So what advice do I have? First, let me throw out some generalities like...be yourself...use gude grammah and propah spellin...followed by non-relevant pictures that hopefully motivate you
On to the serious stuff. Let me start by saying that these are just my opinions so don't take anything I say as the final or best way to approach the essays. This is just some things that came to mind when I remembered my essays.
How I started: When the essay prompts were posted I wrote each one down and started brainstorming. I had a thirty minute ride to work so I just thought as I drove and wrote down any ideas I had. I would say think about one prompt at a time and maybe write the first sentence or two and some of the main points for your favorite 3 examples that you brainstorm. This will help you get a feel for what your particular example will bring to a prompt.
Once you have some of these examples down on paper, start looking at all of the prompts together and decide which example works best for which essay. I am assuming that you want to use your best example and that your best examples could apply to multiple essay prompts. This is similar to what you do on interviews. You have a couple of key stories and find a way to apply your story to the question you are asked. Anyway, I am on the lower end of the experience pool within the class (I only worked 3 years) but I also had some volunteer/leadership work during that time. Some of my essays came from work and some came from my volunteering/leadership. I think it is a good idea to have some non-work examples. To me, undergrad/school does not count for this...think extracurricular activities when you were in undergrad...and if you do anything outside of work after you graduated, think about that. These non-work examples show how well rounded you are. You are well rounded aren't you? If you find yourself less than round, eat more. See the perfect circle:
[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="Fat Bastard"]
[/caption]So now you have thought of some of your best examples that answer the prompts...but before your write, there are some other things to think about. When you think about what life examples you use for you essays, you need to think about what does LFM stand for (psst...it stands for Leaders for Manufacturing). You would be on the right track if some of your stories talked about your leadership skills and the challenges you have overcome as a leader. I can't stress enough how important the leadership component is. Honestly, it's in the program name. They (LFM) have a whole page dedicated to it on their website. Let me say this about the sponsor companies...the partner companies stay involved with the LFM program because of the quality of leaders this program produces. They don't put up their cash for our degrees...or because we are smart and hard working (though those are added bonuses)...they put up their cash because of our leadership potential. Leadership is an investment that will pay off for years and years.
The next part, manufacturing. Now yours truly is interested in manufacturing...but MANY of the people in LFM are really interested in operations (think supply chain...though it is not fair to generalize, I'll do it anyway). Checkout the LFM career page for a taste of what I am talking about. It is important to remember that everyone applying for LFM is interested in manufacturing/operations (m&o) so you have to explain what about m&o really gets you excited. That is something you will find here at LFM. Everyone in the program is honestly excited about m&o. I take pride in being associated with manufacturing. Before LFM, I made toilet paper and I am proud of that. I like telling people that I made toilet paper. I am proud of the fact that I made something of value, something that someone wants bad enough to spend their hard earned dollars on (or as my high-school government teacher said...buying something is casting your economic votes for that thing). Back to you and your essays...what motivates you to want to be associated with m&o? Do you want to get involved because you have an interest in companies operating "greener" (hippy! Go hug a tree)? Do you want to ensure that Americans (or some other country) have jobs in 20 years? Love working with complicated systems? What motivates you about m&o? That passion is not something the admissions people will see in your resume, academic record, or GMAT. Passion needs exude out of your essay.
Once you get a first draft down on paper, read your essay and try to think about it from the admission group's point of view. Does your essay stand out? Does it pop? Remember, these people are going through thousands of essays. You want them to remember yours. Each essay needs to have a purpose, it has to be telling a story about you and what makes you special. Each essay needs to show what you will bring to LFM. Let me say that again...each essay must show what YOU bring to LFM...not what LFM can do for you. If one essay shows your problem solving skills, your next essay needs to show your leadership skills, and your next one should show what you are passionate about. Don't double dip on any subject. Between all of the essays, you only have a couple hundred words to define yourself.
The editing process: When you are ready to submit, I would recommend you have someone you trust read your essays for grammatical errors and overall cohesion. My wife came in very handy here. She gooder at grammer than me be.
Word count: I am always reading on business school message boards..."Does it matter if I go over the word count by X?"...my opinion, YES! If the point was to write the longest essay, people would just go on and on and on about all of their magical accomplishments. It takes a skilled writer to say more with less (hence my obnoxiously wordy blogs :-) ). All of my essays were at least 30 words (or much more!) less than the limit. I think you need to go through your essay and really ask yourself...is this word...is this sentence necessary. Am I saying anything new? Don't forget "Shift-F7" which pulls up the thesaurus on Microsoft Word.
[caption id="attachment_231" align="alignnone" width="97" caption="Think abridged"]
[/caption]Other information: The admissions group really does want to get to know you...they really do read these essays. Don't rely on your credentials...everyone has amazing credentials. It won't be like a business interview where you come in and the interviewer reads your resume in 30 seconds and ask you a question about your interests to break the ice. If you interview at LFM, the admissions person will know your stories from memory and will ask you questions about what you wrote. I remember the first week of class, the teachers would see a name tag and say "Oh X, you worked at Y doing Z right?". Funny thing I heard at an LFM student recruitment committee shortly before the class of 08 graduated. Someone on the LFM staff said that "product ships on X" meaning the LFM class of 2008 graduates and goes out into the world. LFM is in the business of producing leaders (particularly those interested in m&o) and they are very interested in the quality of the raw materials coming in (you!).
