I'm applying to Harvard this fall and have written the following rough drafts. I'm a first-timer at applying to grad school, so I'd love any and all input you have on how I can make these better. Thanks!
Essay 1 - Tell us about something you did well. (400 words).
As a first-year Analyst, I was asked to develop a new forecasting method for the Commissions Accrual at Adobe Systems. Our previous system consistently failed to bring us within an acceptable margin of error of our eventual expense. We pay commissions two months in arrears, so it is important to have an accurate forecast as we have already stated earnings when the commissions are paid. I analyzed how sales regions, business units, and products trended throughout the year. I analyzed each of the last 3 years and profiled them - sales trends, economic impact, product growth, employees hired, etc. I then compared the 2011 trends and compared them to the prior years' profiles as a way to weigh the 2011 forecast. In working with the Sales Operations team, we made assumptions in comparing 2011 to prior years and how we felt the end of the year would trend. We made assumptions on total sales, regional sales, business unit sales, total head count, and anything else that we thought would have an impact on commissions earned. In 2011, our team used both methods of forecasting our year-end accrual. When the year-end expenses finally came through, we ended up about $XXM under-accrued. Once again, the current system failed to forecast the commissions expense budget within a regional margin of error. The under-accrual caused serious headache for our team, involving weeks of intense auditing to try to understand what would cause such such a significant error. The model that I created forecasted an accrual that would have landed within $X00k of ending expense. For 2012, this model was presented to the Corporate Controller and Director of Finance and has been approved as our team forecasting tool for 2012.
Essay 2 - Tell us about something you wish you had done better.
In the spring of 2010, we had just secured $25,000 of seed money for our entrepreneurial endeavor, Good Natured Beauty. Our investor's parameters involved reimbursing our approved expenses, thus monitoring our progress and helping as needed. We had just brought on a CMO to help put together a compelling brand story, a strategic marketing plan, and a competitive product offering. We understood the risk and expense involved in bringing on a paid professional, but if we were going to try to be successful, we'd do it right. We performed new-user focus groups and current-customer focus groups, comparing our results to the market research reports we had acquired. With this understanding, we moved for and created a new brand, company name, story, marketing plan and product offering. We hired a copywriter and a design company to help bring our ideas to life. I was so excited about the idea of launching this company, that I failed to keep track of where we were against our budget. Additionally, at this point I had become so involved in getting the company ready that I hadn't kept in good communication with our investors. I ended up sending over several invoices late with only a quick note as to why they were higher than anticipated. Of course, they were not happy. They requested a detailed breakdown of all of our expenses and why we were so far off. After reviewing my explanation, they decided to pay on the currently owed invoices, but they suspended any future funding. They were frustrated that I was not only overspending, but also neglecting to communicate with them. They had asked for a "scaled-back version" of our rebranding as a way to leave more money for our initial product order and any upfront operating expenses. I passed that input along to our CMO, but I decided to move forward as planned. I had failed to manage the process, expenses, and expectations. I had to send out e-mails to our management team, copywriter, design team, and vendors, informing them that our funding had stopped for the time being and that all business activities would be put on hiatus. I received several frustrated replies with additional invoices for services not yet billed. Since these fell outside of what the investors had agreed, I had to pay for this out of pocket. I wish many times over that I had done this better.
