Ask Stacy Blackman

I wanted to get your input on my situation since I haven't seen anyone else with a similar situation. I am planning on applying to the Northwestern JD/MBA program first round next year.

I will graduate from University of Washington with a BS in Informatics winter quarter 2008 and will have completed my degree in three years. I worked full time for three years before beginning college and have worked full time while in college. I graduated from High School Mar 2002. Here is my resume:

President, SSPiN.com - 1999- Dec. 2002 - video game review website startup with friends, 150 contributors and 4 employees at its peak.

Auburn Autosports - Jan 2003-April 2004 - used car dealer - Sales Consultant/Special Finance Manager
Sold 10-15 cars per month
Average increase of 34% on backend profit as a Special Finance Manager compared to predecessor.

American Pro Corp - May 2004-Sept 2004 - largest Southern California used car dealer - Finance Manager
Managed 8 part time employees and 2 full time employees
Increased monthly per unit sales by 34% through ability to evaluate consumer credit and place loans with proper institutions
Increased finance department gross profit by 78% through back end sales

Kar Depo - Oct 2004 - Feb 2005 - used car dealer - Sales Manager
Managed 4 sales consultants
Increased average monthly unit sales by 70% over previous record month
Increased back end profit per unit by 270%

Powell-Christensen Inc - Feb-2005 to current Retail - Wholesale - Information Systems Manager - family owned business, top 30 largest private businesses in Washington State
Trained in retail and wholesale to be a division manager after graduating from college
Developed and implemented Information Systems division, plan to have 3 full employees by the end of 2007.

Goal: Obtain a JD/MBA and take a senior management position at Powell-Christensen Inc and a position on the board of directors and eventually become the President/CEO.

I will have 6 months post graduate full time work experience by the time I would start a JD/MBA program. How do you think top schools would consider my pre-college and during college work experience. For my essays I have several examples of leadership and teamwork from my work experience that have quantitative data that to show the results I achieved. Is this a weakness for my application?

In addition my immediate supervisor is my brother and his supervisor is my father. They are really the only professional recommendations I can get because I have not dealt with any customers or suppliers in depth enoguh to get a recommendation for them and it will have been a long time since I last worked with my previous employer. I have heard it is a no-no to have recommendations from family members. I can get one recommendation from my academic career as I have been a leader (and continue to be) in making substantial improvements to my major/department at University of Washington including a marketing plan that greatly boosted applications, getting new equipment for the computer lab, and improving teaching quality consistency among the faculty. Any recommendations for what I should do?

i was eager to know Ms Stacy s remark.

you have cool profile you ll hv to do something about the reco

how about asking your auditor?
what do you think Stacy?

I have one manager that trained me who was my supervisor who I think could give a good analysis of my ability. I will have to try and spend the rest of this year working with someone else in the company who could give a good recommendation. The problem is 5 out of 6 of the highest positions in the company are filled by immediate family members and I run my own department (not to mention telecommute). I will figure something out, I just wanted to see how strongly I should avoid using a family member for a recommendation.

I have contacted Northwestern and am awaiting a reply concerning if they would consider an applicant such as myself. I will post their reply as soon as I receive it. Northwestern is my first choice but I am also considering two other schools that have a much higher chance of admitting someone with my type of profile.

Thank you for your reply Stacy. I am very much geared towards an MBA so I think I will still apply for the JD/MBA program rather than apply to just the law program. Unless the admissions staff responds that they would not consider me or I would have an extremely weak application. If I am not accepted but get accepted to only an MBA program at another school I would probably take that opportunity and then take some law courses as electives. I always have multiple backup plans.

Hi,

I'm coming from a similar situation - the bulk of my professional experience is at my family's business. I have references from my previous role, but that was a while ago. I don't report directly to any family members and my supervisors are happy with my work. I work on our company's standard commission basis, and am making good money on this basis, so I take that as a sign that my supervisors are being objective for the most part. I guess I have the following, additional questions on this topic:

*Will references from my current supervisors be valued less because we all work at my family's business?

*I haven't pursued "flashy" managerial titles in order to keep nepotism complaints and ill-will at a minimum. I'm starting to wonder if that move is in reality weakening my candidacy for B-school. Should I aim for these titles in order to bolster my profile? Another concern is that the organization is now somewhat top-heavy with officially titled managers (not with family members).

The motivation for me to go to B-school is somewhat two-sided: do I stay with my family's firm and use my MBA to help take the firm to the next level? Or, do I use it to see what else is out there and move on with my career? I'd be really interested in hearing what people who have already gone through this have to say.

Any and all feedback will be appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi, Stacy---

Your point about the adcomm not knowing the organization is top-heavy was a particularly good point that didn't occur to me.

Thanks!