ISB sample essays – how you should use them
These are ISB sample essays from a previous applicant who has agreed to share them. Please note that you should not treat these essays as templates but only as examples. Your essays should highlight your achievements and goals. We have written about this earlier. These essays may not represent the current essay set.
We are sharing these sample essays with our readers so that they can get an idea of how to write an essay for this particular admission cycle at ISB. Please note that these essays are not written by us but by someone who has taken admission at ISB in a past year and agreed to share his/her essay with us for educational purposes only!
Describe with examples the most important personal quality that you possess that significantly enhances your prospects of being successful as a leader? (400 words)
The most important personal quality that I possess that significantly enhances my prospects of being successful as a leader is my ability to be sensitive to other people’s needs and feelings. As a result, people usually go out of their way to help me if I find myself in a difficult situation too. I believe that being a good leader is all about relationships. A good leader knows how to communicate with people, how to motivate them, how to teach them and how to treat them. A great leader knows how to inspire others by showing them that they are capable of achieving great things and that they need not fear failure because it is part of success.
I possess the ability to be sensitive to other people’s needs and feelings because I was raised in a family environment where everyone was treated equally and with respect. In my family, we were taught to respect our elders, listen to their advice and help them whenever they needed assistance. This has helped me develop sensitivity towards others, which has made me an effective leader.
In college, I was part of an organization called Student Government Association (SGA). SGA is responsible for organizing social events for students at the university. During my tenure with SGA, I helped organize several events that were very successful. For example, we organized a blood donation drive for the Red Cross Society; we raised about 40,000 Rupees for this event through donations from students and staff members at the university.
I am also very understanding of others’ feelings at work, and I have been nominated for team leadership despite the fact that I am not yet a manager. Last year, I also won an award for upholding my company’s values of respect for others and integrity, and this played a key part in my promotion.
Another example is when we wanted to build a new playground for children in our community who didn’t have one close by their houses. To raise money for this project, we organized an event called “Fun Fair” where students could come and play games such as basketball and football, and we helped 40 school children this way. We also did some fundraising by selling food at school events like the annual sports day and annual day celebrations. In addition to that, we also helped out by donating some books to our local library in honour of International Women’s Day.
I want to continue to build on this quality and be a better leader every day.
What are your short term and long-term career goals? How will Post Graduate Program at ISB assist you in achieving your goals. (400 words max)
I am a commerce graduate from Delhi University with a specialization in marketing. I have worked in the FMCG sector as a sales executive for the last 3 years and have been responsible for creating sales strategies for brands like Pepsi, Lipton (part of a Pepsi-Unilever JV) and others. I have also worked on new product launches and re-launches, which showed me what it takes to make a product successful in the market.
I am interested in pursuing an FMCG marketing career where I can use my skills to create innovative marketing campaigns that not only lead to increased sales but also help build customer loyalty. I believe that ISB’s PGP will provide me with this opportunity by giving me access to one of the best faculties in management education and an opportunity to interact with some of top notch professionals from all over the world.
My long term goal is to become an entrepreneur and start up my own business venture in the e-commerce sector. The knowledge and skills that I will acquire during my tenure at ISB will help me achieve this goal. I intend to build my own business empire with the help of all the knowledge that I gather from different modules like Brand Management, Pricing, and Marketing Management.
I will also benefit from ISB’s ELP. Speaking to XX, my former classmate in college, I noted how ISB has a deep network with top FMCG firms like Unilever and PepsiCo. The ELP will help me to deepen my FMCG understanding further, this time with the added context of advanced business education. I also plan to be part of the Marketing Club and the Retail and e-commerce club to learn more about my future industries.
In this way the PGP will help me achieve my goals.
What can you learn from ISB sample essays?
ISB sample essays can help you get a feeling of what the application process is like and how to prepare for it. These essays can be a good source of inspiration as you write your own personal essays.
The most obvious thing that you will notice when you read ISB sample essays is that they are well written. All applicants have to write an essay for their application, so it is not surprising that their quality is high. However, if you take the time to read them carefully, you will also notice that there are some things that make these essays stand out from the crowd. Here are some of them:
They include personal stories or anecdotes that make them interesting to read. When writing an essay yourself, try to think about your life story and how it relates to your chosen career path or area of study. It doesn’t have to be anything dramatic but it should show something about who you are as a person and why you want to pursue this particular field of study or profession after graduation.
They use strong language and metaphors that make their point clearly and concisely without being too wordy or boring. You should always think about your audience when writing an essay because this will help both with making sure that your essay is on target and impactful, but not in-your-face.
Are these essays perfect? Far from it. You should not be under the impression that these cannot be further improved, or that these are ‘model’ essays to be followed. These are just examples – the way a (successful) ISB applicant decided to approach them.
If you want to get an idea about how ISB conducts its admissions process, you can read sample essays prepared by previous candidates or even see sample questions asked during interviews or mock tests conducted by them. You can also check our website and blog for more information on their admission process or call them up for any queries regarding it.
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