What absolute joy is the month of February! Spring is on us, nature is in full blossom and the very air has the spirit of Carpe Diem (seize the day). February is also an important month for MBA-aspirants. Most B-schools start the process of shortlisting the candidates, meeting the aspirants and administering a few tests so that they can offer them admission for their upcoming academic sessions. Therefore, we have decided to run a series of blogs to help you with the process. And today we are going to capture the essence of the ever-elusive 'Statement of Purpose'. An inquisitive mind might have already done it's research but unfortunately most of the material that you find online is standard definitions and how SOPs are approached world-wide. While all of that is correct, it might not fit in the context of a B-school in India and for a fresher who understandably may not have much to mention. So, in the following blogs we would like to address this issue.
Why SOP ?
SOPs are a very important part of the admission process. So much so that if you are applying to a foreign university it can be the difference between selection or rejection of your candidature. But please understand when it comes to University/colleges in India, in all honesty, SOPs are not that decisive. In other words, no college is going to reject you on account of a badly written SOP/resume and no one is going to select you solely because you went all Shakespeare while writing those few pages. In fact, many colleges simply do not need you to furnish one because even they understand that for a fresher, the purpose of life may yet not be very clear. So why do we need it and why do some colleges ask for it? The real reason is your 'Interview'. Asking you for a SOP/resume is like gathering some subjective information on you. Your credentials, mark-sheets, certificates, etc. just provide some objective information about your life mostly in terms of numbers. SOP is the only information that shows your perspective in life. To cut a long story short, SOPs provide talking points for your interview. So while there is no weight or marks awarded to SOP per se, having a well-written SOP can make you the most interesting person in the room. A badly written/uninspired/copied SOP will not interest the interviewers and then they might end up asking you anything under the sun. A well-written SOP, on the other hand, will make your interview more directional and focused and you can lead the interview in the direction in which you want it to go. So the choice that you need to make is whether you are going to submit a run-of-the-mill SOP and face the interview on sheer guts or you would like to put in a SOP that stands out, creates that all-important first-impression, and gives the reins in your hand.
How to write a SOP ?
Most colleges give you a fixed format or you can find one online. If you are downloading it from internet, please know that there is no one-size-fits-all and the format is mostly advisory in nature and you can introduce variations in the one that you are writing. Let us follow a certain flow for our convenience. In most format, the first step is submitting objective information like your name, contact details and academic credentials/qualifications. So far, so good. And then comes the tricky part something called 'Career objectives'. Trust me when I tell you, this is the single most copied/plagiarized entry in a SOP because at this point the students have no idea what they want to do even a few years down the line, forget for the rest of their lives! Of course, they want to get a job and mint money but how to put it down on paper without sounding offensive and moronic? So they go to the dear, old Google, type in a few keywords, open a few searches and then go all ballistic with adjectives and management terminology. Please don't. Professors at b-schools have spent a lifetime reading words like 'time-management', diligent, committed, etc. and are not going to be impressed with your capabilities with Google and flair for vocabulary. So don't infest it with too many fancy words. As in, don't pick a word from somewhere, put in it your SOP and then check its meaning to explain it in your interview. Now, what to write and how to write. Pick up two-three words that describe you as a person and when asked could be explained using examples from your life. It could be something as basic as smart, intelligent and hard-working. But, then you should have a story/experience to justify it in an interview. Write a sentence that as a person this is what I am. Then write another sentence containing your short-term goal, something like 'I want to become a corporate citizen who is economically self-sufficient, and an important asset to my team. I want to be in a position where I can contribute using my skills and also get avenues for personal and professional growth'. Now if you have a long-term plan write it down but don't do it just for the heck of it. If you say that you want to become 'an entrepreneur' you should have a definite plan that you can talk about. Otherwise just one sentence about you as a person and two sentences about your immediate plans should suffice. And there is no harm in accepting that at this point your primary concern is economic emancipation (fancy words for getting a job and making money) and gaining experience. Just dress it up acceptably.
This is for the first part of the SOP. For the rest of it, keep watching this space as we will keep writing about it. And for any immediate queries or questions, remember we are always around! Till then, keep shining!!
