Dis-Aster
September 15, 2008
It was a complete disaster on Wall Street today. Dis-aster -- from the Latin meaning against the stars, or the plan. Thousands lost jobs or money or both, as Lehman declared chapter eleven, and Merrill Lynch was gobbled up by Bank of America for metaphorical pennies, and AIG was flailing. The Dow plummeted 504 points by the end of the day, the worst one-day fall since 9/11. There was no Uncle Sam to rescue, dressed as a knight in shining armor. Not this time.
Wall Street is licking its wounds. It was in freefall this morning when I talked with Chioma Isiadino from her home in New York. We were about to discuss her book, THE BEST BUSINESS SCHOOLS' ADMISSION SECRETS. In our interview, she said candidates will have to decide what to do if they are applying to get into an MBA program and get their pink slip. Or, if they suspect they soon will, should they jump ship? One thing is for certain, the sheer volume of applicants will no doubt increase dramatically. But Chioma and Scott Shrum, the author of YOUR MBA GAME PLAN, whose book I read tonight, agree that if you are laid off, you cannot give the board the sense that you are applying to their school because you have nothing better to do! Briefly explain what happened, then illustrate how business school fits your life plan.
Chioma emphasizes your ability to articulate your brand, which is the heart of her book. Scott's book has a handful of chess pieces on the cover, and that is a great metaphor for his content. It is greatly appreciated that Scott opens with the reminder that no one is perfect, and applicants must strategically round out their dimensions -- community service (it is a must!), GMAT score, hobbies, international exposure, professional experience and transcripts. He mentions eleven different profiles from consulting and creative to marketing and military. I was delighted to see his comment under "creative" that if you want an MBA, that makes you qualified to apply. And then of course you get to be extremely creative in your essays tying your wild adventures to B school.
It all ties back to your life plan. What was writ in the stars? Certainly few people on Wall Street wished for disaster today. I have come to believe that the mysterious forces -- that shake you from a comfortable seat -- are the most precious.
I work in all media, but radio has been my primary industry for a couple of decades. I'd never been laid off -- until a couple of years ago, from a CBS station -- and that sent me scurrying to the corners of my mind. What are my skills? What do I love? With whom can I connect? It opened my eyes in a new way. At an on-camera audition I found on craigslist, I met Mercedes Rose, a local voice talent who introduced me to voiceover classes that began to push me out of the "news" box. I began dancing all out -- hip-hip, groove, Zumba. I was already interviewing authors, and began media-training them. One author introduced me to her agent who has mostly high-tech clients, and suddenly I'm doing podcasts for them. And I spotted an ad from an LA-based Dinner Grrl looking for radio interviewers for her show MBA Podcasters. Ah! And now I'm seriously thinking of going for my MBA. And I wrote the memoir I promised myself at age seven that I would write someday.
That so-called disaster actually put me back on course.
And when I was on my way to Penn State to do a podcast last month, and had a flight delay in Philly, I bought this tiny dancing Swarovski star on a silver chain as a reminder -- to keep dancing on my own path.
It was a complete disaster on Wall Street today. Dis-aster -- from the Latin meaning against the stars, or the plan. Thousands lost jobs or money or both, as Lehman declared chapter eleven, and Merrill Lynch was gobbled up by Bank of America for metaphorical pennies, and AIG was flailing. The Dow plummeted 504 points by the end of the day, the worst one-day fall since 9/11. There was no Uncle Sam to rescue, dressed as a knight in shining armor. Not this time.
Wall Street is licking its wounds. It was in freefall this morning when I talked with Chioma Isiadino from her home in New York. We were about to discuss her book, THE BEST BUSINESS SCHOOLS' ADMISSION SECRETS. In our interview, she said candidates will have to decide what to do if they are applying to get into an MBA program and get their pink slip. Or, if they suspect they soon will, should they jump ship? One thing is for certain, the sheer volume of applicants will no doubt increase dramatically. But Chioma and Scott Shrum, the author of YOUR MBA GAME PLAN, whose book I read tonight, agree that if you are laid off, you cannot give the board the sense that you are applying to their school because you have nothing better to do! Briefly explain what happened, then illustrate how business school fits your life plan.
Chioma emphasizes your ability to articulate your brand, which is the heart of her book. Scott's book has a handful of chess pieces on the cover, and that is a great metaphor for his content. It is greatly appreciated that Scott opens with the reminder that no one is perfect, and applicants must strategically round out their dimensions -- community service (it is a must!), GMAT score, hobbies, international exposure, professional experience and transcripts. He mentions eleven different profiles from consulting and creative to marketing and military. I was delighted to see his comment under "creative" that if you want an MBA, that makes you qualified to apply. And then of course you get to be extremely creative in your essays tying your wild adventures to B school.
It all ties back to your life plan. What was writ in the stars? Certainly few people on Wall Street wished for disaster today. I have come to believe that the mysterious forces -- that shake you from a comfortable seat -- are the most precious.
I work in all media, but radio has been my primary industry for a couple of decades. I'd never been laid off -- until a couple of years ago, from a CBS station -- and that sent me scurrying to the corners of my mind. What are my skills? What do I love? With whom can I connect? It opened my eyes in a new way. At an on-camera audition I found on craigslist, I met Mercedes Rose, a local voice talent who introduced me to voiceover classes that began to push me out of the "news" box. I began dancing all out -- hip-hip, groove, Zumba. I was already interviewing authors, and began media-training them. One author introduced me to her agent who has mostly high-tech clients, and suddenly I'm doing podcasts for them. And I spotted an ad from an LA-based Dinner Grrl looking for radio interviewers for her show MBA Podcasters. Ah! And now I'm seriously thinking of going for my MBA. And I wrote the memoir I promised myself at age seven that I would write someday.
That so-called disaster actually put me back on course.
And when I was on my way to Penn State to do a podcast last month, and had a flight delay in Philly, I bought this tiny dancing Swarovski star on a silver chain as a reminder -- to keep dancing on my own path.
Labels: Chioma Isiadinso, dancing, Dinner Grrls, disaster, Dow, Mercedes Rose, online MBA program, Scott Shrum, star., THE BEST BUSINESS SCHOOLS' ADMISSIONS SECRETS, voiceovers, YOUR MBA GAME PLAN, Zumba
posted by Diana Page Jordan @ 11:35 PM
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