Essays: Know Your Audience

It took me a few days of staring at old drafts of my B-school essays to figure out what was wrong with them. I now realize that I was envisioning the wrong sort of reader, leading me to write with the wrong tone.

It boils down to this: I was writing for someone like an undergraduate admissions reader, when I should be writing for someone more like a job recruiter. Business schools need to be sure you can sell yourself and get a job after finishing your MBA. I know this; it's written in every book and website about B-school admissions. But when you sit down to write essays about your experiences, it's easy to forget how you will be perceived on the other end.

I was writing with a tone more like a proud high school senior, trying to incorporate all the accomplishments that were important to me. This leads to unfocused essays, and it makes telling a compelling story, one that will make you stand out, almost impossible.

Once I changed my concept of whom I was writing for, my essays started to read more clearly. I imagined myself talking to a recruiter or a prospective employer, with only a limited time to tell them why I'd be a great hire. So I focused on one or two anecdotes that will sell me and my skills. Sure, I've got ten good stories to tell, but it would be a mistake to squeeze them all in. Instead, I must pick the best two and make them concrete. They will remember one or two stories with specific details. By telling fewer stories, I can make the ones I tell more specific and memorable.

The key is to let go of some of your favorite stories about yourself, the ones that seem so important to you, but really aren't going to sell you to a potential employer. The rules for writing compelling stories are simple: cut, cut, cut. Most of the stuff you think is great isn't. And never forget to "show, don't tell."