Ask Stacy Blackman

age: 25 at matriculation
undergrad: BS from University of Illinois in December 2005,
major: Community Health- graduated a semester early after studying abroad in Australia for a semester.
double concentration: Health Administration/Planning & Health Policy/Education
gpa: 3.76 major gpa: 3.84
mba goal: I want to make a career switch to Marketing. I want to specialize in either Brand Marketing or Luxury Marketing.
gmat: 700- Q48 V38 AWA 6

target schools:
NYU
Yale
Cornell

work experience:
[Center for Prevention Research and Development: Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the U of I]
Research Program Coordinator, February 2007 ~ present
Develop and implement evaluation plans, manage data collection
Form partnerships with program sites around the issues related to evaluation design, data collection and interpretation and utilization of evaluation findings

[jewelry business]
Co-owner/Designer December 2005 ~ present
Established a website
Designed over 100 items
Oversee website functions
Maintain sales record and product inventory

["Family Business"]
Manager of my family business (Beauty Supply Store).
Full-time December 2005 ~ May 2006
Part-time May 2006 ~ present (mostly Saturdays and occasional weeknights)
Managed over 2,500 products &
In charge of finances & inventory

[Allstate Insurance]
Claim Service Adjuster, May 2006 ~ February 2007
Completed 9 month training course in 5 months
Negotiated damage settlements
Adhered to processes that provided fair resolutions and cost management

[Center for Prevention Research and Development: Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the U of I]
Internship, Data Analyst, December 2004 ~ May 2005
Acted as a consultant for American Lung Association
Provided logical support for Champaign-Urbana Smokefree Alliance
Developed appropriate presentation data for public meetings and events
Participated in a commercial aimed at increasing awareness of side effects of secondhand smoke

extracurricular activities
Coordinate and volunteer at monthly soup kitchen; 1 yr
Chicago Cares - yearly volunteer opportunity where we go to Chicago Public Schools and help paint classrooms
back in college...
member of Habitat for Humanity (participated in fund raises and runs)
volunteered at a local after-school program for a semester

Is there anything I can do to hone my profile?
Thank you so much for your time,
prospective mba

Hi prospective mba,

Your work experience raises questions for me the way you have presented it. How would you describe your career as one cohesive story? That will be important.

Your academics and extracurriculars sound good, and I think your target schools are reasonable.

Good luck!

Amy

Thank you for the quick response.

Yea, you're right. There's no concrete connection among my former & present jobs, at least from the way I listed my experiences.

I graduated from undergrad a semester early and I had already accepted an offer from Allstate to start in the fall. So I managed my family business temporarily for six months. My interest in marketing sparked while I was working for my parents.
Then after nine months after I started working at Allstate, I was contacted by the director of the company I interned my junior year. My role as an intern was to assist in gathering information for the Smoke-Free Ordinance in Champaign-Urbana (where my undergraduate institution was located). The director wanted me to assist them for the Chicago ordinance. Because it was an effort I was strongly invested in and interested in, I took the job. Thus my departure from Allstate. During all this time, I never stopped designing jewelry and my business partner and I started a website. Though it started off as a hobby, it full on grew into a small business of our own. Then, just a couple of months ago, the governor of Illinois (Blagojevich) announced that Chicago will be going Smoke-Free effective January. It was at this point that I reevaluated my career path and I've come to the decision that I want to pursue a career in Marketing.
Wow, come to think of it, I'm all over the place. But I hope that I can convince the admissions that I'm very focused and committed to getting an MBA.

Hi prospective mba,

It's great to start the process of evaluating your work experience and forming a cohesive story - just see if you can start thinking about the themes that may have united your jobs and the motivation to pursue them. You might think about a thematic resume rather than chronological.

Good luck!

Amy