56
Finance
Banking-Inv.
Self-funded
Chicago-Booth
EMBA
I am what you would call a working mother in my mid-30s with two children. After graduating from university, I spent more than ten years working at a financial institution.
I had considered pursuing an MBA several times in the past. The first was in my late 20s, but I decided against it because I got married and was able to change jobs into a field I had long hoped to enter. The second time was in my early 30s, but I withdrew the idea because I was enjoying my work more than expected and had opportunities for promotion. This time was my third attempt. After giving birth to my first child in my early 30s, I found it necessary to reassess my career plan. Infants catch colds easily, requiring frequent absences from work, and my partner was also extremely busy. As a result, I chose to slow down my work pace and changed jobs to a workplace that allowed some flexibility, such as shorter working hours. However, as my child gradually required less hands-on care and I began to regain small pockets of personal time, I found myself increasingly wanting to “work the way I used to, someday.” When I began reexamining the career path I had envisioned and thinking about what would be necessary to pursue my career again, my thoughts returned to the MBA I had previously set aside. I wanted to reorganize the fragmented knowledge I had accumulated through practice, build a core set of skills and knowledge that would give me confidence, and acquire the management skills necessary for future advancement. With these goals in mind, I decided to challenge myself by applying for an MBA. This was in August of last year.
Because of age considerations, I initially envisioned applying to a one-year full-time MBA program. However, after attending an information session for the Chicago Booth EMBA—an invitation I happened to receive—I became drawn to Asia-based EMBA programs and ultimately decided to apply to an EMBA instead (in the end, I applied only to the Chicago Booth EMBA). As mentioned above, because I have children, the ability to minimize family separation and to study while continuing to work were particularly attractive to me.
In my case, I had to prepare my applications while balancing work and childcare, so I was looking for a consulting service that did not rely on face-to-face counseling, but instead allowed me to prepare via email, making use of my available “in-between” time. I happened to come across Round One online and applied in mid-August, only to find that they already had a waitlist. In early September, I was informed that a spot had opened, and I was able to become a client.
I worked with Mr. Round for Strategic Guidance and with Ms. Round for Essay Counseling.
My Strategic Guidance with Mr. Round began with a kick-off meeting in late September. Although the session lasted less than an hour, it was extremely substantive, covering self-introductions, target schools, timelines, and even the selection of recommenders. In particular, when selecting recommenders, we did not focus on titles or whether they held an MBA, but instead emphasized their relationship with me and what aspects of “me” they could best highlight. While I did not work with Mr. Round on building an application portfolio per se, he always responded quickly to even my smallest questions throughout the application process. The encouraging messages he included in his responses repeatedly sustained me during the most difficult periods of preparation.
In applying to an Executive MBA program, I believe it is essential to organize one’s experiences effectively within strict word limits, highlight differences from other applicants, and demonstrate a competitive edge. In this respect, working with Ms. Round to build a competitive résumé and carefully select essay topics was extremely effective. At a very early stage of Essay Counseling, Ms. Round and I worked together on a résumé projection, while Mr. Round provided additional input from the perspective of Strategic Guidance. This series of exercises was tremendously helpful in taking stock of my career to date and in concretely defining my future career goals. In my case, having once slowed down my career, I had been feeling quite pessimistic about the future. However, as we developed concrete plans, I began to feel that a path was opening up, and the process became a valuable opportunity to reassess my career. At the kick-off meeting, I had heard Mr. Round describe Round One’s services as “Beyond Admission Prep,” and I came to realize that this was exactly right.
When generating essay ideas, Ms. Round adhered firmly to her principle of “not allowing wasted work,” decisively discarding ideas that would not work. At the same time, from the perspective of a third party—specifically as a Western, MBA-holding professional—she identified ideas that were usable and would genuinely resonate with admissions committees. I was also helped greatly by the fact that Ms. Round is a woman and a mother herself; she offered many ideas that helped differentiate “me” as an individual from others. During the essay-writing phase, Ms. Round breathed life into the drafts I prepared. Each time I submitted a draft feeling that “there is more I want to say, but I can’t quite express it,” she transformed it with remarkable precision. Every time I read the revised version, I could not help but exclaim, “I see.” Her demands were strict—she required that I submit no more work than could be reviewed in two hours, and that all assigned homework be completed. Complaints were not tolerated. However, seeing the quality of the output each time impressed upon me her professionalism and motivated me to submit my assignments promptly. Because I worked during the day and spent evenings and weekends caring for my children, I always prepared my essays late at night after my children had gone to sleep, or early in the morning. Counseling sessions were scheduled for Monday afternoons, so I often worked through Sunday night, submitted drafts in the early morning, and felt as though I were constantly walking a tightrope. There were times when my children suddenly fell ill, creating situations beyond my control. On each such occasion, Ms. Round not only provided essay feedback, but also sent warm, encouraging messages based on her own experience as a parent, which gave me great strength.
In my case, there were only about two weeks between receiving the interview invitation and the actual interview. To alleviate my anxiety, Mr. Round and Ms. Round quickly arranged training sessions. I completed three Type A mock interview sessions (the first and third with Ms. Round, and the second with Mr. Round), as well as one Type C session focused on developing “killer questions,” conducted by Ms. Round as my essay counselor. Opinions may differ regarding Skype-based training rather than face-to-face sessions, but I believe that if one practices repeatedly based on the detailed feedback Round One provides, such concerns are unnecessary.
My first Type A session was disastrous—I could not answer questions effectively, and due to inadequate preparation, I fell into a negative spiral where I failed even to present myself positively. I was deeply discouraged after that session. However, anticipating my anxiety and time pressure, Ms. Round provided extraordinarily detailed written feedback, clearly outlining what I did well, what needed improvement, and concrete tips for improvement. I worked to maintain the strengths she identified, and for the areas needing improvement, I revised my answers and practiced repeatedly whenever I had free time.
The second and third sessions followed the same pattern, with similarly detailed feedback, which I reviewed and practiced repeatedly in an integrated way. As a result, by the time of the interview, I was able to feel a certain degree of confidence—thinking, “I’ve done everything I possibly could.” As with essays, interviews require effectively differentiating oneself from others and presenting oneself compellingly. The detailed written feedback was extremely helpful in adding clarity and contrast to my responses.
Mr. Round and Ms. Round are mentors to me. It was only because of their guidance that I was able to maintain my motivation and persevere through a very demanding application process. Although I was always under severe time constraints, the depth and quality of their counseling enabled me to achieve my original goal of pursuing an EMBA. They shared my aspiration to leverage EMBA admission as a springboard for renewed career development, and they coached me toward that path. The EMBA program itself marks the true beginning, and with gratitude to both of them for guiding me to this point, I intend to continue working every day to put my career plan into practice.
