Stress is a Tensor ...

My life through the MBA application process while I try to get my Professional Engineer's License ...

Friday, June 30, 2006

Applicant's block ?

First of all, thanks to all of you who responded to my survey with votes and comments. All of you agree with my thoughts and I have decided to let my boss in on my secret sometime next week.

When I sit down and talk with my boss, I want to hand him a decent draft of my "Why MBA and Why now?" essay. More than anything, I want to know how cogent he thinks my arguments are for pursuing a business degree. But the essay(s) are not as easy as I expected, and that includes the rough drafts!

I have a very clear (yet flexible) career plan in mind but when I start to put this on paper, I just can't write! I do not yet know if this reflects on the feasibility of my career plan or on my skills as a writer.

I have put down a few pages of notes on what I want to do and why and how I want to get there; but all these paragraphs are not in any particular order and come across as nothing more than random ramblings. Other demands on my time keep on piling up. I spent the past weekend with my girlfriend (lots of fun), my buddy from LA is visiting as well and I will be in NYC next weekend.

Since Columbia will not be in session (weekend!) I will need to visit NYC again, sometime later. I have their summer class schedule and I would like to visit on a Wednesday. So little time ...

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Recommendations !

Recommend \Rec`om*mend"\ (r?k`?m*m?nd"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Recommended; p. pr. & vb. n. Recommending.] [Pref. re- + commend: cf. F. recommander.]

1. To commend to the favorable notice of another; to commit to another's care, confidence, or acceptance, with favoring representations; to put in a favorable light before any one; to bestow commendation on.

After going through all the material available online, in books and after hearing from friends who have recently been through this process, I have come to the conclusion that recommendations can do more harm than good, even if they appear to be good on the surface.

It is pretty important for the recommendations to build on and around the essays, especially in exemplifying the qualities that the applicant is stressing on. Thus it is very important that the folks recommending you know the person they are talking about.

I had decided a while ago to get recommendations from two of my colleagues who were way senior to me but had worked with me on a lot of projects. I had ruled out my direct boss, who is a director of the firm, from being a recommender, as I thought there would be a conflict of interest.

Since that time, both of my planned recommender have quit my firm. One of them has started her own venture and the other has joined another firm to change the focus of his career. Though both of them have been enthusiastic at the prospect of recommending me and both expected me to apply to B-School even before I told them so, they are not currently working with me. Will this fact devalue their recommendations in the eyes of the AdCom ?

My boss, of course, can give a very insightful recommendation as he is also my mentor. He interviewed me, recruited me, positioned me within the firm and pretty much decides what I do on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. He also heads my performance reviews. With things as they stand right now, I am extremely tempted to fill in my boss on my quest for an MBA and ask for his recommendation. (I know I seem to be wavering).

My reasoning for the change of heart is:
  • He recruited me. He has mentored me. He deserves to know.
  • If I do not tell my boss, he might feel bad (later on) when he finds out that I excluded him from the process entirely.
  • We have a very good relationship and though he would be sad to let me go, he could do a great job with the recommendations.
  • If he felt that it was best for him to not get involved, he would say so but still keep mum about my applications.

The only drawback is that he could stop putting the effort he now does in mentoring me. That means quite a lot to me as I have learnt much from him and not all of it pertains to work.

My two other recommenders are split over whether I should approach my boss at all. Hence I have put together this poll. I am sure others have had to face this dilemma and I would appreciate their feedback as well.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

More than a week has passed and I have done very little. A few days ago I started writing down where I want to go and how an MBA would help in the process.

Looking back, I had planned on getting an MBA somewhere down the line while I was a sophomore in college, because I knew that I would eventually be running a business, either my own or a joint venture. However, naive as I was, I did not think much about what I would want from my MBA itself. All I knew was it would teach me what not to do while running a business.

As I entered grad school and later when I joined the workforce full time, I started thinking more about what I wanted to do and how business schools fit into the picture.

Now, with all the exposure I have had to industry, the non-profit sector and government, how I run my company is as important to me as anything else. What I want from a business education has changed so much from the last time I thought about it, that it makes me wonder whether I should expose myself to more of the industry. Would my needs change considerably if I worked for two more years ?

I am trying to find a compelling answer for "why now?" and all I can come up with is "why not now?". Although I am sure that the next two years would provide me with far less insight into my profession and industry than the last two and that the managerial opportunities are scant, I feel that this is the wrong way to think about it.

The most important reason for me is that I want to change careers and that should be reason enough. Ah! I am rambling at the fag end of a long day.

Later ...