What Differentiates a Successful Sloan Candidate?

by Matthew Foster, Recruitment and Admissions Manager, Sloan & EMBA-Global

The LBS Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy is a highly competitive programme and each year the School and the Admissions Committee looks to build the strongest value for the class.

Beyond our world-class faculty and unique programme focus, one of the greatest values of the Sloan programme is the ability to network, learn and absorb information from the other leaders of industry that make up the class. These are individuals who are focussed, well-regarded, experienced and impressive, creating a powerful and rich learning environment.

A glance at the class profile will show that a Sloan Fellow typically has 15-20 years management experience, comes from a variety of sectors and holds a senior job function.

But a successful Sloan Fellow is much more.

The key attribute we look for in a Sloan Fellow is experience of making decisions at strategic levels, either in a General Management context or as leaders of their function. We know that when the class come together in January, everyone will have had that crucial moment when they have had tough decisions to make.

It is little wonder, therefore, that the most common feedback given to unsuccessful candidates is to reapply when their exposure to these key decisions has grown in scale, impact and depth.

Often an applicant’s level of strategic decision making and leadership cannot be demonstrated solely through their CV, and this is where the application essays are of great importance. These are an opportunity to use your past achievements to demonstrate future success, as part of the programme and beyond, and we recommend you dedicate considerable time perfecting these to showcase your talents, experiences and abilities at their best.

It is also important to choose your referees wisely. These should be people who have worked closely with you for a considerable period – do not simply select the most impressive job title. Your referees can provide a third-party view on your skills as a leader, your strategic decision making abilities, and, just as importantly, your areas for growth as part of this unique cohort of experienced professionals.

Applications are open for the January 2018 intake; you can contact us at sloan@london.edu for more information on this transformative programme.

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