Client Case Study: Alan W.
Alan came from a traditional management consulting background. He seemed to be the perfect candidate for a top MBA program. He had solid progression at Deloitte and had recently achieved a promotion to Senior Consultant. Having coached Special Olympics basketball for five years, he had recently taken his team to the state championship. His GMAT was above 700 and his GPA was a 3.5. Adding to his profile – Alan was a former NCAA athlete.
However, Alan had no idea what he wanted to do with his career upon graduation from a top MBA program. His initial, off the cuff goal was to move into video game product management. Alan had no experience in this realm but was convinced that he could develop the necessary brand management skills in business school. When pressed for more details by his consultant, Alan simply responded that he “had always liked video gaming.”
Embarking on a several week vetting process that included hours of research on Alan’s part and some soul searching, Alan eventually came up with career goals that made sense for his background. Alan chose to build off of his current work experiences at Deloitte in creating emergency response software for disaster preparedness. He specified “SMART” short-term goals that told the admissions committee he was indeed employable the day after graduation. Taking it a step further, Alan articulated long term goals that build off of his consulting expertise, love of sports and philanthropic pursuits.
Alan went on to receive acceptances at Wharton, HBS, Ross and Kellogg. Having visited all the schools, Alan and his consultant discussed cultural fit with each school. Alan decided to attend Kellogg and is now taking his morning runs on the shores of Lake Michigan.