By Sudershan Tirumala T'10
Suds is Tuck's Associate Director of Admissions and Regional Director for India and South East Asia. He regularly contributes his candid advice to MBA Crystal Ball. Below is an excerpt from his latest post on presenting past failures during the admissions process. Click here to read it in its entirety.
Many people I’ve interacted with have voiced their discomfort regarding their past failures and wondered whether they stand any chance when applying to business school.
Take any person you’ve ever admired and they’ve all experienced failures at some point in their life. Steve Jobs? Check. Albert Einstein? Check. Mahatma Gandhi? Check. Sachin Tendulkar? Check.
So you’re in good company. But how are you going to talk about it?
Framing Failure
Consider the following – obviously exaggerated – sample sentence by one candidate:
“A major failure I have faced in life was when I left my very successful career to get into a startup because I found entrepreneurship very interesting. However the venture failed to take off and I am now at a crossroads which is why an MBA makes a lot of sense so I can take up my career plans anew.”
Versus the one below by another candidate:
“One of the most impactful experiences I had in my career was when I chose to work for a startup after working for X number of years in a corporate setting. The amount of learning I had in this comparatively short stint at the startup is something I’m really proud of.”
See the difference? If you were reviewing these essays, which candidate would you be more excited about?
So what do you do in your application? Turn the tables around. Showcase the positive you. Absolutely describe your failures, but while thinking of them as practical teachers in a school called life. What did you learn from the experience? How did you do things differently going forward? What has that experience meant to you?
In closing, keep your chin up, discuss your experiences – successes and failures – with a positive frame of mind, and let your natural ebullient self come through.