Outside Activities - MBA Application

For anyone applying to MBA school in the future, what resume-worthy activities outside of work do you guys do? I passed all 3 levels of the CFA exam and now I need something to fill the studying void, lol

AndyPettitteIsGreat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For anyone applying to MBA school in the future, > what resume-worthy activities outside of work do > you guys do? I passed all 3 levels of the CFA exam > and now I need something to fill the studying > void, lol Volunteer. Looked upon very favorably. I do work at a children’s hospital and make-a-wish.

Why not try doing something with your spare time without an ulterior motive?

Black Swan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why not try doing something with your spare time > without an ulterior motive? Like banging hot chicks? Hopefully Andy has already got that covered.

Being a selfish pr*ck, I’m struggling to find something like this for my application. I do run the Mumbai Marathon each year and raise money for charity while doing it. It’s not something that I would normally put on my CV, most businesses don’t care if I volunteer, but I’m wondering what you guys think about it no a b-school App.

No outside activities needed. Just indicate that you passed all 3 CFA levels using only Schweser and EOC and you’re in. Outside activities are for lesser men.

I think volunteering can only help your b-school app, but is the effort/return ratio there? depends what you’re doing I guess. For banking job applications though, I think it might actually hurt. Banks are driven by greed; they maximize the amount of wealth they can absorb, and do the bare minimum in social responsibility to appease the public. If they see you giving your time away, they’ll wonder what of their resources you’ll give away if you get in the door. Best show them you’re extremely greedy, but also loyal to your employer somehow.

I read an article recently by an MBA admissions board member at one of the ivy’s saying don’t even bother with the faux charity work because they see right through it. If you’re going to make it a major part of your life and get really involved in the organization at a serious level, sure and they’ll like it. Otherwise, token stuff like running a marathon, helping out once a month, etc, isn’t really going to help you.

ManMythLegend Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Black Swan Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Why not try doing something with your spare > time > > without an ulterior motive? > > Like banging hot chicks? Hopefully Andy has > already got that covered. lame

when does it stop being faux charity work? ive volunteered at the same spot every week for 4+ years. not doing it because it would bolster any mba application, but it would still be nice to not have my volunteering treated as cynical campaigning for admission.

If you’ve been doing it for over four years, that’s probably legit. If you started like 6 months ago, than that would be a bit suspect.

cookthebooks Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > when does it stop being faux charity work? ive > volunteered at the same spot every week for 4+ > years. not doing it because it would bolster any > mba application, but it would still be nice to not > have my volunteering treated as cynical > campaigning for admission. Exactly, just keep doing what you’re doing. Some people around here don’t have a clue. My guess is some folks haven’t done any volunteering work so they’re trying to minimize the impact of it to satisfy their own MBA admission insecurities.

Become a mentor. Benefits both you (not just b-school app, but personally as well) and the kid. I don’t think people would believe how little my kid knew about college at the age of 16. Auxiliary benefit of a high female/male mentor ratio as well. I know the organization I’m at (iMentor in NYC) said they are 500+ short of male mentors.

My point was not to stop doing charity work, but simply not to bother doing it if you’re only doing it for applications because most admissions individuals will try to screen for that.

packattack4 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Become a mentor. Benefits both you (not just > b-school app, but personally as well) and the kid. > I don’t think people would believe how little my > kid knew about college at the age of 16. > Auxiliary benefit of a high female/male mentor > ratio as well. > > I know the organization I’m at (iMentor in NYC) > said they are 500+ short of male mentors. Can you request a female mentee?

AndyPettitteIsGreat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > For anyone applying to MBA school in the future, > what resume-worthy activities outside of work do > you guys do? I passed all 3 levels of the CFA exam > and now I need something to fill the studying > void, lol wow, you passed exams. now grow a personality and move out of your parents house.

1BigStud Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > AndyPettitteIsGreat Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > For anyone applying to MBA school in the > future, > > what resume-worthy activities outside of work > do > > you guys do? I passed all 3 levels of the CFA > exam > > and now I need something to fill the studying > > void, lol > > > wow, you passed exams. now grow a personality and > move out of your parents house. why so angry?

^I think what annoyed me originally and now 1BS is that the guy lacks so much dimension that everything seems driven by some stupid MBA application. Like not only does he lack enough personality that he lets his MBA application decide what to do with his free time and where to volunteer at, but furthermore, he doesn’t even have the individuality to think for himself regarding which option best boosts his resume and instead comes here for advice.

as explained above, the guy is now checking boxes on the application in hopes of making it into a competitive school when the fact of the matter he is up against not only hard-working people as can be demonstrated by passing the CFA exams but people with multi-dimensional talents. Youre going about this completely wrong.

I once got an interview call for an internship because I decided to add ‘Formulating get rich quick schemes’ as a hobby It was something I was trying out to see if employers noticed wacky things on a resume and apparently this one company did. Volunteering is boring and everyone knows people tend to embellish a lot with it. Put something that stands out and get noticed.