ESCP MBA Essay Tips 2024-2025

The following tips include essay topic analysis for the ESCP MBA admissions essays for the 2024-2025 admissions season. You can also review essay topic analyses for other leading MBA programs as well as general Essay Tips to further aid you in developing your admissions essays.

ESCP MBA Essay Tips 2024-2025

Let’s take a closer look at each question.

Short Answer Questions

These can be found in the ESCP application.

Why did you choose to apply to the ESCP MBA in International Management? And how will this programme help you to achieve your career goals? (100 words)
With only 100 words, you’ll need to be succinct. Think of 2-3 overall reasons you have selected the school, e.g. skills, career support, etc., and then cite supporting examples. For instance, if you are switching careers from IT to finance, highlight some of the relevant coursework or clubs. Make specific connections to how opportunities at ESCP will translate to success in your future career.

Describe what you consider to be your greatest professional achievement. (100 words)
Quantifiable results are always appreciated by the adcom because it helps them to compare you to your peers more readily. That being said, you may also consider a particularly challenging project in which you experienced high growth or helped develop others in a tangible way. Whether you’ve made millions for your company or guided an intern to become a full-time hire, the door is wide open for examples here. The key will be to establish the situation, summarize your actions and then explain why you view the achievement as your greatest.

In the Language Proficiency & International Exposure tab:

Please describe one of the above international experiences that has particularly influenced you. Explain why and how. (maximum 100 words)
This is just asking for a little more detail about an international experience, showing that ESCP really values international leadership and exposure. You can start by identifying the experience and then walking the adcom through the details of the situation–who did you engage with? What were related cultural challenges? How did you overcome those challenges? Then, conclude with the lesson(s) learned to show how it influenced you.

Essay Preamble

Each essay is a key component in the assessment of your application and will be reviewed by the equivalence committee. 30 ECTS credits will be awarded to you based on: · These 4 essays, · Your previous academic and professional experience, · and the assessment of the prerequisite courses you will have taken during the onboarding period. To this, will be added the 90 ECTS credits, which will be awarded to you upon successful completion of all the academic requirements of the MBA in IM programme. Each essay should be up to 500 words max. Please note that ESCP Business School monitors all applications for instances of plagiarism. Any sources quoted, or paraphrased, in your essay answers must be correctly referenced in brackets (footnotes not required).

Note that, in the application, the essays are marked for 1,500 words. This is presumably to leave space for your sources; however, the preamble notes that the essays themselves should not exceed 500 words. Given this, we have marked the essays below with a 500-word limit.

Essay 1

How do diversity and multiculturalism foster creativity and innovation in organisations and, more specifically, in your current company or former companies? (500 words)
There are some core elements to this essay: first, establishing your view on the influence of diversity and multiculturalism in organizations, then elaborating on your personal experiences in such settings. The bulk of this essay should be about your personal experience.

With this in mind, begin by defining diversity and multiculturalism and how these elements are essential drivers of creativity and innovation in organizations. Consider that diverse teams bring together people with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, which can lead to more innovative solutions and creative approaches to problem-solving.

Then, reflect on a specific example from your current or former company where diversity and multiculturalism played a role in sparking creativity or driving innovation. Consider if your team worked on projects that catered to a global market or had to navigate different cultural sensitivities, which led to a more innovative product or strategy. Be sure to account for your personal actions, engagement of others, and tangible/quantifiable results.

To conclude, show how your experiences in diverse and multicultural environments have helped you grow as a professional, enhancing your ability to contribute to creative problem-solving and innovation. Emphasize how this understanding will translate into your contributions in the ESCP MBA program and future leadership roles.

Essay 2

Describe a current trend or challenge in international management by analyzing specific examples that you have experienced in your professional life. Give concrete examples linked to the sector and/or function you held at that time. (500 words)

Start by selecting a trend or challenge that is significant in today’s global business environment such as digital transformation, sustainability, cross-cultural leadership, regulatory complexities, geopolitical risks, or supply chain disruptions. Ensure that the challenge is one you have directly experienced in your professional life. Then, provide context about the trend or challenge you have chosen. Explain why it is important and how it is affecting international management today.

With this base, you can then cite personal examples. Remember to create context for your reader–establishing your company, role, industry and the timeline. You do not want them to have to flip to your resume to understand what situation you are discussing–they should be able to understand it with this essay alone. Once you’ve established the situation, move on to action by describing how you and your team responded to the given challenges. Highlight any strategies, solutions, or management approaches you implemented to address the issues. Be sure to focus on your personal contributions and leadership, demonstrating problem-solving and decision-making skills. To conclude, summarize the results of your actions and discuss how the experience has shaped your approach to future challenges and how it has prepared you for global leadership roles.

Essay 3

Which are the best and worst practices you have encountered in your professional experience and what recommendations would you make to your management to improve the company’s sustainable performance? (500 words)

The goal of the question is to assess your ability to critically evaluate professional practices, demonstrate self-awareness, and propose improvements. Focus on demonstrating insight into management practices, operational efficiency, and innovation.

Briefly introduce your professional context (without diving into specific examples). Explain the industry or functional area you’re focusing on, as this will provide context for the practices you discuss. Then, highlight key characteristics of effective practices you’ve observed. You could categorize these into areas such as leadership, collaboration, communication, innovation, or operational efficiency. Describe the positive impact of these practices on team morale, productivity, or company performance. At this point, you can also identify some of the common pitfalls or problematic approaches in the workplace. These can be related to poor communication, lack of leadership, inefficient processes, or a resistance to change.

Based on your analysis of best and worst practices, propose constructive recommendations for management. Your recommendations should focus on enhancing strengths, correcting weaknesses, and driving long-term performance improvements. Consider offering suggestions in terms of both strategic changes (e.g., new processes, cultural shifts) and tactical adjustments (e.g., new tools or improved communication techniques). Ideally, you will be able to discuss personally implementing a given suggestion and succinctly account for positive results.

When invited to share negative information, it’s important to keep the tone professional and objective, avoiding personal critiques. It can help to focus on practices that have a significant impact on company performance rather than minor operational details/a personal manager who slighted you. The bulk of your essay should be focused on the solutions.

Essay 4

What are your career goals and how the MBA in International Management can contribute to their achievement? (500 Words)
This is a straightforward career goals essay, asking applicants to articulate their post-MBA career objectives and define why they need an MBA from ESCP in particular.

Establishing your long-term goal first would lend meaning to your short-term plans, interest in an MBA and ESCP from the outset. Think of it like having a map with the end destination already established—the reader will know where you are heading from the start and, therefore, have a foundation to understand the richer reasoning behind the path. You may therefore begin with a brief mention of long-term plans. Then, identify the function or job title you plan to pursue after business school, as well as your target industry and perhaps one or two target organizations. This position should be a logical first step toward a longer-term role that you hope to hold 10 or so years after your MBA.

It would also make sense to include a few sentences about how your academic and work experience has prepared you for these future roles, to set up the explanation of the gap in your skills and knowledge that you still need to gain in order to move successfully along this path. Detailed treatment of the ways specific elements of the ESCP MBA program would help you to bridge the gap between your current skill set and their future plans.

To get as much mileage as possible out of this essay, you should aim to develop a very detailed response that explains how lessons from key classes and participation in certain student organizations will position you to accomplish your professional objectives. The adcom will also be interested in hearing about how you see yourself contributing to the community and enhancing the experience of other students, so naming some events that you would like to help organize or a club you would hope to lead will also bolster your case. An in-depth review of the program website, conversations with current students and alumni, or visits to campus, are all viable sources of the information you’ll need here.

Clear Admit Resources

Thanks for reading our analysis of this year’s ESCP MBA essay questions. As you work on your ESCP MBA essay questions and application, we encourage you to consider all of Clear Admit’s ESCP offerings:

• ESCP School Profile on the Clear Admit website: up-to-date advice and admissions information
• Clear Admit LiveWire: admissions updates submitted in real time by applicants to ESCP
• Clear Admit DecisionWire: school selections in real-time by admits to ESCP