"Are engineers at a disadvantage while applying to MBA programs?"

They don’t have to be. Here are a few guidelines of how to use your engineering background to your advantage:

1. What have you done that goes beyond development? You surely have had to present, defend and build your ideas. How about project management, process definition, and actually implementing it in a team? Show how you’ve demonstrated leadership in your past and current projects.
2. Present a high-level picture of your achievements. Go beyond "developing systems" to including "Why was this system built? What role does it play? What's the impact of this system?"
3. Avoid using too much technical language. Instead of saying "built a client server front-end module to retrieve HR database records from mainframe," use laymen language that is easier to understand. Include other elements of your project. Did you lead a team? Did you manage or direct others for their tasks?
4. Write those numbers: Did your work improve productivity, cause an increase in sales or revenue, impact your company positively? Get those stats in your application. When admission committee members are reading your materials, these numbers will help them to easily quantify your impact.

Put me in Business (applying in less than a year)
Put me in Business (applying in more than a year)

Harvard MBA: admission tips for engineers

A few interesting tips for engineers came up in my phone conversation last week with Harvard's head of admissions, Deirdre Leopold.

Most of the conversation was about the types of engineers who have, in terms of personality, the highest chance of getting into Harvard Business School:

• Engineers who can effectively merge business with technology.
• Engineers who have a passion for, excitement about and interest in business.
• Engineers who have a proven entrepreneurial track record, either within their full-time jobs, their community activities, or independent initiatives.
• Engineers who achieved exceptional visibility in their professional activities.

3 other key tips for engineers that came up:

• Avoid complicated technical jargon in your essays.
• Re-think your career plan: If you think that you can get in as an engineer, and get out as a Vice President in a private equity firm, you're being unrealistic.
• The admissions board doesn't apply formulas. It's about selection, not about evaluation.

Put me in Business (applying in less than a year)
Put me in Business (applying in more than a year)

Quick tip: the MIT Sloan Cover Letter

"What the heck?” you probably asked yourself when seeing this essay for the first time “Why couldn’t they just ask about my career plans like every other school?”

Well, apparently there’s a very good reason. As Mr. Rod Garcia, the Head of Admissions says: MIT Sloan believes that career goals are contrived and bound to change and therefore, largely irrelevant. By asking for a cover letter instead of an essay, the focus is shifted to your fit with the school, rather than focusing on what you may do three decades down the line.

So, in addition to mentioning your career goals, the letter you write should mainly address the issue you would address in any cover letter: Why does the Sloan way of doing things attract you? What specific offerings will contribute most to your future? How will you benefit from the Sloan way? And how will you be able to contribute as a student and alumnus?

It’s important that the letter be specific and personal. So get your pens (or keyboards) ready: Dear Mr. Rod Garcia...

Put me in Business (applying in less than a year)
Put me in Business (applying in more than a year)