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Harvard Business School Essay
Examples & Tips, 2022-2023 |
mbaMission
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21–26 minutes
Applicants to Harvard Business
School (HBS) have incredible leeway in their essay to write about
whatever they believe is most important for the admissions
committee to know about them, beyond what is conveyed via the
other elements of their application. However, as of the 2022–2023
application season, candidates have a little less leeway than in
years past with respect to the length of their essay, now that the
school has stipulated a 900-word limit. The program’s core prompt
has not changed in over a decade, so we assume that HBS
Managing Director of MBA Admissions Chad Losee must feel
confident that the question is effective at eliciting the kind of
information he and his team find valuable when evaluating
candidates. Our analysis of the prompt and advice on the best way
to approach it likewise remain largely unchanged. If you would like
even more targeted guidance on approaching and writing your
HBS essay, along with annotated essays from actual past
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applicants, check out our new book “What Matters?” and “What
More?”: 50 Successful Essays for the Stanford GSB and HBS (and
Why They Worked). And be sure to watch our video “How to Get
Into Harvard Business School” below.
“As we review your application, what more would you like us
to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard
Business School MBA Program?” (900 word limit)
Take special note of the word “more” in this straightforward
question. With it, the admissions committee is acknowledging that
it already has a lot of information about you that it can and will use
to get to know you better, including your resume, extracurricular
activities, recommendations, short-answer question responses,
academic transcripts, and test scores. You should therefore
approach this essay by first thinking about what these portions of
your application convey about who you are as an individual and
candidate, so you can determine which parts of your profile still
need presenting or could benefit from more detail. Now, some
applicants might think this means they absolutely cannot mention
anything that is included elsewhere in their application, for fear that
this will annoy the admissions committee, leading to a rejection.
However, HBS is not asking only for fresh information—it is asking
for more, and specifically, whatever “more” you believe the
committee needs to evaluate you thoroughly and fairly. So, even
though a bullet on your resume might inform the school of a
certain fact, if a profoundly important story lurks behind that fact
that you feel effectively expresses a key part of your personality or
skill set, you should not feel hesitant to share that story. That said,
we are not advocating for you to explore your resume in depth, just
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trying to convey that “more” here does not mean strictly “thus far
unmentioned.”
Before we discuss a few approaches you might take in framing this
essay, we must note that your goal in writing it is sincerity. The
admissions committee is not staffed by robots, seeking to detect a
certain “type” of applicant. These are human beings who are trying
to get to know you and really want to end up liking you! With this
essay, you essentially want to forge a meaningful connection with
a complete stranger, and if you try to present yourself as
something or someone you are not, you will fail.
You, like many other applicants, might worry that your sincere
stories will sound clichéd. For example, if you want to write about
making a difference, you probably cringe simply thinking those
words: “making a difference.” But the power of your story does not
lie in the theme you choose (if you choose to write thematically,
that is) but in the manner in which you reveal your actions. If you
have truly made a significant difference in the lives of others and
can own that angle by offering powerful anecdotes and
demonstrating a deep emotional connection to others and
profound purpose in your acts, you can write on this topic.
Although more than a few candidates will undoubtedly submit
clichéd pieces on making a difference, if you can capture your
application reader’s attention fully and make a strong enough
impression, the cliché aspect will disappear, and he or she will be
impressed by your actions and character.
So, what approach might you take to this essay? The prompt is so
open-ended that we cannot possibly capture all possible options,
but here are a few:
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1. Thematic approach: You could write about a characteristic or
attribute that has woven its way throughout your life or that you
have woven into your life. Do some self-exploration and see if you
can identify a thread that is common to your greatest
achievements, thereby illustrating its importance in bringing you to
where you are today. Simply stating that theme is not enough—
you need to really guide your reader through the illustrative events
in your life to show how and why this theme manifests. In the end,
your values are what need to come to the fore in this essay, rather
than just a series of discrete episodes. (Note that highlighting your
values is necessary with any approach you take to your HBS
essay.)
2. Inflection points: Maybe the key events and aspects of your life
cannot be neatly captured or categorized within a neat and tidy
theme. People are complex, meaning that many are not able to
identify a singular “force” that unifies their life experience. If this is
you, do not worry—instead, consider discussing a few inflection
points that were instrumental in shaping the individual you are
today. This does not mean writing a very linear biography or
regurgitating your resume in detail. The admissions committee
does not need or want such a summary and is instead interested
in your ability to reflect on the catalysts in and challenges to your
world view and the manifestations thereof. Likewise, you do not
need to offer a family history or an overarching explanation of your
existence. Simply start with the first significant incident that shaped
who you are as an adult, and again, ensure that your essay
ultimately reveals your values.
3. Singular anecdote: Although this is rare, you might have had a
single standout experience that could serve as a microcosm of
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who you are and what you stand for. If this experience or moment
truly defines you and strikes at the essence of your being, you can
discuss it and it alone. Do not worry that offering just one anecdote
will make your essay seem “skimpy” or present you as one-
dimensional, as long as the story has inherent strength and power.
You will need to delve into the narrative and let the story tell itself;
if you are choosing to write a singular anecdote, the story should
be sufficiently compelling on its own, without a lot of explanation.
4. Mosaic approach: As complex humans, we are not driven by just
one value, but by several. The mosaic approach allows you to
connect seemingly unrelated stories that reveal different sides of
you. The challenge with this option is that you must be thoughtful
about how you link everything; otherwise, your essay might end up
reading like a random assortment of examples, leaving the
admissions reader scratching their head and wondering what they
were supposed to learn from it. For this approach to work well, the
transitions between the themes need to be smooth and natural.
You might have read through these four options and thought,
“What about a fifth option, in which I discuss my goals and why
HBS? Certainly they want to know about that!” HBS admissions
officers are straight shooters—if they wanted candidates to write
about their goals and why HBS, or wanted them not to, the prompt
would come right out and say so. The reality is that most people
should not use this essay to discuss their career ambitions and
interest in HBS, because doing so will not reveal that much “more”
about them. For example, if you are a consultant who plans to
return to consulting after graduation, we cannot imagine a scenario
in which addressing your goals and why an HBS MBA is critical
would constitute an effective use of this essay. However, if you are
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a medic at a bush hospital in Uganda and are applying to HBS
with the goal of commercializing low-cost technologies to fight
infectious diseases, this might well be a fitting topic for your essay,
as you seek to connect the dots between your unusual (in a
positive sense) career path and your aspirations. In short, for most
candidates, we would suggest eschewing a “Why MBA? Why
HBS?” approach, but in a few rare cases, it could be appropriate
and compelling.
Finally, let us talk about the (new) word limit. In the past, HBS did
not stipulate any such parameter, but most of our clients used
between 850 and 1,000 words, so the 900-word restriction should
not prevent anyone from sharing their full story with the
admissions committee. In short, take the space you need to tell
your story properly and showcase your personality and
experience, and then work to reduce your essay to fit the allowed
word count in a way that does not sacrifice any impact or
effectiveness.
Harvard Business School MBA Essay Examples
As we review your application, what more would you like us
to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard
Business School MBA program? (Word count: 1,213)
Despite all we had been through in recent years, I wasn’t quite
sure what to expect when I asked my mother one summer evening
in Singapore, “What role did I play during those tough times?” In
2014, a pulmonologist in Singapore, where my parents live, told
my father he had three months to live. The only solution was to
undergo a complete double lung transplant in America—a
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precarious, logistically complex, and financially burdensome
procedure. Despite the daunting news, I sprang into action and
spent weeks researching options. I channeled my inner Product
Manager and delegated aspects of the research and planning to
different family members, creating dozens of spreadsheets
detailing our to-dos. We then waited patiently for the call. After
months of nervous anticipation, I received word from the hospital
that a matching donor lung had been found. We hastily grabbed
our “go bags” and rushed to the hospital. The 10-hour surgery,
though harrowing, was a stunning success. Assuming my work
was done, I flew home to San Francisco with an enormous burden
lifted. In the subsequent months, though, my mother would call me
almost every day crying. Sometimes she was upset that my father
—struggling with his recuperation—wasn’t appreciative or, worse,
was harsh with her; other times she was stressed by the body- and
mind-numbing labor that goes into postsurgical care. I listened and
would tell her that everything was going to be alright, but no
amount of reassurance seemed to make her feel better. To be
honest, I had to wonder if it actually would be; there was no clear
end in sight, and everyone’s patience was running thin.
There’s a saying in Chinese: “Amongst the hundreds of virtues,
filial piety is the first in line (百⾏孝 為先).” I had been there for my
father and did not want exhaustion to prevent me from supporting
my mother, who had given up her career and dedicated her life to
raising and supporting her children. One evening, I stumbled upon
an opportunity to volunteer at Helping Hands, a suicide prevention
hotline that focuses on providing emotional support. I knew that
helping strangers would be rewarding in itself but also thought the
program could expand my own perspective and help me guide my
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family through this emotional crisis, so I signed up on the spot. I
had never encountered any experience as intense, rigorous, and
grueling as Helping Hands. Helping Hands volunteers go through
an active listening boot camp, with dropout rates higher than the
Navy SEALs. After all, there is no room for error when you’re
taking calls on a suicide hotline. After months of relinquishing all
weekend hours to training, I took my first call: a teenage girl who
just wanted to “be a kid and go to school” but had to work to
financially support her chronically ill parent. My first instinct was to
respond with phrases like, “it’s ok, don’t worry,” but training taught
me that platitudes prevent the caller from feeling heard. Instead,
an active listener must validate the callers’ feelings and ask open-
ended questions, empathetically steering the conversation
“towards the pain.” Rather than avoiding sensitive topics, active
listeners get to the root of suffering through deliberate dialogue.
Taking over 500 calls at Helping Hands, I learned how judgment
and excellent listening skills are incompatible, especially when the
other person holds views or values that are completely diametric to
yours. 2 For example, I will never forget the call from a serial
pedophile who had nobody to turn to except for us. Helping Hands
requires operators to treat every caller equally and with empathy,
no matter how you feel about them. So, I cast aside all
presumptions and focused on talking to the caller like an old friend,
listening to what he had to say and unraveling the struggles he
was wrestling with. By helping him get troublesome thoughts off
his chest, I could only hope that I helped reduced the chances of
him reoffending. Practicing empathic listening with these callers
enabled me to understand and connect with humans who are
vastly different from me. 3 Working with Helping Hands also taught
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me the importance of knowing my own emotional limits, so I
learned to practice self-care as a means to engage others. I
started journaling regularly and became far more open to being
vulnerable. Having inherited a stoicism from my father, I had to
take an honest, critical look at myself in order to manifest this shift.
When I allowed myself to truly unmask my feelings, I started to find
real strength and resilience within. 4 As I came to these
realizations, I began to incorporate them into phone calls with my
mother. I withheld advice and simply listened actively, validating
her feelings and allowing her to unpack her emotions. Slowly but
surely, brick by brick, she began to piece her own life together in
her own way. She allowed herself to leave my father’s side and
instead to focus on her own well-being. She picked up yoga and
made new friends at her local church. A year later, she even took a
solo trip to the UK to attend a retreat at a monastery. Since my
time volunteering at Helping Hands and supporting my mother, I’ve
also incorporated active listening into my professional life. When I
discovered that a teammate was struggling to keep up with her
programming tasks, instead of jumping to conclusions, I put my
active listening skills to use. She confided in me that she felt her
manager had neglected her and that she had been struggling with
personal issues outside of work. After talking through her
concerns, we made an action plan that would allow her to get back
on track. I followed up with her consistently and supportively, and a
year later, she was nominated to become a technical lead.
In another instance, two executives with disparate opinions on our
fraud management strategy kept talking past each other. One
believed that Square should fight fraud using internal resources,
while the other wished to leverage multiple external vendors.
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When the conversation reached an impasse, I used my active
listening skills to paraphrase each person’s position so both
executives felt heard and followed up with open-ended questions
to ensure the issues at hand were sufficiently explored. I steered
the conversation out of stalemate, and the executive team reached
a multilateral solution— to conduct a time-bound test of the
potential systems before choosing a path. The following day, the
CTO commended me on my approach and my diplomacy. Active
listening allows me to work and understand people at a level that
is simply unattainable if all I do is listen passively or speak without
thinking
So, with this new perspective on personal growth, I found myself
one quiet evening chatting with my mother, looking back at how far
we had come from those trying times. She briefly pondered my
role amid our family crisis. Against the sounds of cicadas in the
humid Singapore air, she looked at me and replied, “you were my
lifeline through my darkest times, listening to me day after day
without fail.” In the end, the best way to support my mother had
been to provide her with the scaffolding from which to reconstruct
her own life.
HBS Essay Critique by mbaMission President and Founder
Jeremy Shinewald
Many applicants have preconceived notions about how a great
HBS essay should read. A candidate could be forgiven for thinking
something along the lines of “HBS wants to see ferocious,
unyielding leaders who achieve the impossible,” but the idea that
most applicants would fit this mold is unrealistic. Reading this
guide should prove that point! In this essay, which is one of our
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absolute favorites, the applicant writes about a superpower that
effectively plays directly against the aforementioned perceived
HBS “type.” Rather than being the kind of leader who raises his fist
and screams, “After me!,” he listens and is continuously improving
his ability to listen, while developing an enormous well of empathy
in his dealings with others. In managing a complicated family
dynamic, he realizes the importance of truly paying attention to
what someone is saying, and he adroitly hones this skill through
challenging community work, which itself equips him to solve
personal and professional problems. Throughout, the applicant
creates a narrative that is deeply thoughtful and calming. His voice
in the essay gives the reader the sense that he is a fundamentally
introspective person who draws power from reflection. But do not
try to simply replicate his voice in your essay. What is critical is
finding your own.
Want to read even more examples of real Harvard Business
School essays? Download our book “What Matters?” and “What
More?”: 50 Successful Essays for the Stanford GSB and HBS (and
Why They Worked).
The Next Step—Mastering Your HBS Interview
Many MBA candidates find admissions interviews stressful and
intimidating, but mastering this important element of the
application process is definitely possible—the key is informed
preparation. Download your complimentary copy of
the Harvard Business School Interview Guide today, and be sure
to also check out our tailored HBS Mock Interview and Post-
Interview Reflection Support.
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Have the Last Word: The Post-Interview Reflection
(conditional on being interviewed)
HBS asks candidates who are granted an interview to complete
one additional written task. Within 24 hours of interviewing, you
must submit some final words of reflection in response to the
following prompt: “What was the highlight of your interview and
why did this resonate with you? Is there anything else you would
like to share now that you’ve had time to reflect on your interview?”
HBS urges interviewed applicants not to approach this task with
the intent to produce a “formal” essay but instead one that is
“informal, unrehearsed, and in your own words.” The length of the
essay should be roughly 300 to 450 words.
Some candidates might find this additional submission
intimidating, but we encourage you to view it as an opportunity to
reveal more of your personality and values to the admissions
committee, and possibly even a new aspect of your profile. Be
genuine in your response and share what you learned, heard, or
discussed in your interview that made the biggest impact on you
and further heightened your enthusiasm about attending the
school. The moment or topic that you felt was the most significant
or meaningful will give the admissions committee further insight
into your character and motivations (this is a good thing, not
something to fear!). The more the school can see you as a
dynamic individual, the better, so do not try to formulate what you
think the “right” answer should be and instead share your authentic
thoughts and feelings.
The latter part of the prompt invites you to include new information
as well, if this is appropriate. Perhaps something you discussed
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with your interviewer later triggered a thought, observation, or
memory of an event or accomplishment that you think would be
interesting to the admissions committee and additive to your
candidacy. If so, this is your chance to convey that additional input
or story. Be careful not to just tack on something new for the pure
sake of doing so—it should relate clearly to some aspect of the
conversation you had. If your interviewer touched on a similar or
related story or subject in your meeting, that would open the door
for you to introduce the new content or anecdote.
As soon as your interview is over, jot down all the topics covered
and stories you discussed. If you interview on campus, note also
any observations about your time there. For example, sitting in on
a class might have reminded you of a compelling past experience,
or participating in the case method might have provided insight
into an approach you could use in some way in the future. Maybe
the people you met or a building you saw made a meaningful
impression on you. Whatever these elements are, tie them to
aspects of your profile while adding some new thoughts and
information about yourself. This last part is key—simply describing
your visit will not teach the admissions committee anything
about you, and a flat statement like “I loved the case method” will
not make you stand out. Similarly, offering a summary of
everything the admissions committee already knows about you will
not advance your candidacy and would constitute a lost
opportunity to keep the committee learning about who you are.
HBS has offered some additional advice on the post-interview
reflection that we strongly urge you to take seriously and follow:
!"We will be much more generous in our reaction to typos and
grammatical errors than we will be with pre-packaged responses.
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Reflections that give any indication that they were produced before
you had the interview will raise a flag for us.
!"We do not expect you to solicit or receive any outside assistance
with this exercise.
For a thorough exploration of HBS’s academic offerings, defining
characteristics, crucial statistics, social life,
community/environment, and other key facets of the program,
please download your free copy of the mbaMission Insider’s
Guide to Harvard Business School.
To learn more about the essays for other top business schools,
visit our MBA Essay Tips and Examples Resources Page.
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