Developing Your Brand

by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Mar 11, 2011

For a moment, consider who the audience is for your MBA application. You will be spending countless hours writing a magnum opus that may be read by only one individualor a select few at most. These people have many applications that they need to go through every day, and even the most meticulous individuals may at times miss some parts of your essays. Thats why you need to make things as clear and easy to read as possible for the admissions committee team by making sure that they cant miss who you are and what you can bring to an incoming MBA class.

The best business school applications feature four or five aspects of the candidates character and experiences that anyone reading the essays will identify. These traits blend to create Brand You.

We all understand the power and influence that brands have. Businesses spend a lot of money to make sure you know how they bring value and what they stand for. While there are many more subtle parts to their full corporate identities and many tones to their product/service offerings, companies need to ensure that purchasers have a complete understanding of a limited set of characteristics. As an example, this is list of traits for a few reputable companies:

1. Low prices every day of the week, large selection, one-stop store
2. Fun place to be, socially responsible, respect for employees
3. Creative design, simple, cool
4. Cheeky, young, influencing lifestyles
5. Fun, family, fantasy

Even from only these short descriptions, you may be able to guess which businesses we are referring to. This is because these messages have been pounded into your mind through repetition, multiple interactions with the company, and/or exposure to numerous branding messages.

Likewise, applicants need to ensure that the business school individuals who read their applications make no mistake about who the applicant is, and what they have experienced. Certainly to capture our complexity as humans, all applications end up covering more than three to four points. If we give equal weight to 20 characteristics, however, then we water down the main characteristics that the admissions committee needs to understand about us.

For more robust guidance on your MBA application essays, check out the Stacy Blackman Consulting Essay Guide Series school specific guides with essay tips, sample essays, information on what your target schools value and more.

Visit http://www.stacyblackman.com/essay-guides/ to learn more.