What are your post-MBA plans and how will your past experience and the London Business School programme contribute?

For the past six years, I’ve been in consulting where I’ve enjoyed working on various projects in unique settings and solving each client’s individual challenges. I also like working in the banking field because it functions within an intricate system that has a local and global impact and is constantly evolving. While I am happy with my current role, most of my contributions to date are more narrowly focused on the task at hand, providing only a piece of the puzzle versus helping clients complete the entire puzzle. Now, I would like to broaden my role to helping clients on a more comprehensive basis by shifting to strategic consulting for financial institutions. My career vision is to lead a mid-tier consulting firm that aims to solve challenges unique to banking. To achieve this, I need to build upon my current skill set and initially transition to a top-tier consulting firm in either the U.S. or Europe, such as Bain or Deloitte, as an Associate to gain more experience in this broader type of consulting. Here I will work my way up the ladder, gain skills and knowledge, and eventually transition to a leadership role at a smaller, mid-tier consulting firm.

An MBA from the London Business School would facilitate this shift while building upon my strengths. I have had some real experience with strategy and working for banks, and this can provide the foundation for my learning, as well as enable me to participate in the classroom. LBS however will help expand my knowledge through courses such as Financial Accounting and Financial Engineering and Risk Management where I will learn financial accounting methods and advanced ways of hedging derivative contracts. These classes, coupled with more strategic subjects, for example Strategy and Global Strategy and Management, will give me the toolkit needed for my planned strategy career. As lessons are not only taught in the classroom, LBS extra-curriculars including the Consulting Club and Women in Business Club will help me extend my network with other women and expand my communication skills while I can share my past experiences as a consultant for both large clients such as banks and smaller, non-financial firms such as my pharmaceutical clients.. This combination will also be of value in my future when I am pursuing my next venture or finding specific credentials to lead a successful project. LBS’ vast array of social clubs, more specifically the Volunteers Club, can further help me attain the skills I need to reach my goal. I am passionate about volunteering and by pursuing a leadership role in the club and working with a committee, I can further learn how to manage direct and indirect reports. This lesson will be a benefit post-MBA when managing larger divisions and multiple reports. Using my past experiences as my base, I believe London Business School’s academic diversity, professional clubs, and social endeavors will help me achieve my post-MBA goals.