How to Craft Your Narrative
Versión en Español: Cómo construir tu narrativa
Crafting your narrative or story is critical to a successful application outcome. Your CV is for your highlights and accomplishments. Your letters of recommendation are for validating what you´ve mentioned on your CV and for sharing personal attributes and peer comparisons that are inappropriate or awkward to talk about in the first person. For personal essays or statements, your narrative is what makes you memorable and likeable. It is your opportunity to connect personally with the Admissions Committee member assigned to your application.
As part of your narrative, it is important to demonstrate a history of making important life decisions with purpose and deliberation. You must convey that you are thoughtful and introspective. You must show that you are emotionally intelligent and self-aware. There should be consistency to your reasoning and decision making. After reading your essays, the Admissions Committee member should understand your true core as a human being who also happens to be a professional in XYZ industry.
Your story should be coherent and logical. It should connect your past with your present with your future. It should show how and why you got to where you are today and where you would like to go. Everything should flow with the help of a common thread that connects the pieces together in a seamless way.
As overwhelming as it sounds, finding your narrative is quite simple. If you allow yourself to take a step back and reflect, the pieces of your life´s puzzle will slowly but surely come together. If you allow yourself to be vulnerable and honest, a genuine connection will be felt by the reader, and your odds of receiving an interview will increase.
For our clients, finding the right narrative starts with our carefully designed brainstorming exercise and discussion that requires them to focus on answering specific questions. Here, the idea is to avoid ¨paralysis by analysis¨ by reviewing each component of a potential narrative one at a time. As a result, clients are distracted from rushing to an easy or obvious narrative that is probably either a cliché, an obvious attempt to tell the Admissions Committee member what the client thinks he or she wants to hear, or a list of accomplishments in disguise (a paragraph version of the CV).
As you contemplate your potential narrative, we recommend that you consider starting your reflection by thinking about the following:
1. Influences, motivations, and fears during different stages of your life
2. Proudest moments and accomplishments (and why?)
3. Challenges, struggles, and failures and how they impacted you
4. Sacrifices, core values, and personal mission
5. Life-changing events and how they impacted you
6. Potential medium and long-term goals
7. Things people would be surprised to learn about you
After carefully deliberating your responses, you will start to see a few possible common themes or threads (values, motivations, social issues, aspirations) that have been either consciously or subconsciously with you throughout your personal, academic, and professional lives. In the end, one of these threads or themes will become the foundation of your sincere and unique evidence-based narrative.
For many applicants, this process of self-reflection and brainstorming requires some sort of unbiased feedback from family, friends, or an admissions consultant. If you would like for us to assist you with this introspective journey, we invite you to click on the button Request A Free Analysis or send us an email at contact@azuladvisors.com. We look forward to hearing from you!