By David Hoang

If you’re considering an application to business school, good for you. You could be well on your way to a satisfying and lucrative career in the always churning world of business. But if you’re going for the MBA, you’ll need to get through admissions first, and this may not be as easy as it sounds. This isn’t undergrad anymore; you’re dealing with different people who will expect more from you. Before you can sell brands, you’ll need to sell yourself…in a manner of speaking.

Essay Writing Tips

The way you present your self in business school admission essays is the first step towards accomplishing your goal, and one of the most important steps. Naturally, you need to go about this the right way in order to achieve success. First of all, your essay should outline your goals. The business world is fiercely competitive, and those who are focused and goal oriented are those who thrive. Business schools want candidates with potential, so talk about your goals and plans for success.

As much as you should be focused, your essay should be focused as well. Be sure to clearly answer the questions asked of you. Keep it brief; try not to go very far over the specified word limit. After completing an initial draft, comb over your paragraphs and see how many words you can cut out. You don’t want readers to get bored reading a long essay of unfocused ramblings.

Hone your writing style

Any essay that is too passive, generic, or overly formal. At the same time, you don’t want to be too casual; slang and overly colloquial words should be avoided. Too much formality will make you seem stiff and nervous, while too much looseness will show that you lack professionalism. What you want is to sound confident and professional in your own unique voice. This will set you apart from the multitude of other applicants who have little to no sense of appropriate writing style.

Describe your qualifications and experience

Don’t just gloss over generally, get into specific details. This is your opportunity to show the world what you have to offer, and your skill set is one of your most unique attributes because no two personal histories are alike. Emphasize your successes, detail your skills. There is no substitute for real world experience, so get into it.

Consider your failures as well

Everybody is imperfect, and no one knows this better than your essay reviewers. Revealing a little weakness shows humanity, and if you describe how you would now handle such unsuccessful situations differently, you’re showing the potential for forward thinking and progress. This could make you more likable and memorable in the eyes of your readers. Just be sure not to let your failures overshadow your success, or you could find that MBA executive program out of reach for a long time.

Essay writing is tricky, but try to put yourself in the reader’s shoes and imagine what they want: brevity, confidence, professionalism, and focus, all in your unique voice. Hopefully, these tips will get you on track for success in business.

Author’s bio: David Hoang works as a copywriter for WriteAnyPapers. He used to be a psychologist, but he decided to change his career. In this case, David has an opportunity to tell others how to behave in different situations.