MBA Essay Guidance 2023-24: USC Marshall School of Business
March 27, 2024
Read MoreThere are many methods to help you prepare to write your best essays, such as journaling, visual mapping, or making random lists about you. For essays about leadership or teamwork, for example, ask yourself questions, like these:
- Were the objectives your team pursued clearly established from the outset or left partly undefined?
- How did you go about solidifying these team objectives? How did you communicate them to your team?
- What specific methods did you use to ensure that the project was proceeding apace?
- What steps did you take when (if) the project fell behind the expected pace?
- Do you recall moments when you deliberately modified your leadership style to deal more effectively with specific obstacles? How did you determine which tactic to try and were these tactics successful?
- Did the project ever require you to “manage up” that is, get superiors to sign on to your methods or goals? How did you earn their buy-in? Why do you think your techniques worked?
- Which types of interpersonal interaction proved most effective for you? One-on-one meetings or group meetings?
- What specific tactics did you use to motivate people, and did you apply them on an individual basis or across the team as a whole?
- What is the one aspect of your leadership during this project that you would change if you could? Why do you think you got it “wrong” this time?
- Think about the teammates with whom you work most effectively. Name the three personality traits that make them so easy to work with. Now consider the teammates you work least effectively with-what personality traits pose the biggest obstacle in these relationships?
Ask yourself these questions or have a conversation with a friend or coworker (and record it) to really get your most authentic answers. For more help with your essays and the application process, contact the Admitify team!