Essay 2: Please describe your short and long term goals post-MBA.

Explain how: your professional experience has shaped these goals; why this career option appeals to you; and how you arrived at the decision that now is the time and the MBA is the appropriate degree. My work as a technology analyst with Deloitte Consulting has given me rich experience in understanding business requirements from a technical and functional perspective. It has taught me how to analyze problems and develop solutions using various tools. It has also given me an opportunity to work in projects across two different sectors viz. Consumer Products and Financial Services Industry. However, in terms of delivering tailor-made solutions to the clients, I feel certain limitations. What could be done to improve the profits of a business? How to study the industry trends and capitalize on the knowledge? What makes a business tick? What are the ways to sustain the business? How do government policies affect the business operations in a country? In seeking answers to these questions, I feel an urgent need to expand the horizons of my learning from a one-dimensional perspective of technology to the multi-dimensional appreciation of a business - its growth and sustaining that growth. A management education from Kenan Flagler business school, which is designed to combine theoretical business knowledge with actual case studies, will help me in understanding the clients business functions, their constraints and interdependencies and in turn help me in designing better solutions for their requirements.

My immediate goals, post MBA is to function at a level of a senior consultant in a leading consulting firm. I intend to use the knowledge gained from my education to provide value added solutions to clients and build a reputation of being the best in this field. In another ten years down the lane, I dream of becoming an entrepreneur, running my own boutique consulting firm which provides well- tailored solutions to start-up clients. I shall begin with niche consulting in the industry of my interest (which at present points to Consumer products sector) and slowly expand the scope to other industries. Im sure that being a part of the UNC culture, as a full time MBA student will mark a step towards achieving my goals and realizing my dreams.