職場雙語:MBA招生的新花樣

While many managers think of August as the month for lying on a beach and soaking up the sun, for those considering an MBA, it is the month to dust down the CV, write application essays and sit the GMAT, the entry exam for business school.

8月對許多經理人而言是躺在沙灘上曬太陽的日子，但對那些準備考MBA的人來說，這個月是翻出簡歷、寫申請信和參加GMAT考試（商學院的入學考試）的時候。

This year, however, it's all change as many of the world's top schools have radically altered their application processes. Innovation is the buzzword, says Chioma Isiadinso, chief executive of Expartus, the business school admissions consultancy. "In the 15 years I've been in this industry I have never seen this level of change," she says.

不過，今年有了很大變化。許多世界頂級商學院對申請程序做了大幅改革。商學院申請諮詢公司Expartus首席執行官基奧瑪•伊西亞丁索(Chioma Isiadinso)說，現在流行的是創新。她說："入行15年以來，我從未見過這麼大幅度的改變。"

At the front of the pack is Harvard Business School and where Harvard leads, others inevitably follow. MBAs who hope to be awarded one of its 920 coveted places for entry in 2013 will now only have to submit two essays instead of the previous four, says Dee Leopold, managing director for MBA admissions. Essay-writing it seems is now considered an anachronistic and often irrelevant skill for the 25 or 27-year-olds applying to business school.

領頭的是哈佛商學院(Harvard Business School)，而該院總是引領着商學院發展的方向。哈佛商學院MBA招生辦常務理事迪伊•利奧波德(Dee Leopold)說，哈佛商學院2013年計劃招生920人（名額寶貴），申請者如今只需提交兩篇申請短文(essay)，而以前要求4篇。商學院似乎認爲，如今要求25至27歲的申請者具備寫短文的技巧，似乎已經有些過時和沒有必要了。

"It [the revised process] is really meant to be something more germane to what is happening today," says Ms Leopold. "I think and I've said this before, this isn't an essay-writing contest."

"這（指修改申請程序）其實是爲了適應當今時代。"利奧波德說，"我想我以前就說過，申請MBA不是在比賽寫文章。"

Other top schools are also reducing the essay count. MIT Sloan students of the class of 2015, who will be submitting applications in the next few months, will only have to submit two essays, down from three last year and at the Wharton school at the University of Pennsylvania the essay count is also down from three to two.

其他一些頂級商學院也在降低申請短文的重要性。麻省理工學院斯隆商學院(MIT Sloan)2015年級MBA申請者（學生須在未來幾個月內提交申請）只需提交兩篇申請短文（去年要求3篇），賓夕法尼亞大學(University of Pennsylvania)沃頓商學院(Wharton school)也將要求的申請短文數量從3篇減到了兩篇。

Derrick Bolton, MBA admissions director at Stanford, believes that this is just the tip of the iceberg. "Schools are finally beginning to catch up with the world around them. I think you'll see a lot more changes in the next four or five years."

斯坦福大學MBA招生主任德里克•博爾頓(Derrick Bolton)認爲，這只是冰山一角。"商學院終於開始跟隨周圍世界的腳步而動了。我認爲，在未來四到五年裏，還會出現更多變化。"

The moves reflect a shift by top schools from written submissions to interviews, believes Graham Richmond of Clear Admit, the MBA admissions consultancy. This is particularly true at Harvard and Wharton.

MBA申請諮詢公司Clear Admit的格雷厄姆•里士滿(Graham Richmond)認爲，這些改變反映了頂級商學院招生思路的變化——從看重書面申請材料向看重面試表現轉變。這種情況在哈佛商學院和沃頓商學院身上體現得特別明顯。

The 1,800 Harvard applicants who are invited to interview will be required to submit a memo reflecting on the interview within 24 hours.

今年獲得面試邀請的1800名哈佛商學院申請者，必須在面試結束24小時內提交一份"記錄"(memo)，闡述自己對面試的感受。

"This is meant to give them the last word," says Ms Leopold. She admits, though, that the move has unnerved many potential applicants.

利奧波德說："這樣做是想讓申請者最後發揮一把。"不過，她承認，這種做法嚇到了許多潛在的申請者。

Wharton will become the first top US school to introduce a group interview process this year – IMD in Switzerland already does this. The team-based discussions, which will be conducted in Philadelphia and in hub cities around the world, will enable potential students to demonstrate qualities, such as working in a team, that are otherwise difficult to assess.

今年，沃頓將成爲美國第一家引入小組面試程序的頂級商學院——瑞士洛桑國際管理髮展學院(IMD)已經採取了這種做法。小組討論將在費城和全球主要城市舉行，這種做法能夠讓申請者展示一些通過別的方式很難展示的優點，比如團隊合作能力。

Ankur Kumar, director of MBA admissions, says pilots conducted by Wharton suggest the process will be positive.

沃頓商學院MBA招生主任安庫爾•庫馬爾(Ankur Kumar)說，從試行結果來看，這種做法的效果應該還不錯。

"We think they [applicants] will enjoy doing this with us."

"我們認爲他們（申請者）會喜歡我們的新程序。"

While schools insist that the changes are intended to reflect better the behaviour of Generation Y applicants, there are nagging concerns that there is a lowering of the entry barriers to encourage more applications. The past few years have been sluggish, with even top schools reporting static or falling applications.

儘管商學院堅稱，新變化是爲了更好地反映Y世代(Generation Y)申請者的行爲，但有一種聲音不絕於耳——人們擔心，商學院是爲了鼓勵更多人申請而降低了入學門檻。過去幾年經濟一直不景氣，就連頂級商學院的申請人數也出現了停滯不前或下降的現象。

Ms Isiadinso believes that schools will not want to report declining applications for a further year.

伊西亞丁索認爲，商學院肯定不希望下一年的申請人數再次出現下降。

"I can't imagine any director of admissions going into the dean and saying the numbers are down two years in a row and say it's OK because the quality is up."

"我無法想象有哪位招生主任會走進院長辦公室，說，雖然招生人數連續兩年下降，但沒關係，因爲我們的質量上去了。"

Many schools are also opening the applications process earlier to encourage more applicants. London Business School opens applications this week – two months earlier than in previous years. Oliver Ashby, senior recruitment and admissions manager, says that the move brings LBS into line with top US schools.

許多商學院還提早了開始接受申請的時間，以鼓勵更多人申請。倫敦商學院(London Business School)近日已經開始接受申請——比往年提前了兩個月。該院資深招生主管奧利弗•阿什比(Oliver Ashby)說，這樣就與美國頂級商學院一致了。

"It's really because our US competitors open so much earlier. People want to apply all in one go. I'm here to increase applications numbers," he says. "I'd hate that people didn't apply because it is inconvenient."

"其實是因爲我們的美國競爭者們開始接受申請的時間比我們早太多。一般人都希望一次性申請完。我的職責是增加申請者人數。"阿什比說，"我不希望看到，有人因爲覺得申請兩次太麻煩而沒有申請我們學校。"

What is clear is that if would-be MBAs apply to a number of schools, the process is likely to be very different – and involve a lot of work. Some schools allow applicants to submit a PowerPoint presentation rather than an essay, others encourage applicants to add links to personal blogs, while other applicants can submit video essays.

有一件事是明擺着的：如果那些未來的MBA申請了多所商學院，他們可能遇到多種彼此差異極大的申請程序，因此涉及的工作量也會很大。一些商學院允許申請人提交PowerPoint的演示文件、而不用提交申請短文，還有一些商學院鼓勵申請人在個人主頁上增加一些鏈接。有的申請者可以提交視頻形式的"申請短文"。

"Communications skills and presentation skills are going to be a lot more important than written communications in the future," says Martin Boehm, MBA director at IE Business School in Madrid.

位於馬德里的西班牙企業學院(IE Business School)MBA主任馬丁•伯姆(Martin Boehm)說："以後溝通技巧和演示技巧將比書面交流技巧重要得多。"

At NYU Stern applicants are encouraged to show their artistic side by submitting a creative project instead of one of the essays, says Isser Gallogly, assistant dean for MBA and EMBA admissions. This could be a video, a sculpture or some other art project.

紐約大學斯特恩商學院(NYU Stern)主管MBA和EMBA招生事務的副院長伊塞爾•加洛格利(Isser Gallogly)說，該院鼓勵申請者展示自己文藝的一面，提交"富有創意的材料"，而不是普通的申請短文。所謂"富有創意的材料"可以是視頻，可以是雕塑，也可以是別的什麼藝術作品。

And even the traditional essay question has been replaced by the quirky. Out are questions on leadership and management style to be replaced by ones on what you would do if your work was cancelled for three hours or even what song best expresses your personality.

就連傳統申請短文的命題也開始變得古怪。有關領導力和管理風格的問題不流行了，取而代之的是這樣的問題：如果有三個小時不用工作，你會幹什麼？甚至是這樣的問題：哪首歌最能詮釋你的個性？