Image above provided by Jeremy McGilvrey via Unsplash.

Let’s say you earned your Bachelor’s Degree ten years ago and have been working ever since graduation. While you like your job, you want to move up the ladder and earn a bigger salary. To do this, you determined your best course of action is to go back to school and earn your MBA.

Today, you are looking through several applications to graduate schools, and you see every school requires an MBA personal statement. You didn’t have to write a personal account to get into college 14 years ago, so you are understandably a bit confused about what to include — and more importantly, what to leave out.

With the help of the following tips, you can craft an effective MBA personal statement that can significantly impress the admission boards.

Here’s Where to Begin

Stay on Topic

Some colleges will ask you to answer a question in your personal statement. It is crucial to be mindful of the question while remaining on topic. If you don’t stay the course, admissions advisors may think you can’t follow basic directions. 

Don’t Mention Money

You want to get your MBA because you’d like to qualify for a higher salary. However, the personal statement you gave does not include this section. People who read your essay will want to know you have actionable career aspirations and goals, not simply that you hope to make more money.

Tell An Interesting Story

As Essay Edge notes, try to include a story about something impressive that you accomplished at work or share how you display strong problem-solving skills. The admissions board will already have your transcripts, letters of recommendation, and resume. Therefore, your personal statement is a piece to share about yourself. Keep it short but include enough details to highlight the importance of your accomplishment.

Avoid a Recap of Your Resume

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your MBA personal statement, notes Stacy Blackman Consulting, includes a chronological recap of your resume. In addition to being repetitive information — remember, you’ll be including your resume with your application, so it’s a good idea to keep it simple. Admissions will be reading a large number of personal statements, so the last thing you want to do is put them to sleep by going through a tedious list of your past employers.

Explain Why You Want To Join Their Program

If you have room in your essay, you should explain why this particular MBA program is the best fit for you. Maybe they offer an outstanding internship program that you would love to be a part of, or maybe you are impressed with a real-world project the school completed. Each school you apply to will have different requirements, so you don’t need send the same personal statement to all potential programs.

Writing a memorable MBA personal statement might seem a bit daunting at first, but you have what it takes to create a compelling and exciting essay.