The car engine started roaring breaking the tranquility of the quiet suburb. The beams of the headlight pierced through the evening darkness. The Honda Civic picked up speed from zero to 60 miles per hour within few seconds. As I drove in the expressway, I occasionally starred at the star filled night sky and thought “Is this my destiny?” I raced the car full speed on the interstate highway. But the events of the godforsaken day kept rolling in my mind.
Months back, I was asked to join our Regional Head Quarter at London. I was elated to receive such a big promotion. With superior monetary benefits and enhanced job responsibilities, I was enjoying my time in London with my colleagues and friends. Unaware of the gathering storm at our New York Global Headquarter, I even booked tickets for my first big music concert of Metallica on 15th September 2008 and could barely wait for the day to come.
On 15th Sep, 2008, I reached office with a cheerful mood. The hustle and bustle in the corridor was bigger than usual. I sensed uneasiness in the ambience. “What happened?” I asked someone at the entrance. He looked at me with a blank face and asked “You don’t know? Lehman has filed for bankruptcy”. The news came as a jolt. We all were mindful of the worsening financial crisis, but nobody really expected an investment bank as big as Lehman Brothers to fail. I entered the office building and saw complete mayhem. With now no job in picture for anybody, people were panicking about prior financial commitments and responsibilities. Some were packing their belongings while many were calling friends and head hunters for job openings. My entire planned career, which looked in the best shape less than a year ago, seemed to turn upside down. On the giant screen on the wall, I saw news reporter screaming with their breaking news on CNN about the largest bankruptcy filing the corporate history. At the desk, I sat alongside my boss watching him drafting his resume. Amidst the on-going chaos, I kept my nerve, but things were to become worse. In the evening, I came back home. I thought that there was no better way to cheer myself up on that godforsaken day than with the Metallica concert! But within minutes, I got a call from the society office. I was asked to vacate the company apartment as the agency wasn’t sure whom to bill afterwards. I got almost choked. Without altering a single word, I packed my stuffs and left. From losing a dream job to being homeless, all in a span of few hours, I experienced the roller coaster ride of my life.
I stopped the car in the parking and checked in Hotel Plaza Inn. I took a shower. I was feeling refreshed. At the end of the day, I thought the best thing to do was just to stand quietly in the hotel balcony and enjoy the breeze. I looked at the London skyline and reminded myself that every cloud has a silver lining. I decided to stay back in London for some more time to face my destiny.
Instead of flying back to India or brooding about the situation, I continued going to office every day to network with senior associates. I realized the importance of a backup plan even when everything sails smooth as life is full of chance events. During the extra hours every day, which suddenly fell in my lap with no job, I explored around the city of London and knocked at every door for a suitable opening. It was the journey from a reckless, imprudent undergraduate with a trading job to a cautiously optimistic professional in a short span. I have continued to adapt myself to the changing world around and make the best out of every situation.
The bankruptcy filing of Lehman Brothers in 2008 triggered the biggest challenging episode of my life. Losing a top job of a trader in a global organization like Lehman was the most shocking incident of my professional life. It jeopardized my career plan and decades of hard work that I put into to obtain such a prestigious job.
Post my undergraduate from IIT Bombay, I got one of the most prestigious jobs in the campus. Joining Lehman as an analyst was an incredible opportunity. It opened the world of equity analysis to me. In the next two years, I interacted with hundreds of equity analyst and investment banker and worked tirelessly on financial modeling and sector analysis. I was one of the best performers in Lehman India office; hence, I was promoted to Senior Analyst position and deputed in our regional headquarter in London in August 2008.
I was elated. This was my first international assignment and I joined the London headquarter with full vigor and enthusiasm. However within a month, Lehman filed for bankruptcy. I was in shock. Not only I was jobless, I was also homeless as my company apartment asked me to vacate the flat. Not only me, but hundreds of my colleagues in the London office was also jobless. So, we all decided to go to the Metallica concert at the same night. That helped us to temporarily forget our pain of joblessness.
I had to stay in Hotel Plaza Inn in London for the next one week and then move to one of my friend’s house in London. The next few weeks, I actively searched for jobs in various quarters. It was a big challenge to get a job during that period of economic uncertainty. I had to knock at every possible door and talk to as many recruiters as possible. However, I managed to get one after an intensive search.
This event of my life offered me numerous lessons. First, I must be prepared for any eventuality. Second, I should also know the current trends in my sector and keep myself up to date with latest knowledge. That will help me to be on my toes and be prepared for any unforeseen events.
If you are a serious applicant, you would do well to review both the client’s basic draft and the final essay I created after elaborate brainstorming and 3 rounds of meticulous editing. Compare the introduction, conclusion and the overall flow of ideas between the two.
Brainstorming with this client helped me to identify areas in which I can provide useful insights in my capacity as a strategy consultant for over a decade. As an admission consultant, I work with numerous applicants and helped the client understand what other applicants generally write and how he must differentiate himself from others. Based on my advice, he avoided the commonplace things and came up with something that was both original and refreshing. Repeated editing helped me narrate his story in a far more effective and convincing manner than would otherwise have been possible. I was able to showcase his maturity and story-telling abilities.
In the end, my partnership with this applicant turned out to be fruitful as he was admitted into Wharton.
The protagonist or main character, who should possess qualities the reader appreciates, works towards a specific goal the reader can identify with. For instance, if he/she is a detective, his/her goal may be to find out the perpetrator of a horrible murder.
In your context, your goal is the professional ambition you entertain in your mind. Perhaps your role model is a famous entrepreneur of your country, and you want to start a business enterprise that will, in the long run, provide employment to thousands of people in a poor country.
As the protagonist sets about achieving his/her goal, he encounters resistance. The greater the resistance, the more dramatic the story becomes. The protagonist, of course, does not get deterred by this. He/she rises splendidly to the occasion and, on the strength of his/her determination, character, and talents, overcomes the obstacles.
In your case, it could be that you belong to a family that boasts three generations of successful physicians. Your parents want you to follow suit, and they point out the many practical advantages you will inevitably enjoy if you uphold the family tradition. They react to your decision to take up a different profession with disbelief and dismay. They have done a lot for you, and the fact that your choice does not meet with their approval makes you even feel guilty at first.
Just like the detective who remains unfazed by anonymous threats to his life, you too are a born fighter, and you cling to your dreams. Yours is a long and lonely battle, but when, finally, you get into a top company and begin to both earn a handsome salary and evoke considerable respect in society, your parents begin to relent and accept you for what you are. They become very supportive, and this inspires you more than ever before to go ahead and fulfill your vision.
In conclusion, telling a story well requires practice. Building up the right amount of tension, releasing it at the right time, and finally ending your story convincingly is an art that requires some time to master. Therefore, it would be ideal if you could start thinking in terms of how you will relate your story well before admissions actually open. Saying it out to friends might provide you some useful clues as to which points to highlight and which to tone down. But you can rest assured that it will be an effort worth making. After all, the essay is your best opportunity to tell the adcom the story of how you dreams were born, how they grew, and how you intend to take them to fruition.
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