Harry Houdini

Sarah Busi Ms. Insect Honors American Literature 12 March 2013 Harry Houdini: World’s Greatest Magician â€Å"Remembered for his capacity to escape from bonds and holders, Houdini is the world’s most well known entertainer, and his name is right away perceived, despite the fact that he kicked the bucket more than 70 years ago† (â€Å"Harry 1†). Harry Houdini was substantially more than any standard entertainer a mother may enlist for their child’s birthday celebration. At the point when one considers Harry Houdini, the farthest thing from their psyche would be the worn out making a bunny appear out of nowhere or novice card tricks.Houdini constrained his crowd to address reality with his remarkable and unlimited capacity to make the unthinkable conceivable. During the 1920s, wrongdoing, hoodlum action, and racial segregation were at their pinnacle, however Harry Houdini had the option to balance a portion of those cruel real factors by engaging and interesting individuals utilizing the puzzle and figment of his enchantment stunts. Harry Houdini’s early life affected and started his enthusiasm for diversion and magic.The Weiss family, comprising of Mayer Samuel, Cecilia Steiner Weiss, and their five kids, were initially from Budapest, Hungary and later moved to Appleton, Wisconsin (Higbee). Harry Houdini was conceived on March 24, 1874 (â€Å"Harry 2†). Harry Houdini’s father, a rabbi named Mayer Samuel, didn't really concur with his son’s enthusiasm for enchantment, yet when Harry was sixteen, his dad died, and he didn't hesitate to seek after his energy as a profession. Harry’s sibling, Theodore Hardeen, conceived Ferencz Deszo Weiss, helped him to launch his vocation by turning into his enchantment assistant.The team got known as the â€Å"Houdini Brothers† (Higbee). Houdini later met Wilhelmina Beatrice â€Å"Bess† Rahner, and after fourteen days, he made her his better half. Bess was likewise in the amusement business as a battling vocalist, so she chose to assist her with husbanding with his enchantment profession. Despite the fact that she supplanted Theodore, Bess made an incredible enchantment associate since she could sing, move, and she was light weight (â€Å"Harry 1†). To most, enchantment is only a side interest, yet rather, Harry Houdini chose to seek after his enthusiasm and was extremely aggressive to turn into the best in his specialty. Houdini’s first presentation to enchantment was the point at which his dad took him to see Dr.Lynn, a visiting performer, who utilized butcher blades to remove the appendages and leader of a casualty in a bureau. Harry Houdini was from that point charmed by enchantment. â€Å"At the age of 12, Houdini fled from home to get a new line of work and help bolster his family. At the point when he returned, he welcomed his mom with, â€Å"Shake me, I’m enchantment. † As his mom shook h im, coins flew from his body; this was Houdini’s first enchantment stunt. † The youthful, hopeful entertainer taught himself essentially with books. Disclosures of Spirit Medium by A. Medium uncovered the stunts of phony clairvoyants, and The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin was the personal history of Houdini’s tutor and motivation. At seventeen years old, Erich Weiss changed his name to Harry Houdini after Harry Kellar, American performer, and Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, from whom Houdini took his family name and included the letter ‘i’. Houdini had composed, â€Å"From the second I started to examine the craftsmanship, he turned into my guide and legend. I didn't solicit anything more from life than to become in my calling like Robert-Houdin† (â€Å"Harry 1†). Harry Houdini’s thirty-multi year enchantment profession was exceptionally fruitful and his notable, over the top tricks made him the amazing entertainer we know him as today.One of Houdini’s first exhibitions got him the name the â€Å"King of Cards. † He was clearly a gifted performer yet he performed basic deceives that got fair surveys (â€Å"Harry 1†). For around seven years, Houdini worked little shows and toiled in indefinite quality. He was near the precarious edge of reconsidering his vocation when he was offered his large reprieve on vaudeville by theater ace, Martin Beck. Beck became Houdini’s supervisor and helped the youthful performer get across the country reputation. This was a tremendous jump from the twenty-five dollar seven days Harry had been formerly making. This was a gigantic defining moment for his vocation (â€Å"Harry 4†). Harry joined the Society of American Magicians (S. A. M. ) in 1904, an association set up in 1902 by expert and beginner seers who shared a typical enthusiasm for publicizing secret attractions and sharing their stunts at month to month gatherings. † Houdini surrendered fo urteen days after the fact due to contradictions in regards to his magazine. Harry Houdini and S. A. M. in the end accommodated their disparities and Harry rejoined the gathering, however was readmitted as a privileged part in 1912 and was later even chosen president, which was an immense respect to Houdini (â€Å"Harry 1†).He cruised to England in the mid year of 1900 where he started his first universal visit. After coming back to the United States in 1905, he was feeling strain to increase and better. Houdini visited for the following ten years, continually discovering approaches to remain in the open eye and push his capacities as far as possible (â€Å"Harry 4†). In any case, Harry was keen. He realized that his vaudeville visits would not keep going forever so he began discovering elective approaches to encourage his vocation. He started showing up in quiet movies, for example, Master Mystery and Grime Game.This likewise started his plan to establish the Houdini Picture Corporation in 1921. The creation organization appeared its first film the Man From Beyond (â€Å"Harry 5†). Another endeavor that Harry Houdini was especially glad for was the Conjurer’s Monthly Magazine (â€Å"Harry 3†). Harry Houdini is known for his outrageous tricks and escapes and his capacity to engage and stun his crowd which is the reason he is viewed as one of the ancestors of enchantment and dreams. Houdini had two key kinds of stunts: deceptions and escapes.For model, at an early stage in his profession, Harry understood that most binds open with a similar key. He at that point took this reason and started to empower the individuals from his crowd to carry their own cuffs to secure him in for a feeling of acceptability. This got known as his â€Å"Challenge Handcuff Act†. Be that as it may, later on in his vocation, his breaks turned out to be increasingly over the top. On January 7, 1906, Harry Houdini built up himself as an expert pe rformer by getting away from the prison cell of President Garfield’s professional killer, Charles Guiteau, in Washington DC.Houdini was stripped down, looked, and secured up in the cell. In addition to the fact that he escaped from the cell, he additionally recovered his garments that were secured an alternate cell, changed, and changed eight different detainees to various cells, all in a short time. This trick was begat, the â€Å"Naked Prison Test Escape†. Harry Houdini at that point chose to take his departure aptitudes to the following level by provoking himself to escape a restraint. Sufficiently sure, the ace slick person ready to do it, however how? There are speculations that Harry needed to disengage his shoulder so as to get slack.Or maybe another, and more probable hypothesis, is that Harry extended his chest and stressed against the body ties. While those are only instances of Houdini’s most renowned breaks, he is referred to for being an illusionist also. One of Harry’s most well known figments was the â€Å"Vanishing Elephant† which turned out to be such a hit, that Houdini kept on performing it on his visit for nineteen weeks. It originally appeared on January 7, 1918 when Houdini’s 10,000 pound elephant, Jenni, strolled into an unfilled bureau with an entryway on the back and a blind in front. After two seconds, Jenni had vanished. Obviously, Houdini left the crowd dumbfounded.Unfortunately, be that as it may, during Houdini’s visit on October 22, 1926, understudies from McGill University inquired as to whether Houdini could withstand a hit to the stomach. Before Harry had whenever to prepare himself for the hit, J. Gordon punched the popular entertainer multiple times making his informative supplement break. Harry endure however not for any longer. Half a month later he became sick from streptococcus peritonitis (an irritation of the stomach hole) and kicked the bucket on October 31, 1926. Harry Houdini’s puzzling deceptions and dangerous departures grabbed the eye of individuals everywhere throughout the world, and he kept on engaging them for the early piece of the 1920s.As the ancestor of enchantment, Harry Houdini set up for future, hopeful entertainers to attempt to go well beyond his effectively outrageous stunts. There have been similar tricks from entertainers, for example, Chris Angel and David Blane all the more as of late, however Harry was the first to make the outlandish conceivable. For that he will perpetually be known as the best entertainer of the 1920s, however the best performer ever. Works Cited â€Å"Harry 1 Houdini. † American Decades. Ed. Judith S. Baughman, et al. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Memoir In Context. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. â€Å"Harry 2 Houdini. Reference book of Occultism and Parapsychology. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Memoir In Context. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. â€Å"Harry 3 Houdini's Magic. † American Decades Primary Sources. Ed. Cynthia Rose. Vol. 1: 1900-1909. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 33-37. Life story In Context. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. â€Å"Harry 4 Houdini. † St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Sara Pendergast and Tom Pendergast. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. History In Context. Web. 21 Feb. 2013. Higbee, Joan F. â€Å"Houdini: A Biographical Chronology. † Houdini: A Biographical Chronology. Oct. 1996: n. p. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 22 Feb 2013.

Future Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Future - Assignment Example †(Baudrillard, 1993) Baudrillard was of the view that the workmanship world, as of late, has moved into dim understanding for future, with imagination essentially smothered by absence of interest and tasteful sense. The masterful acumen of individuals has been to a great extent incapacitated, driving the craftsmanship world into turmoil and visual impairment. It is same as a natural framework being influenced by clutter in its inner hereditary qualities and intrinsic standards that administer it. So also, craftsmanship world has confronted unrest because of breakdown of the fundamental parts that set up its establishment. The above cited explanation recommends that as of now, the field of telematics has experienced generally its own exploded backward activity taken for advancing straightforwardness and authenticity. To aggravate it, in the long run innovation came into pretend which concentrated principally on making portability and network. At the appropriate time of accomplish ing these objectives, innovation drove the general public into a situation where eye to eye correspondence is not, at this point esteemed or considered (Baudrillard, 1993). In spite of the fact that, the entire purposeful publicity of workmanship has been seen to thrive over the globe in ongoing decades, this improvement isn't in genuine terms. The genuine soul and fixation that was implanted in fine arts in past occasions has reduced to a great extent. The advancement, that once driven craftsmen and onlookers into a fictional universe and produced quietness and happiness for them, no longer exists in the cutting edge world. Thusly, workmanship has lost its social noteworthiness, enthusiastic connections and extraneous incentive in our social orders. Presently, the majority have gone off to some far away place without tasteful sense for creative items and fundamentally center around their materialistic qualities and strict ramifications (Gane, 1995). â€Å"Artists and customary Web surfers the same should decide if the internet really is another type of nonappearance and ‘transparent evil’, or whether, rather, it is a spot for innovative, keen, and helpful tactile investigation and public connection.† - C. Freeland Previously referred to only as a system of work stations, the internet is not, at this point limited to this straightforward and specialized definition. Freeland guaranteed that the web has implanted into our networks and lives to a degree where endurance without it is beyond the realm of imagination any longer. He expressed that it has elevated straightforwardness to unsatisfactory levels, in this way permitting social wrongs to be effectively recognized by masses as a major aspect of the development procedure. It is not out of the question to state here that the worldwide town is nearly entering a data and innovation age where spatial manifestations will be more esteemed than common magnificence. In setting of craftsmanship, we b has caused a significant progress of individuals from acknowledging reality and inventiveness to tolerating the virtual types of workmanship. Recreation disposes of the hankering for a tasteful eye to be satisfied with some genuine bit of craftsmanship; rather, it creates acknowledgment for ‘hyperreal’ content which is restricted uniquely to screens that shows the internet interface. Straightforwardness here alludes to the expanding closeness of

Volcanoes and Tsunamis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Volcanoes and Tsunamis - Assignment Example Volcanic ejection makes different landforms, for example, levels, volcanic mountains and molten rocks. The volcanic debris causes genuine environmental difficulties including corrosive downpour and vision blockage influencing the flight business. Levels, mountains, and volcanic debris are highlights that happen during ejection. Mountains and debris happen when magma is expelled at high weight while levels happen when liquid magma streams under low tension and spreads a wide territory. The ejection of the Yellowstone Volcano makes a genuine test for Tri-state particularly on the grounds that it will disturb transport and may prompt death toll as a result of the hurled Lava. The state must be set up for any consequence since dynamic springs of gushing lava might be activated by slipping separation points. Groundwork for inevitability incorporates framework checking for changes in the general public. A quake in the ocean causes gigantic water uprooting which thusly quickens towards the shores. The volume of water dislodged causes genuine test on the grounds that as it voyages it increases huge velocities which obliterate everything along its way. The decrease of ocean profundity as the wave arrives at the shore makes the water to acquire increasing speed since it is compelled to travel upwards. The limitation of ocean profundity and weight of the water expands the quickening and accordingly builds t capacity of the torrent to decimate everything along its way. Beach front vegetation diminishes the effect of torrent by decreasing speed. Vegetation along the waterfront shore will adequately diminish the pulverization limit of the tidal wave. Ocean profundity is imperative since it builds retention of stuns. Be that as it may, the declining profundity expands the stature of the water accordingly expanding decimation along the shores. The breakdown of the defensive dividers of japan is because of the earth developments which influenced the establishment of the dividers by making separation points which thusly prompted the breakdown of the divider after effect. The consequence of the The post-quake tremors of the seismic tremor

An Introduction to Ecotourism

An Introduction to Ecotourism Ecotourism is comprehensively characterized as low effect travel to jeopardized and frequently undisturbed areas. It is unique in relation to conventional the travel industry since it permits the voyager to get instructed about the regions - both as far as the physical scene and social attributes, and regularly gives assets to preservation and advantages the monetary advancement of spots that are every now and again ruined. When Did Ecotourism Start? Ecotourism and different types of manageable travel have their sources with the natural development of the 1970s. Ecotourism itself didn't get common as a movement idea until the late 1980s. During that time, expanding ecological mindfulness and a craving to make a trip to common areas instead of developed vacationer areas made ecotourism attractive. From that point forward, a few unique associations spend significant time in ecotourism have created and various individuals have become specialists on it. Martha D. Nectar, PhD, a prime supporter of the Center for Responsible Tourism, for instance, is only one of numerous ecotourism specialists. Standards of Ecotourism Because of the developing fame of ecologically related and experience travel, different sorts of outings are presently being delegated ecotourism. The vast majority of these are not really ecotourism, be that as it may, on the grounds that they don't underscore preservation, instruction, low effect travel, and social and social support in the areas being visited. Consequently, to be viewed as ecotourism, an excursion must meet the accompanying standards set out by the International Ecotourism Society: Limit the effect of visiting the area (i.e.- the utilization of roads)Build regard and mindfulness for the earth and social practicesEnsure that the travel industry gives constructive encounters to both the guests and the hostsProvide direct money related guide for conservationProvide budgetary guide, strengthening and different advantages for neighborhood peoplesRaise the explorers consciousness of the host countrys political, ecological and social atmosphere Instances of Ecotourism Open doors for ecotourism exist in a wide range of areas worldwide and its exercises can differ as broadly. Madagascar, for example, is well known for its ecotourist movement as it is a biodiversity hotspot, yet in addition has a high need for natural preservation and is focused on decreasing destitution. Protection International says that 80% of the countrys creatures and 90% of its plants are endemic just to the island. Madagascars lemurs are only one of numerous animal types that individuals visit the island to see. Since the islands government is focused on preservation, ecotourism is permitted in little numbers since training and assets from the movement will make it simpler later on. Furthermore, this vacationer income likewise helps in decreasing the countrys neediness. Somewhere else where ecotourism is mainstream is in Indonesia at Komodo National Park. The recreation center is comprised of 233 square miles (603 sq km) of land that is spread out more than a few islands and 469 square miles (1,214 sq km) of water. The territory was set up as a national park in 1980 and is well known for ecotourism due to its one of a kind and jeopardized biodiversity. Exercises at Komodo National Park shift from whale watching to climbing and facilities endeavor to lowly affect the common habitat. At long last, ecotourism is additionally mainstream in Central and South America. Goals incorporate Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guatemala, and Panama. These goals are only a not many where ecotourism is well known however openings exist in several additional spots around the world. Reactions of Ecotourism In spite of the ubiquity of ecotourism in the previously mentioned models, there are a few reactions of ecotourism also. The first of these is that there is nobody meaning of the term so it is hard to tell which outings are genuinely viewed as ecotourism. Furthermore, the terms nature, low effect, bio, and green the travel industry are frequently exchanged with ecotourism, and these don't typically meet the standards characterized by associations like the Nature Conservancy or the International Ecotourism Society. Pundits of ecotourism additionally refer to that expanded the travel industry to delicate regions or biological systems without appropriate arranging and the board can really hurt the biological system and its species on the grounds that the foundation expected to continue the travel industry, for example, streets can add to natural debasement. Ecotourism is likewise said by pundits to negatively affect nearby networks in light of the fact that the appearance of outside guests and riches can move political and financial conditions and here and there make the region reliant on the travel industry instead of the household monetary practices. Notwithstanding these reactions however, ecotourism and the travel industry, when all is said in done, are expanding in prevalence everywhere throughout the globe and the travel industry assumes a huge job in numerous overall economies. Pick a Travel Company That Specializes So as to keep this travel industry as manageable as could reasonably be expected, notwithstanding, it is basic that explorers comprehend what standards make an excursion fall into the class of ecotourism and endeavor to utilize travel organizations that have been recognized for their work in ecotourism - one of which is Intrepid Travel, a little organization that offers overall eco-cognizant outings and has won various honors for their endeavors. Universal the travel industry will no uncertainty keep on expanding in the coming years and as the Earths assets become progressively restricted and biological systems endure more harm, the practices appeared by Intrepid and others related with ecotourism can make future travel somewhat more feasible.

Marketing Medicine and Advertising Dreams in China

Sherman Cochran’s article, Marketing Medicine and Advertising: Dreams in China, 1900-1950, clarifies how Chinese agents had utilized shifted promoting procedures so as to engage local people. Chinese business visionaries just as Westerners endeavored to penetrate into this goliath Asian market by remembering social convictions and western options for their advertisements.Advertising We will compose a custom report test on Marketing Medicine and Advertising: Dreams in China explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, Huang Chujiu exploited Chinese long for western answers for their longstanding difficulties to sell Ailuo Brain Tonic medication, which had both Chinese and Western naming styles so as to introduce itself as a potential answer for the locals (Cochran 71). The article uncovers how Huang utilized his appealling and elusive character to increase national acknowledgment. In another perspective, Huang exploited enemy of Japanese blacklists in hi s nation to chance upon the national scene in selling Human Elixir. In these exercises, Huang amalgamated his business thoughts and cultural tastes and inclinations to acknowledge consistent development. In completing mass promoting, Huang contracted imaginative administrations from Zheng Mantuo and Hang Zhiying, who acquired different style structures from the West. The two craftsmen needed to teach Chinese practices in structuring their items so as to control the market. At the point when Chinese elites adjusted the Western culture, it got hard for Chinese residents to see completely the arrangements and practices of the West. This is obvious from the various uprisings and blacklists that western countries saw during this period. Despite the fact that the article presents Chinese as individuals who picked openly, it isn't outright since Huang and different business visionaries needed to teach a greater amount of Chinese human progress so as to be sure of their constant presence (C ochran 88). For example, when Huang presented the new medication, he needed to blend customary naming and Western style to stay applicable. Additionally, the procedure that Huang utilized in publicizing Human Elixir medication by exploiting blacklists to paint the item as national uncovers a general public that isn't in reality allowed to settle on what to expend. In spite of the fact that China needed Western answers for tackle their issues, the majority of their mottos urged local people to devour privately made products.Advertising Looking for report on asian? We should check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The plan that organizations needed to fit in with the Chinese conventions shows a general public that isn't available to acknowledge outside items. In this way, they just expend such items since there are no option from the neighborhood scene. In promoting Human Elixir, Huang secured enormous market by utilizing straightforward images t hat both ignorant and proficient Chinese buyers could peruse, fathom, and recollect effectively (Cochran 85). In any case, the utilization of blacklists and endorses on remote business visionaries as methods for making nearby business people sell their items are sick thought process acts. This shows absence of thankfulness for the help that Western nations had given China just as their immediate impersonation of outside models, belief systems, promotion orders, and money related administration tips. The move disregards worldwide exchange understandings among exchanging accomplices, in this way coming about in between state antagonistic vibe. The article neglects to offer clear input on business fruitful activity, regarding whether it depends on cultural desires or business craftsmen. From the examination of mass promoting, it is apparent that all the parameters assume huge jobs in business capacities. For example, Huang utilized monetary patriotism to incorporate Chinese national im ages of banner and flagpole and trademarks speaking to national seriousness and customary concordance to pick up advertise certainty (Cochran 89). Zheng likewise painted representations of traditional Chinese delights, yet on constrained scales. In these viewpoints, they were depending on society to publicize their organizations. In promoting and publicizing, business visionaries consistently apply inventiveness, however they should be in accordance with the customers’ necessities. Despite the fact that business people need to present new thoughts, they should obtain thoughts from different areas given the present globalization pattern. Works Cited Cochran, Sherman. â€Å"Marketing Medicine and Advertising Dreams in China, 1900†1950.† Journal of Advertising 2.1 (2008): 63-97. Print.Advertising We will compose a custom report test on Marketing Medicine and Advertising: Dreams in China explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More This report on Marketing Medicine and Advertising: Dreams in China was composed and put together by client Lexie Pate to help you with your own investigations. You are allowed to utilize it for research and reference purposes so as to compose your own paper; notwithstanding, you should refer to it as needs be. You can give your paper here.

How an Admissions Committee Views MBA Work Experience

You have made the decision to apply to an MBA program (or two, or 10). Now you need to think about your past work experience and how it all fits into your story. What follows are some thoughts on how admissions committees think about certain types of work experience, and how you may want to approach the application process depending on your own experience. Traditional work experience Some of you may think that because you have worked in marketing but not at PG, worked in banking but not at Goldman Sachs, or worked in technology but not at Google that your experience may not count as much to admissions committees when compared against applicants who have worked for brands with cache. For those of you with those assumptions, fear not. The quality of the work that you do is much more important than working at a name-brand institution. If you have brand experience That being said, brand name experience might be viewed by members of an admissions committee and potentially give you an edge, at least on the surface. Brand names like PG, Goldman Sachs, or GE have instant recognition. They are world-class institutions, and as a result have the luxury of an extensive candidate pool to choose from. Therefore, if you have worked for one of these firms, it means you probably beat out some pretty stiff competition to get your job. That alone warrants a second look at your candidacy. Brand experience +: With that second look, there are a few things admissions committees will want to see in order to â€Å"verify† that the experience within the organization is strong as well. Longevity: If you only were employed at a brand name firm for a brief period of time (one year or less), there could be concern that you weren’t able to take the work environment. If, on the other hand, you have been with the firm for two or more years, that employment duration signals competence, persistence, and hard work. Promotions: They will look for evidence of increased responsibilities and/or promotions. Regardless of company, that increase is the best indication that you are seen as highly capable by management and therefore have a great future ahead of you. Movement: If you have more than one brand name on your resume, that is a strong signal as well. You were able to successfully transition from one world class firm to another, or perhaps were poached. Insight: Working at a brand-name company provides an additional benefit too: an admissions committee will see that you have experienced the inner workings of an organization that is best-in-class, and therefore can provide some valuable perspective in class discussions. Top companies clearly have done something right to get that reputation, and while you may not even realize it, you have been exposed to and internalized techniques and practices that are beyond reproach. While brand name matters less than work experience, it does have the potential to provide an edge in the initial review process. If you don’t have brand name experience, however, fear not! Bottom line, what really matters is the substance of the work rather than the name itself. What you’ve done is still more important than where you have done it. Admissions committees are looking to fill their cohorts with individuals having as wide a range of experiences as possible, and especially experience that is relevant to an MBA curriculum. When faculty are teaching a particular subject, the lessons come to life when students have real world experience pertaining to the topic. As such, the skills and knowledge gained from significant projects managed from start to finish matter. Involvement with strategic initiatives matters. You don’t have to have been involved in a multi-million-dollar deal to gain strong leadership and management skills. Small projects still matter! Even small projects that you â€Å"own† can be extremely valuable in providing expertise in particular areas. As you advance in your career, always be on the lookout for projects that allow you to take on a significant leadership role and provide you with a certain degree of autonomy. When it comes time to reduce the work you’ve done to one bullet point on your resume, you want to be able to make that bullet as impactful as possible, for example, â€Å"Led a team of eight to cut costs in the supply chain by 20% through strategic re-purposing of older machines.† This example shows leadership, strategic thinking, and tangible results, all really important stuff! That’s what admissions committees want to see. It doesn’t matter if the size of the project was $10,000 or $1,000,000, or that it was done at Boeing or Jane’s Jewelry Factory. What matters is that you provided significant results to your company. Increasing responsibility In addition to having tangible real-world experience to share in the classroom, admissions committees are also looking for upward mobility. With any luck you have a strong track record of promotions, as that is the easiest way to signal that mobility, and would be immediately obvious on a resume. Even if you don’t, however, you can still showcase the fact that your responsibilities have increased over time through thoughtful wording in your resume, such as, â€Å"Rewarded with project management of X following successful implementation of social media planning schedule.† Essays might also be a place to show the upward movement, depending on the topic. Being awarded by your company with greater responsibilities is the clearest signal you can give that you have what it takes to succeed in an MBA program and in your career thereafter. Non-traditional work experience A common concern from prospective clients with non-traditional work experience is whether or not that experience will be considered relevant in an MBA classroom. I have heard this from doctors, lawyers, military officers, and more. Believe it or not, the less traditional one’s work experience, (often) the more an admissions committee is interested! When putting together a cohort, admissions committee members strive to make it as diverse as possible, in every way possible – job function, industry, culture, etc. Imagine if a class was made up of just bankers? Or IT engineers? How rich would the discussion be across all courses? Not very! As such, schools are delighted when non-traditional applicants apply, and you can be assured that your application will get noticed. The assumption is that individuals coming from a non-business background will approach issues and problems with a different perspective and set of priorities that may allow for additional learning opportunities for their classmates (and possibly even the faculty!). There are a few things to be cognizant of as a non-traditional applicant. While generally speaking an admissions committee will be interested in you simply based on your background, there are two things you need to have solidly in your profile in order to be seriously considered for admission: Stellar grades in a few courses that can indicate your ability to succeed with quant work (e.g. statistics, calculus) in a demanding MBA program, and/or a top-notch GMAT or GRE score Since much of your degree’s coursework may not be directly relatable to a business program’s curriculum, the school needs to be confident you will be able to handle the MBA courses. If quant courses are missing from your transcript (and if you don’t knock the GMAT or GRE out of the park), you should consider taking an algebra, business math, or statistics course at a local community college or online to alleviate any concern there (aim for a B or better). A solid reason for needing an MBA Believe it or not, there are serial degree seekers out there. Since the reason you are interested in an MBA will most likely not be obvious based on your previous work experience, you need to do an even better job of presenting your career goals and objectives. Why is an MBA necessary to get you where you want to go? Bottom line, you are going to attract positive attention from an admissions committee based on your non-traditional background. Now that you have their attention, make your case for acceptance with a mind-blowing application that shows them you fit in, i.e. that you will thrive in their program and need the education their program provides to achieve your dreams. Self-employment Creating a resume as a self-employed individual presents some challenges. If you already have an established business, some of this information is superfluous, but if you have been doing contract work, there are details to manage beyond the summary of the work you have been doing. Company name If you own an established business, you probably already have a company name, but if you are doing freelance work or contract consulting, you might not. You need to put something in for company name that helps the reader understand you are indeed self-employed but also has some gravitas to it. It could be something as simple as â€Å"Jane Doe XYZ Consulting† (assuming your name is Jane Doe, of course!). Job title If you are doing contract work, you want to avoid putting, â€Å"Self-employed† or â€Å"Freelancer† as your title. While this may technically be what you are doing, again you want to label yourself in such a way as to lend credibility to the work you are doing. Consider â€Å"CEO/Founder,† or if that is overreach, something like â€Å"Senior Consultant† or â€Å"Senior Engineer.† Choose something that is as close to what your title would be were you employed by someone else without being too self-congratulatory. For those of you with existing businesses, the â€Å"CEO/Founder† designation is most likely an accurate depiction. Work experience If you are running a business with tangible goods or services, it should be fairly straightforward to map out your experience. Hopefully you have been keeping careful tabs on the successes you have had. For contractors, you should discuss projects you have worked on for various firms, listing out details on those particular projects as much as you can without risking the breach of any confidentiality agreements you have in place. With any luck you have some good, quantifiable results that you can point to as well. Here are some examples of how you could present projects: â€Å"Overhauled payment system for $XMM automotive parts manufacturer, resulting in reduction of A/P by 20%.† â€Å"Performed research and presented findings related to a proposed expansion of a non-profit into a new territory. Research results were subsequently shared with existing donors, who then funded 100% of the planned expansion.† â€Å"Designed website and implemented social media strategy and tactics for eight-member startup in the energy industry.† Bottom line on self-employment Admissions committees want to admit people who have interesting experience to share with classmates. Review the core and elective course offerings at the schools you are looking at, and think about how the work you have done on your own could allow you to contribute to class discussions. Take those examples that come to mind and present them in your resume, and possibly later on in more detail in essays. Want to make sure you present your work experience in the best possible way? Work with a seasoned consultant at Accepted to polish the presentation of your work experience and your entire application. Contact us today! ; Jen Weld is a former  Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program. She has an additional 10 years of experience in higher ed and corporate marketing.  Want Jen to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: †¢ Leadership in Admissions, a free guide †¢ 7 Tips for MBA Applicants from Family Businesses †¢ Applying for an MBA with No Work Experience: What You Need to Know How an Admissions Committee Views MBA Work Experience You have made the decision to apply to an MBA program (or two, or 10). Now you need to think about your past work experience and how it all fits into your story. What follows are some thoughts on how admissions committees think about certain types of work experience, and how you may want to approach the application process depending on your own experience. Traditional work experience Some of you may think that because you have worked in marketing but not at PG, worked in banking but not at Goldman Sachs, or worked in technology but not at Google that your experience may not count as much to admissions committees when compared against applicants who have worked for brands with cache. For those of you with those assumptions, fear not. The quality of the work that you do is much more important than working at a name-brand institution. If you have brand experience That being said, brand name experience might be viewed by members of an admissions committee and potentially give you an edge, at least on the surface. Brand names like PG, Goldman Sachs, or GE have instant recognition. They are world-class institutions, and as a result have the luxury of an extensive candidate pool to choose from. Therefore, if you have worked for one of these firms, it means you probably beat out some pretty stiff competition to get your job. That alone warrants a second look at your candidacy. Brand experience +: With that second look, there are a few things admissions committees will want to see in order to â€Å"verify† that the experience within the organization is strong as well. Longevity: If you only were employed at a brand name firm for a brief period of time (one year or less), there could be concern that you weren’t able to take the work environment. If, on the other hand, you have been with the firm for two or more years, that employment duration signals competence, persistence, and hard work. Promotions: They will look for evidence of increased responsibilities and/or promotions. Regardless of company, that increase is the best indication that you are seen as highly capable by management and therefore have a great future ahead of you. Movement: If you have more than one brand name on your resume, that is a strong signal as well. You were able to successfully transition from one world class firm to another, or perhaps were poached. Insight: Working at a brand-name company provides an additional benefit too: an admissions committee will see that you have experienced the inner workings of an organization that is best-in-class, and therefore can provide some valuable perspective in class discussions. Top companies clearly have done something right to get that reputation, and while you may not even realize it, you have been exposed to and internalized techniques and practices that are beyond reproach. While brand name matters less than work experience, it does have the potential to provide an edge in the initial review process. If you don’t have brand name experience, however, fear not! Bottom line, what really matters is the substance of the work rather than the name itself. What you’ve done is still more important than where you have done it. Admissions committees are looking to fill their cohorts with individuals having as wide a range of experiences as possible, and especially experience that is relevant to an MBA curriculum. When faculty are teaching a particular subject, the lessons come to life when students have real world experience pertaining to the topic. As such, the skills and knowledge gained from significant projects managed from start to finish matter. Involvement with strategic initiatives matters. You don’t have to have been involved in a multi-million-dollar deal to gain strong leadership and management skills. Small projects still matter! Even small projects that you â€Å"own† can be extremely valuable in providing expertise in particular areas. As you advance in your career, always be on the lookout for projects that allow you to take on a significant leadership role and provide you with a certain degree of autonomy. When it comes time to reduce the work you’ve done to one bullet point on your resume, you want to be able to make that bullet as impactful as possible, for example, â€Å"Led a team of eight to cut costs in the supply chain by 20% through strategic re-purposing of older machines.† This example shows leadership, strategic thinking, and tangible results, all really important stuff! That’s what admissions committees want to see. It doesn’t matter if the size of the project was $10,000 or $1,000,000, or that it was done at Boeing or Jane’s Jewelry Factory. What matters is that you provided significant results to your company. Increasing responsibility In addition to having tangible real-world experience to share in the classroom, admissions committees are also looking for upward mobility. With any luck you have a strong track record of promotions, as that is the easiest way to signal that mobility, and would be immediately obvious on a resume. Even if you don’t, however, you can still showcase the fact that your responsibilities have increased over time through thoughtful wording in your resume, such as, â€Å"Rewarded with project management of X following successful implementation of social media planning schedule.† Essays might also be a place to show the upward movement, depending on the topic. Being awarded by your company with greater responsibilities is the clearest signal you can give that you have what it takes to succeed in an MBA program and in your career thereafter. Non-traditional work experience A common concern from prospective clients with non-traditional work experience is whether or not that experience will be considered relevant in an MBA classroom. I have heard this from doctors, lawyers, military officers, and more. Believe it or not, the less traditional one’s work experience, (often) the more an admissions committee is interested! When putting together a cohort, admissions committee members strive to make it as diverse as possible, in every way possible – job function, industry, culture, etc. Imagine if a class was made up of just bankers? Or IT engineers? How rich would the discussion be across all courses? Not very! As such, schools are delighted when non-traditional applicants apply, and you can be assured that your application will get noticed. The assumption is that individuals coming from a non-business background will approach issues and problems with a different perspective and set of priorities that may allow for additional learning opportunities for their classmates (and possibly even the faculty!). There are a few things to be cognizant of as a non-traditional applicant. While generally speaking an admissions committee will be interested in you simply based on your background, there are two things you need to have solidly in your profile in order to be seriously considered for admission: Stellar grades in a few courses that can indicate your ability to succeed with quant work (e.g. statistics, calculus) in a demanding MBA program, and/or a top-notch GMAT or GRE score Since much of your degree’s coursework may not be directly relatable to a business program’s curriculum, the school needs to be confident you will be able to handle the MBA courses. If quant courses are missing from your transcript (and if you don’t knock the GMAT or GRE out of the park), you should consider taking an algebra, business math, or statistics course at a local community college or online to alleviate any concern there (aim for a B or better). A solid reason for needing an MBA Believe it or not, there are serial degree seekers out there. Since the reason you are interested in an MBA will most likely not be obvious based on your previous work experience, you need to do an even better job of presenting your career goals and objectives. Why is an MBA necessary to get you where you want to go? Bottom line, you are going to attract positive attention from an admissions committee based on your non-traditional background. Now that you have their attention, make your case for acceptance with a mind-blowing application that shows them you fit in, i.e. that you will thrive in their program and need the education their program provides to achieve your dreams. Self-employment Creating a resume as a self-employed individual presents some challenges. If you already have an established business, some of this information is superfluous, but if you have been doing contract work, there are details to manage beyond the summary of the work you have been doing. Company name If you own an established business, you probably already have a company name, but if you are doing freelance work or contract consulting, you might not. You need to put something in for company name that helps the reader understand you are indeed self-employed but also has some gravitas to it. It could be something as simple as â€Å"Jane Doe XYZ Consulting† (assuming your name is Jane Doe, of course!). Job title If you are doing contract work, you want to avoid putting, â€Å"Self-employed† or â€Å"Freelancer† as your title. While this may technically be what you are doing, again you want to label yourself in such a way as to lend credibility to the work you are doing. Consider â€Å"CEO/Founder,† or if that is overreach, something like â€Å"Senior Consultant† or â€Å"Senior Engineer.† Choose something that is as close to what your title would be were you employed by someone else without being too self-congratulatory. For those of you with existing businesses, the â€Å"CEO/Founder† designation is most likely an accurate depiction. Work experience If you are running a business with tangible goods or services, it should be fairly straightforward to map out your experience. Hopefully you have been keeping careful tabs on the successes you have had. For contractors, you should discuss projects you have worked on for various firms, listing out details on those particular projects as much as you can without risking the breach of any confidentiality agreements you have in place. With any luck you have some good, quantifiable results that you can point to as well. Here are some examples of how you could present projects: â€Å"Overhauled payment system for $XMM automotive parts manufacturer, resulting in reduction of A/P by 20%.† â€Å"Performed research and presented findings related to a proposed expansion of a non-profit into a new territory. Research results were subsequently shared with existing donors, who then funded 100% of the planned expansion.† â€Å"Designed website and implemented social media strategy and tactics for eight-member startup in the energy industry.† Bottom line on self-employment Admissions committees want to admit people who have interesting experience to share with classmates. Review the core and elective course offerings at the schools you are looking at, and think about how the work you have done on your own could allow you to contribute to class discussions. Take those examples that come to mind and present them in your resume, and possibly later on in more detail in essays. Want to make sure you present your work experience in the best possible way? Work with a seasoned consultant at Accepted to polish the presentation of your work experience and your entire application. Contact us today! ; Jen Weld is a former  Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program. She has an additional 10 years of experience in higher ed and corporate marketing.  Want Jen to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: †¢ Leadership in Admissions, a free guide †¢ 7 Tips for MBA Applicants from Family Businesses †¢ Applying for an MBA with No Work Experience: What You Need to Know How an Admissions Committee Views MBA Work Experience You have made the decision to apply to an MBA program (or two, or 10). Now you need to think about your past work experience and how it all fits into your story. What follows are some thoughts on how admissions committees think about certain types of work experience, and how you may want to approach the application process depending on your own experience. Traditional work experience Some of you may think that because you have worked in marketing but not at PG, worked in banking but not at Goldman Sachs, or worked in technology but not at Google that your experience may not count as much to admissions committees when compared against applicants who have worked for brands with cache. For those of you with those assumptions, fear not. The quality of the work that you do is much more important than working at a name-brand institution. If you have brand experience That being said, brand name experience might be viewed by members of an admissions committee and potentially give you an edge, at least on the surface. Brand names like PG, Goldman Sachs, or GE have instant recognition. They are world-class institutions, and as a result have the luxury of an extensive candidate pool to choose from. Therefore, if you have worked for one of these firms, it means you probably beat out some pretty stiff competition to get your job. That alone warrants a second look at your candidacy. Brand experience +: With that second look, there are a few things admissions committees will want to see in order to â€Å"verify† that the experience within the organization is strong as well. Longevity: If you only were employed at a brand name firm for a brief period of time (one year or less), there could be concern that you weren’t able to take the work environment. If, on the other hand, you have been with the firm for two or more years, that employment duration signals competence, persistence, and hard work. Promotions: They will look for evidence of increased responsibilities and/or promotions. Regardless of company, that increase is the best indication that you are seen as highly capable by management and therefore have a great future ahead of you. Movement: If you have more than one brand name on your resume, that is a strong signal as well. You were able to successfully transition from one world class firm to another, or perhaps were poached. Insight: Working at a brand-name company provides an additional benefit too: an admissions committee will see that you have experienced the inner workings of an organization that is best-in-class, and therefore can provide some valuable perspective in class discussions. Top companies clearly have done something right to get that reputation, and while you may not even realize it, you have been exposed to and internalized techniques and practices that are beyond reproach. While brand name matters less than work experience, it does have the potential to provide an edge in the initial review process. If you don’t have brand name experience, however, fear not! Bottom line, what really matters is the substance of the work rather than the name itself. What you’ve done is still more important than where you have done it. Admissions committees are looking to fill their cohorts with individuals having as wide a range of experiences as possible, and especially experience that is relevant to an MBA curriculum. When faculty are teaching a particular subject, the lessons come to life when students have real world experience pertaining to the topic. As such, the skills and knowledge gained from significant projects managed from start to finish matter. Involvement with strategic initiatives matters. You don’t have to have been involved in a multi-million-dollar deal to gain strong leadership and management skills. Small projects still matter! Even small projects that you â€Å"own† can be extremely valuable in providing expertise in particular areas. As you advance in your career, always be on the lookout for projects that allow you to take on a significant leadership role and provide you with a certain degree of autonomy. When it comes time to reduce the work you’ve done to one bullet point on your resume, you want to be able to make that bullet as impactful as possible, for example, â€Å"Led a team of eight to cut costs in the supply chain by 20% through strategic re-purposing of older machines.† This example shows leadership, strategic thinking, and tangible results, all really important stuff! That’s what admissions committees want to see. It doesn’t matter if the size of the project was $10,000 or $1,000,000, or that it was done at Boeing or Jane’s Jewelry Factory. What matters is that you provided significant results to your company. Increasing responsibility In addition to having tangible real-world experience to share in the classroom, admissions committees are also looking for upward mobility. With any luck you have a strong track record of promotions, as that is the easiest way to signal that mobility, and would be immediately obvious on a resume. Even if you don’t, however, you can still showcase the fact that your responsibilities have increased over time through thoughtful wording in your resume, such as, â€Å"Rewarded with project management of X following successful implementation of social media planning schedule.† Essays might also be a place to show the upward movement, depending on the topic. Being awarded by your company with greater responsibilities is the clearest signal you can give that you have what it takes to succeed in an MBA program and in your career thereafter. Non-traditional work experience A common concern from prospective clients with non-traditional work experience is whether or not that experience will be considered relevant in an MBA classroom. I have heard this from doctors, lawyers, military officers, and more. Believe it or not, the less traditional one’s work experience, (often) the more an admissions committee is interested! When putting together a cohort, admissions committee members strive to make it as diverse as possible, in every way possible – job function, industry, culture, etc. Imagine if a class was made up of just bankers? Or IT engineers? How rich would the discussion be across all courses? Not very! As such, schools are delighted when non-traditional applicants apply, and you can be assured that your application will get noticed. The assumption is that individuals coming from a non-business background will approach issues and problems with a different perspective and set of priorities that may allow for additional learning opportunities for their classmates (and possibly even the faculty!). There are a few things to be cognizant of as a non-traditional applicant. While generally speaking an admissions committee will be interested in you simply based on your background, there are two things you need to have solidly in your profile in order to be seriously considered for admission: Stellar grades in a few courses that can indicate your ability to succeed with quant work (e.g. statistics, calculus) in a demanding MBA program, and/or a top-notch GMAT or GRE score Since much of your degree’s coursework may not be directly relatable to a business program’s curriculum, the school needs to be confident you will be able to handle the MBA courses. If quant courses are missing from your transcript (and if you don’t knock the GMAT or GRE out of the park), you should consider taking an algebra, business math, or statistics course at a local community college or online to alleviate any concern there (aim for a B or better). A solid reason for needing an MBA Believe it or not, there are serial degree seekers out there. Since the reason you are interested in an MBA will most likely not be obvious based on your previous work experience, you need to do an even better job of presenting your career goals and objectives. Why is an MBA necessary to get you where you want to go? Bottom line, you are going to attract positive attention from an admissions committee based on your non-traditional background. Now that you have their attention, make your case for acceptance with a mind-blowing application that shows them you fit in, i.e. that you will thrive in their program and need the education their program provides to achieve your dreams. Self-employment Creating a resume as a self-employed individual presents some challenges. If you already have an established business, some of this information is superfluous, but if you have been doing contract work, there are details to manage beyond the summary of the work you have been doing. Company name If you own an established business, you probably already have a company name, but if you are doing freelance work or contract consulting, you might not. You need to put something in for company name that helps the reader understand you are indeed self-employed but also has some gravitas to it. It could be something as simple as â€Å"Jane Doe XYZ Consulting† (assuming your name is Jane Doe, of course!). Job title If you are doing contract work, you want to avoid putting, â€Å"Self-employed† or â€Å"Freelancer† as your title. While this may technically be what you are doing, again you want to label yourself in such a way as to lend credibility to the work you are doing. Consider â€Å"CEO/Founder,† or if that is overreach, something like â€Å"Senior Consultant† or â€Å"Senior Engineer.† Choose something that is as close to what your title would be were you employed by someone else without being too self-congratulatory. For those of you with existing businesses, the â€Å"CEO/Founder† designation is most likely an accurate depiction. Work experience If you are running a business with tangible goods or services, it should be fairly straightforward to map out your experience. Hopefully you have been keeping careful tabs on the successes you have had. For contractors, you should discuss projects you have worked on for various firms, listing out details on those particular projects as much as you can without risking the breach of any confidentiality agreements you have in place. With any luck you have some good, quantifiable results that you can point to as well. Here are some examples of how you could present projects: â€Å"Overhauled payment system for $XMM automotive parts manufacturer, resulting in reduction of A/P by 20%.† â€Å"Performed research and presented findings related to a proposed expansion of a non-profit into a new territory. Research results were subsequently shared with existing donors, who then funded 100% of the planned expansion.† â€Å"Designed website and implemented social media strategy and tactics for eight-member startup in the energy industry.† Bottom line on self-employment Admissions committees want to admit people who have interesting experience to share with classmates. Review the core and elective course offerings at the schools you are looking at, and think about how the work you have done on your own could allow you to contribute to class discussions. Take those examples that come to mind and present them in your resume, and possibly later on in more detail in essays. Want to make sure you present your work experience in the best possible way? Work with a seasoned consultant at Accepted to polish the presentation of your work experience and your entire application. Contact us today! ; Jen Weld is a former  Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program. She has an additional 10 years of experience in higher ed and corporate marketing.  Want Jen to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: †¢ Leadership in Admissions, a free guide †¢ 7 Tips for MBA Applicants from Family Businesses †¢ Applying for an MBA with No Work Experience: What You Need to Know How an Admissions Committee Views MBA Work Experience You have made the decision to apply to an MBA program (or two, or 10). Now you need to think about your past work experience and how it all fits into your story. What follows are some thoughts on how admissions committees think about certain types of work experience, and how you may want to approach the application process depending on your own experience. Traditional work experience Some of you may think that because you have worked in marketing but not at PG, worked in banking but not at Goldman Sachs, or worked in technology but not at Google that your experience may not count as much to admissions committees when compared against applicants who have worked for brands with cache. For those of you with those assumptions, fear not. The quality of the work that you do is much more important than working at a name-brand institution. If you have brand experience That being said, brand name experience might be viewed by members of an admissions committee and potentially give you an edge, at least on the surface. Brand names like PG, Goldman Sachs, or GE have instant recognition. They are world-class institutions, and as a result have the luxury of an extensive candidate pool to choose from. Therefore, if you have worked for one of these firms, it means you probably beat out some pretty stiff competition to get your job. That alone warrants a second look at your candidacy. Brand experience +: With that second look, there are a few things admissions committees will want to see in order to â€Å"verify† that the experience within the organization is strong as well. Longevity: If you only were employed at a brand name firm for a brief period of time (one year or less), there could be concern that you weren’t able to take the work environment. If, on the other hand, you have been with the firm for two or more years, that employment duration signals competence, persistence, and hard work. Promotions: They will look for evidence of increased responsibilities and/or promotions. Regardless of company, that increase is the best indication that you are seen as highly capable by management and therefore have a great future ahead of you. Movement: If you have more than one brand name on your resume, that is a strong signal as well. You were able to successfully transition from one world class firm to another, or perhaps were poached. Insight: Working at a brand-name company provides an additional benefit too: an admissions committee will see that you have experienced the inner workings of an organization that is best-in-class, and therefore can provide some valuable perspective in class discussions. Top companies clearly have done something right to get that reputation, and while you may not even realize it, you have been exposed to and internalized techniques and practices that are beyond reproach. While brand name matters less than work experience, it does have the potential to provide an edge in the initial review process. If you don’t have brand name experience, however, fear not! Bottom line, what really matters is the substance of the work rather than the name itself. What you’ve done is still more important than where you have done it. Admissions committees are looking to fill their cohorts with individuals having as wide a range of experiences as possible, and especially experience that is relevant to an MBA curriculum. When faculty are teaching a particular subject, the lessons come to life when students have real world experience pertaining to the topic. As such, the skills and knowledge gained from significant projects managed from start to finish matter. Involvement with strategic initiatives matters. You don’t have to have been involved in a multi-million-dollar deal to gain strong leadership and management skills. Small projects still matter! Even small projects that you â€Å"own† can be extremely valuable in providing expertise in particular areas. As you advance in your career, always be on the lookout for projects that allow you to take on a significant leadership role and provide you with a certain degree of autonomy. When it comes time to reduce the work you’ve done to one bullet point on your resume, you want to be able to make that bullet as impactful as possible, for example, â€Å"Led a team of eight to cut costs in the supply chain by 20% through strategic re-purposing of older machines.† This example shows leadership, strategic thinking, and tangible results, all really important stuff! That’s what admissions committees want to see. It doesn’t matter if the size of the project was $10,000 or $1,000,000, or that it was done at Boeing or Jane’s Jewelry Factory. What matters is that you provided significant results to your company. Increasing responsibility In addition to having tangible real-world experience to share in the classroom, admissions committees are also looking for upward mobility. With any luck you have a strong track record of promotions, as that is the easiest way to signal that mobility, and would be immediately obvious on a resume. Even if you don’t, however, you can still showcase the fact that your responsibilities have increased over time through thoughtful wording in your resume, such as, â€Å"Rewarded with project management of X following successful implementation of social media planning schedule.† Essays might also be a place to show the upward movement, depending on the topic. Being awarded by your company with greater responsibilities is the clearest signal you can give that you have what it takes to succeed in an MBA program and in your career thereafter. Non-traditional work experience A common concern from prospective clients with non-traditional work experience is whether or not that experience will be considered relevant in an MBA classroom. I have heard this from doctors, lawyers, military officers, and more. Believe it or not, the less traditional one’s work experience, (often) the more an admissions committee is interested! When putting together a cohort, admissions committee members strive to make it as diverse as possible, in every way possible – job function, industry, culture, etc. Imagine if a class was made up of just bankers? Or IT engineers? How rich would the discussion be across all courses? Not very! As such, schools are delighted when non-traditional applicants apply, and you can be assured that your application will get noticed. The assumption is that individuals coming from a non-business background will approach issues and problems with a different perspective and set of priorities that may allow for additional learning opportunities for their classmates (and possibly even the faculty!). There are a few things to be cognizant of as a non-traditional applicant. While generally speaking an admissions committee will be interested in you simply based on your background, there are two things you need to have solidly in your profile in order to be seriously considered for admission: Stellar grades in a few courses that can indicate your ability to succeed with quant work (e.g. statistics, calculus) in a demanding MBA program, and/or a top-notch GMAT or GRE score Since much of your degree’s coursework may not be directly relatable to a business program’s curriculum, the school needs to be confident you will be able to handle the MBA courses. If quant courses are missing from your transcript (and if you don’t knock the GMAT or GRE out of the park), you should consider taking an algebra, business math, or statistics course at a local community college or online to alleviate any concern there (aim for a B or better). A solid reason for needing an MBA Believe it or not, there are serial degree seekers out there. Since the reason you are interested in an MBA will most likely not be obvious based on your previous work experience, you need to do an even better job of presenting your career goals and objectives. Why is an MBA necessary to get you where you want to go? Bottom line, you are going to attract positive attention from an admissions committee based on your non-traditional background. Now that you have their attention, make your case for acceptance with a mind-blowing application that shows them you fit in, i.e. that you will thrive in their program and need the education their program provides to achieve your dreams. Self-employment Creating a resume as a self-employed individual presents some challenges. If you already have an established business, some of this information is superfluous, but if you have been doing contract work, there are details to manage beyond the summary of the work you have been doing. Company name If you own an established business, you probably already have a company name, but if you are doing freelance work or contract consulting, you might not. You need to put something in for company name that helps the reader understand you are indeed self-employed but also has some gravitas to it. It could be something as simple as â€Å"Jane Doe XYZ Consulting† (assuming your name is Jane Doe, of course!). Job title If you are doing contract work, you want to avoid putting, â€Å"Self-employed† or â€Å"Freelancer† as your title. While this may technically be what you are doing, again you want to label yourself in such a way as to lend credibility to the work you are doing. Consider â€Å"CEO/Founder,† or if that is overreach, something like â€Å"Senior Consultant† or â€Å"Senior Engineer.† Choose something that is as close to what your title would be were you employed by someone else without being too self-congratulatory. For those of you with existing businesses, the â€Å"CEO/Founder† designation is most likely an accurate depiction. Work experience If you are running a business with tangible goods or services, it should be fairly straightforward to map out your experience. Hopefully you have been keeping careful tabs on the successes you have had. For contractors, you should discuss projects you have worked on for various firms, listing out details on those particular projects as much as you can without risking the breach of any confidentiality agreements you have in place. With any luck you have some good, quantifiable results that you can point to as well. Here are some examples of how you could present projects: â€Å"Overhauled payment system for $XMM automotive parts manufacturer, resulting in reduction of A/P by 20%.† â€Å"Performed research and presented findings related to a proposed expansion of a non-profit into a new territory. Research results were subsequently shared with existing donors, who then funded 100% of the planned expansion.† â€Å"Designed website and implemented social media strategy and tactics for eight-member startup in the energy industry.† Bottom line on self-employment Admissions committees want to admit people who have interesting experience to share with classmates. Review the core and elective course offerings at the schools you are looking at, and think about how the work you have done on your own could allow you to contribute to class discussions. Take those examples that come to mind and present them in your resume, and possibly later on in more detail in essays. Want to make sure you present your work experience in the best possible way? Work with a seasoned consultant at Accepted to polish the presentation of your work experience and your entire application. Contact us today! ; Jen Weld is a former  Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program. She has an additional 10 years of experience in higher ed and corporate marketing.  Want Jen to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: †¢ Leadership in Admissions, a free guide †¢ 7 Tips for MBA Applicants from Family Businesses †¢ Applying for an MBA with No Work Experience: What You Need to Know How an Admissions Committee Views MBA Work Experience You have made the decision to apply to an MBA program (or two, or 10). Now you need to think about your past work experience and how it all fits into your story. What follows are some thoughts on how admissions committees think about certain types of work experience, and how you may want to approach the application process depending on your own experience. Traditional work experience Some of you may think that because you have worked in marketing but not at PG, worked in banking but not at Goldman Sachs, or worked in technology but not at Google that your experience may not count as much to admissions committees when compared against applicants who have worked for brands with cache. For those of you with those assumptions, fear not. The quality of the work that you do is much more important than working at a name-brand institution. If you have brand experience That being said, brand name experience might be viewed by members of an admissions committee and potentially give you an edge, at least on the surface. Brand names like PG, Goldman Sachs, or GE have instant recognition. They are world-class institutions, and as a result have the luxury of an extensive candidate pool to choose from. Therefore, if you have worked for one of these firms, it means you probably beat out some pretty stiff competition to get your job. That alone warrants a second look at your candidacy. Brand experience +: With that second look, there are a few things admissions committees will want to see in order to â€Å"verify† that the experience within the organization is strong as well. Longevity: If you only were employed at a brand name firm for a brief period of time (one year or less), there could be concern that you weren’t able to take the work environment. If, on the other hand, you have been with the firm for two or more years, that employment duration signals competence, persistence, and hard work. Promotions: They will look for evidence of increased responsibilities and/or promotions. Regardless of company, that increase is the best indication that you are seen as highly capable by management and therefore have a great future ahead of you. Movement: If you have more than one brand name on your resume, that is a strong signal as well. You were able to successfully transition from one world class firm to another, or perhaps were poached. Insight: Working at a brand-name company provides an additional benefit too: an admissions committee will see that you have experienced the inner workings of an organization that is best-in-class, and therefore can provide some valuable perspective in class discussions. Top companies clearly have done something right to get that reputation, and while you may not even realize it, you have been exposed to and internalized techniques and practices that are beyond reproach. While brand name matters less than work experience, it does have the potential to provide an edge in the initial review process. If you don’t have brand name experience, however, fear not! Bottom line, what really matters is the substance of the work rather than the name itself. What you’ve done is still more important than where you have done it. Admissions committees are looking to fill their cohorts with individuals having as wide a range of experiences as possible, and especially experience that is relevant to an MBA curriculum. When faculty are teaching a particular subject, the lessons come to life when students have real world experience pertaining to the topic. As such, the skills and knowledge gained from significant projects managed from start to finish matter. Involvement with strategic initiatives matters. You don’t have to have been involved in a multi-million-dollar deal to gain strong leadership and management skills. Small projects still matter! Even small projects that you â€Å"own† can be extremely valuable in providing expertise in particular areas. As you advance in your career, always be on the lookout for projects that allow you to take on a significant leadership role and provide you with a certain degree of autonomy. When it comes time to reduce the work you’ve done to one bullet point on your resume, you want to be able to make that bullet as impactful as possible, for example, â€Å"Led a team of eight to cut costs in the supply chain by 20% through strategic re-purposing of older machines.† This example shows leadership, strategic thinking, and tangible results, all really important stuff! That’s what admissions committees want to see. It doesn’t matter if the size of the project was $10,000 or $1,000,000, or that it was done at Boeing or Jane’s Jewelry Factory. What matters is that you provided significant results to your company. Increasing responsibility In addition to having tangible real-world experience to share in the classroom, admissions committees are also looking for upward mobility. With any luck you have a strong track record of promotions, as that is the easiest way to signal that mobility, and would be immediately obvious on a resume. Even if you don’t, however, you can still showcase the fact that your responsibilities have increased over time through thoughtful wording in your resume, such as, â€Å"Rewarded with project management of X following successful implementation of social media planning schedule.† Essays might also be a place to show the upward movement, depending on the topic. Being awarded by your company with greater responsibilities is the clearest signal you can give that you have what it takes to succeed in an MBA program and in your career thereafter. Non-traditional work experience A common concern from prospective clients with non-traditional work experience is whether or not that experience will be considered relevant in an MBA classroom. I have heard this from doctors, lawyers, military officers, and more. Believe it or not, the less traditional one’s work experience, (often) the more an admissions committee is interested! When putting together a cohort, admissions committee members strive to make it as diverse as possible, in every way possible – job function, industry, culture, etc. Imagine if a class was made up of just bankers? Or IT engineers? How rich would the discussion be across all courses? Not very! As such, schools are delighted when non-traditional applicants apply, and you can be assured that your application will get noticed. The assumption is that individuals coming from a non-business background will approach issues and problems with a different perspective and set of priorities that may allow for additional learning opportunities for their classmates (and possibly even the faculty!). There are a few things to be cognizant of as a non-traditional applicant. While generally speaking an admissions committee will be interested in you simply based on your background, there are two things you need to have solidly in your profile in order to be seriously considered for admission: Stellar grades in a few courses that can indicate your ability to succeed with quant work (e.g. statistics, calculus) in a demanding MBA program, and/or a top-notch GMAT or GRE score Since much of your degree’s coursework may not be directly relatable to a business program’s curriculum, the school needs to be confident you will be able to handle the MBA courses. If quant courses are missing from your transcript (and if you don’t knock the GMAT or GRE out of the park), you should consider taking an algebra, business math, or statistics course at a local community college or online to alleviate any concern there (aim for a B or better). A solid reason for needing an MBA Believe it or not, there are serial degree seekers out there. Since the reason you are interested in an MBA will most likely not be obvious based on your previous work experience, you need to do an even better job of presenting your career goals and objectives. Why is an MBA necessary to get you where you want to go? Bottom line, you are going to attract positive attention from an admissions committee based on your non-traditional background. Now that you have their attention, make your case for acceptance with a mind-blowing application that shows them you fit in, i.e. that you will thrive in their program and need the education their program provides to achieve your dreams. Self-employment Creating a resume as a self-employed individual presents some challenges. If you already have an established business, some of this information is superfluous, but if you have been doing contract work, there are details to manage beyond the summary of the work you have been doing. Company name If you own an established business, you probably already have a company name, but if you are doing freelance work or contract consulting, you might not. You need to put something in for company name that helps the reader understand you are indeed self-employed but also has some gravitas to it. It could be something as simple as â€Å"Jane Doe XYZ Consulting† (assuming your name is Jane Doe, of course!). Job title If you are doing contract work, you want to avoid putting, â€Å"Self-employed† or â€Å"Freelancer† as your title. While this may technically be what you are doing, again you want to label yourself in such a way as to lend credibility to the work you are doing. Consider â€Å"CEO/Founder,† or if that is overreach, something like â€Å"Senior Consultant† or â€Å"Senior Engineer.† Choose something that is as close to what your title would be were you employed by someone else without being too self-congratulatory. For those of you with existing businesses, the â€Å"CEO/Founder† designation is most likely an accurate depiction. Work experience If you are running a business with tangible goods or services, it should be fairly straightforward to map out your experience. Hopefully you have been keeping careful tabs on the successes you have had. For contractors, you should discuss projects you have worked on for various firms, listing out details on those particular projects as much as you can without risking the breach of any confidentiality agreements you have in place. With any luck you have some good, quantifiable results that you can point to as well. Here are some examples of how you could present projects: â€Å"Overhauled payment system for $XMM automotive parts manufacturer, resulting in reduction of A/P by 20%.† â€Å"Performed research and presented findings related to a proposed expansion of a non-profit into a new territory. Research results were subsequently shared with existing donors, who then funded 100% of the planned expansion.† â€Å"Designed website and implemented social media strategy and tactics for eight-member startup in the energy industry.† Bottom line on self-employment Admissions committees want to admit people who have interesting experience to share with classmates. Review the core and elective course offerings at the schools you are looking at, and think about how the work you have done on your own could allow you to contribute to class discussions. Take those examples that come to mind and present them in your resume, and possibly later on in more detail in essays. Want to make sure you present your work experience in the best possible way? Work with a seasoned consultant at Accepted to polish the presentation of your work experience and your entire application. Contact us today! ; Jen Weld is a former  Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program. She has an additional 10 years of experience in higher ed and corporate marketing.  Want Jen to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: †¢ Leadership in Admissions, a free guide †¢ 7 Tips for MBA Applicants from Family Businesses †¢ Applying for an MBA with No Work Experience: What You Need to Know

Omnibus Part Ii Challenges to Implementation

FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL CONTENT This article assumes you have a basic understanding of what omnibus is based on its preceding article located here: Omnibus: What it is and why advisors should care. In a previous article, I discussed what makes omnibus so alluring: Clients receive statements and all tax reporting documents from a single firm and advisors are able to create, open, and administer 529 accounts from within their in-house system. But if omnibus is so great and provides all these unified services, why doesnï ¿ ½t every firm do it? 1. There are logistical challenges Omnibus creates an additional administration layer between the state sponsor and the 529 provider. From the stateï ¿ ½s perspective, assets inside an omnibus account appear as a single account. This means they cannot audit individual accounts without the cooperation of the broker-dealer that has taken over the recordkeeping of those accounts. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the state or the plan provider to conduct any sort of antifraud and AML (anti-money laundering) oversight in a systematic and routine way. Instead, those responsibilities are reallocated to the broker-dealer through the omnibus agreement, where the broker-dealer ensures that they will conduct all the required anti-fraud and AML due diligence. This is not to say that the broker-dealer isnï ¿ ½t capable of performing those activities, as they already do so every day for many other products. However, itï ¿ ½s the additional layer and complexity that is cause for concern. The current regulatory culture favors transparency, which omnibus accounting masks by its nature. Just this year the CMFI (Coalition of Mutual Fund Investors) sent comment to the SEC expressing concern over transparency in omnibus accounts and intermediary subaccounting. That being said, when a 529 plan provider is also a sizable broker-dealer, their systems may already be vertically integrated. For example, Merrill Lynchï ¿ ½s Next Gen accounts already sit in their proprietary recordkeeping system, which services and supports their own advisors. ï ¿ ½As the program manager for the Maine NextGen College Investing Planï ¿ ½, Merrill Lynch has always had the NextGen plan integrated (aka, omnibus) on our platform,ï ¿ ½ says Rich Polimeni, Director, Education Savings Programs. 2. There are legal challenges Almost every 529 plan has a state sponsor, and each state has different laws and oversight requirements for its respective 529 plan(s). Some of these laws were created to protect 529 account holders from exactly the kinds of activity made opaque by omnibus: fraud and money-laundering. A state may require annual audits for purposes of reconciling tax credit or deduction claims and grant requests. In other states the laws were simply written in a way that makes implementation challenging without a change in legislation, which is time-consuming. In each case a unique solution to omnibus implementation may be required to meet state legal requirements ï ¿ ½ if they can be met at all ï ¿ ½ further driving up costs and diminishing the appeal of going omnibus to both broker-dealer and 529 plan provider. 3. There are cost challenges In the 529 space, which is a low-margin and relatively low-asset business, getting the resources necessary to implement omnibus requires some internal campaigning at the broker-dealers. Wrestling technology development staff time from projects involving higher-margin products, such as retail and retirement investment accounts, requires a justifiable payoff timeline. For a smaller broker-dealer with only a few hundred or even a few thousand advisors, the cost to implement omnibus is not economically justified. ï ¿ ½It requires significant resources and time for broker-dealers to convert individual 529 accounts to an omnibus structure in a given 529 plan,ï ¿ ½ says Ascensusï ¿ ½s Chief Product Officer, Scott Morrison.ï ¿ ½In many cases the broker-dealer account base will not justify such an investment.ï ¿ ½ However, when you reach the scale of a wirehouse where you have tens of thousands of advisors, there comes a tipping-point where it may be less expensive to oversee and administer 529 business in-house, due to reduced paperwork, administration at the advisor level, and better internal reporting and oversight controls. When you add in how much easier it makes life for the advisor, who can open and fund an account within their own firmï ¿ ½s systems, it makes for a compelling case to secure those internal resources for implementation. Yet it can still be a challenge because it further requires partnerships between the broker-dealer and each 529 provider, legal agreements between both parties that can take months of negotiation, and ï ¿ ½ usually ï ¿ ½ the review and approval of the state sponsor. Further, some state sponsors are more diligent than others, extending the process in terms of time and resources. Given all of these challenges, itï ¿ ½s not surprising that after more than ten years of discussion omnibus implementation only a handful of firms have a live omnibus environment with one or more 529 providers. Several have had delays after starting the process, only to find one or more of the aforementioned challenges insurmountable. In the next newsletter we will look at alternatives to omnibus and what the future may hold for 529 plan administration. FINANCIAL PROFESSIONAL CONTENT This article assumes you have a basic understanding of what omnibus is based on its preceding article located here: Omnibus: What it is and why advisors should care. In a previous article, I discussed what makes omnibus so alluring: Clients receive statements and all tax reporting documents from a single firm and advisors are able to create, open, and administer 529 accounts from within their in-house system. But if omnibus is so great and provides all these unified services, why doesnï ¿ ½t every firm do it? 1. There are logistical challenges Omnibus creates an additional administration layer between the state sponsor and the 529 provider. From the stateï ¿ ½s perspective, assets inside an omnibus account appear as a single account. This means they cannot audit individual accounts without the cooperation of the broker-dealer that has taken over the recordkeeping of those accounts. This makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the state or the plan provider to conduct any sort of antifraud and AML (anti-money laundering) oversight in a systematic and routine way. Instead, those responsibilities are reallocated to the broker-dealer through the omnibus agreement, where the broker-dealer ensures that they will conduct all the required anti-fraud and AML due diligence. This is not to say that the broker-dealer isnï ¿ ½t capable of performing those activities, as they already do so every day for many other products. However, itï ¿ ½s the additional layer and complexity that is cause for concern. The current regulatory culture favors transparency, which omnibus accounting masks by its nature. Just this year the CMFI (Coalition of Mutual Fund Investors) sent comment to the SEC expressing concern over transparency in omnibus accounts and intermediary subaccounting. That being said, when a 529 plan provider is also a sizable broker-dealer, their systems may already be vertically integrated. For example, Merrill Lynchï ¿ ½s Next Gen accounts already sit in their proprietary recordkeeping system, which services and supports their own advisors. ï ¿ ½As the program manager for the Maine NextGen College Investing Planï ¿ ½, Merrill Lynch has always had the NextGen plan integrated (aka, omnibus) on our platform,ï ¿ ½ says Rich Polimeni, Director, Education Savings Programs. 2. There are legal challenges Almost every 529 plan has a state sponsor, and each state has different laws and oversight requirements for its respective 529 plan(s). Some of these laws were created to protect 529 account holders from exactly the kinds of activity made opaque by omnibus: fraud and money-laundering. A state may require annual audits for purposes of reconciling tax credit or deduction claims and grant requests. In other states the laws were simply written in a way that makes implementation challenging without a change in legislation, which is time-consuming. In each case a unique solution to omnibus implementation may be required to meet state legal requirements ï ¿ ½ if they can be met at all ï ¿ ½ further driving up costs and diminishing the appeal of going omnibus to both broker-dealer and 529 plan provider. 3. There are cost challenges In the 529 space, which is a low-margin and relatively low-asset business, getting the resources necessary to implement omnibus requires some internal campaigning at the broker-dealers. Wrestling technology development staff time from projects involving higher-margin products, such as retail and retirement investment accounts, requires a justifiable payoff timeline. For a smaller broker-dealer with only a few hundred or even a few thousand advisors, the cost to implement omnibus is not economically justified. ï ¿ ½It requires significant resources and time for broker-dealers to convert individual 529 accounts to an omnibus structure in a given 529 plan,ï ¿ ½ says Ascensusï ¿ ½s Chief Product Officer, Scott Morrison.ï ¿ ½In many cases the broker-dealer account base will not justify such an investment.ï ¿ ½ However, when you reach the scale of a wirehouse where you have tens of thousands of advisors, there comes a tipping-point where it may be less expensive to oversee and administer 529 business in-house, due to reduced paperwork, administration at the advisor level, and better internal reporting and oversight controls. When you add in how much easier it makes life for the advisor, who can open and fund an account within their own firmï ¿ ½s systems, it makes for a compelling case to secure those internal resources for implementation. Yet it can still be a challenge because it further requires partnerships between the broker-dealer and each 529 provider, legal agreements between both parties that can take months of negotiation, and ï ¿ ½ usually ï ¿ ½ the review and approval of the state sponsor. Further, some state sponsors are more diligent than others, extending the process in terms of time and resources. Given all of these challenges, itï ¿ ½s not surprising that after more than ten years of discussion omnibus implementation only a handful of firms have a live omnibus environment with one or more 529 providers. Several have had delays after starting the process, only to find one or more of the aforementioned challenges insurmountable. In the next newsletter we will look at alternatives to omnibus and what the future may hold for 529 plan administration.