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What are your short-term and long-term goals?
Category: Business School
The Questions Behind the Question
Have you given serious thought to your career and life goals and to they seem to be in line with what an MBA could offer? The interviewer will be looking for a clear sense of purpose from you, and at least several well-defined short-term goals. Your long-term goals need not be as developed and concrete, although being able to articulate a general career direction which includes several possible options is preferred.
Example
"After getting my MBA, I would like to work for a management consulting firm, focusing on the healthcare industry. Of course, having been a physician’s assistant, I have a long-standing interest in healthcare and it’s an industry that I would like to stay connected to. With this current administration I anticipate that there will be a lot of healthcare reform initiatives that will affect millions of Americans, and I want to be on the forefront of helping health insurance providers structure their businesses to accommodate new legislation while maintaining profitability. My long-term goal is to be an executive working for a major health insurance provider and I believe starting my post-MBA career in consulting will give me the exposure to different clients and business frameworks to be an effective executive.
Key Points
- Give clear reasons for choosing your short-term and (if possible) long-term goals. Explain how getting an MBA will be instrumental to helping you achieve your goals.
- Notice in the answer how the applicant shows knowledge of the particular industry he wants to focus his career on. This reinforces the impression that he has thought extensively about his career goals and suggests he has done research to reaffirm his interests.
