Please Evaluate

[jhhatdaddy]

Hi Stacy,

Longtime reader, first time writer!

I have some questions about my work experience and what I should include in my applications.

When I graduated from university about 5 years ago I worked in a managerial role at a seasonal family business. It was not the most dignified of industries, however, it did give me access to every aspect of running a small business with a staff of 10-15 and sales of 500k for 4 month periods.

In the off seasons I travelled (mostly South America) or went to school (web design). So for three years (12 months total work) I spent close eight months of the year traveling. Is there anyway to highlight this? Or should I do the opposite and gloss it over somehow? I acquired some spanish language skills, stuffed my passport and made some web pages but the main purpose was the travel.

It has been two years since I have worked for the family business. We no longer have it because the government contract expired. Since then I took an internship in Ecuador as an International Marketing Specialist for a Tourist Management Consulting Company (6 months) and then worked in New Zealand as a Web Developer/Project Coordinator (10 months) for the country's largest online retailer. The remaining periods can filled in with web projects through my own little firm and travel, this time Asia, the Pacific Islands and South America.

The tough questions:

is my 28 months total work enough? I mean if you take away the family business I am down to 16 and 6 of those are internship. Should I take away the family business A) because it is family and B) because of the industry? How do I maximize the value of that experience? Also, how do get the most out/minimize the damage of my travel time?

I plan on applying in fall '09 for the '10 intake. I am only going to go after an MBA program if I get into a good school (say top 10). My GMAT is 700+ and my GPA around 3.5.

Second, I have some volunteer experience but it is pretty deep in my past. During my bachelors degree I tutored inmates at a youth prison in math and english for a couple years. I also coached a youth soccer team during that time. But due to my constant travel I have been unable to pick anything up recently. Do I mention these activities or leave them off the record. I do have some time so I could fill out my application with something else over the next year.

Third, I have read on here about candidates from certain countries being up against a stiffer talent pool. In your experience how do things look for Canadians and Argentineans?

Thanks for your response

Jesse

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear Jesse,

Your experience is what it is; I don't think you should try to hide or gloss over any of it. I do think you need to determine the best way to present your experience, including the family business. You should include this experience--as you said, it gave you insight into running a small business and some transferable skills. The real issue you will need to overcome with your professional experience is all of your jobs were for short periods and there doesn't seem to be any progression or track record, no deep knowledge of an industry or function. That will be the main concern of any admissions committee and something you will need to address directly. Likewise, you will need to highlight what you learned from your travels--how did they contribute to your development?

In the next year, I think it would behoove you to work in a professional capacity and find a nonprofit that you can be involved with. In both capacities, I think you should seek out leadership opportunities to try and mitigate the concerns the committee might have on your professional experience.

While there are folks from Canada and Argentina are in the global MBA applicant pool, the percentage is much lower than from other countries. As such, how many are in the applicant pool for a particular school varies quite a bit and thus the competition is not as stiff as for folks from some other countries.

Good luck,
Lisa