of a differentiator eg. C will be. I have seen there are some Dir, CEOs, VPs in prev classes who have handled global profile. So I plan to use eg.C as part of my statement of purpose, which is the first essay on my list. And use eg. B for a defining experience. This way I will cover both.

What do you think.?

Thx.

ayankm wrote:
ECLS wrote:I would like inputs on the following question:

1) Discuss a defining experience in your development as a leader. How did this experience demonstrate your strengths and weaknesses?

I am thinking of the following 3 defining experiences. Pls let me know which one makes most sense as a response to the above ques:

a) when i became the youngest head of dept at the age of 25 in my hotel. joined as a mgt trainee and rose to Associate Director. (however, this story is 5 yrs old.)

b) employees in my hotel were on strike incl some from my own dept. i was 25 then and those employees were in the range of 38-45. i lead the discussions and negotiations along with the HR Head and the General Manager which ended a 8 day strike. i was elected primarily because the employees thought i was not bias like other head of depts. (this was also 5 yrs back)

c) when i was given a charge of a team operating out of 4 different countries. i have about 8 nationalities in my team who speak different languages. this team lead by me achieved some amazing results for the organisation.

thx.
I think C is the best story to discuss defining experience. The reason being the presence of people from 8 different nations. Having lived in 4 different countries, I believe and I think you will agree it needs an open mind to assimilate the bits and pieces from 8 different cultures, languages etc. And in today's business world which is out and out global, you need skills like these all the more. However, thats my opinion.

Best of luck with your apps.
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