4 Simple Steps To Building Great Content For Your Scholarship Application. (Number 4 is a surprise!)

Whether you’re writing an essay to apply for admission to university, graduate school or answering essay questions in a scholarship application to take your career to the next level, your job is the same: demonstrate to the decision makers that you’re the best choice.

These sets of individuals are in most cases oblivious of the kind of personality you possess, your strengths and what you are able to offer. Therefore, this is always a very good opportunity to market and sell yourself and also stand out as an undisputable best choice.

The big question now is: how do you go about that?

The four steps explained below will surely arm you with the necessary tools to working around that challenge.

EMPHASIZE OUTCOMES

“Sometimes we focus on things we’ve done, (an initiative or a job we undertook), but we don’t talk about what the result of that endeavor was” said executive coach Patty Beach, who is a managing partner of LeadershipSmarts.

By describing the tangible benefits created by your previous work, you can overcome what Beach calls the “‘So what?’ factor,” which leaves the decision makers uncertain whether your work had any measurable value or not.

The worst thing you want to happen at this stage in your application is for the decision makers to doubt your personality or ability. Focusing on on just what was done (even if you were involved throughout all the stages of the activities) without adequately emphasizing the impact of such activities on yourself, immediate environment or the society at large might present you as an impostor.

You may become misjudged as trying to take credits for activities you didn’t partake in which you know is not true.

The first thing is to ask yourself, after you have listed the activities that demonstrate your abilities, that what is or are the impact of these ventures on my personal and professional life, my immediate environment or my society at large?

If you can answer that question sincerely, you’re on your way of setting yourself apart from the competition.

THE ACTIVATORS

Beach suggests thinking about three things before writing an essay. I call them “The Tripod Activators”

• Ability

• Passion

• Impact

Your ability comprises of those things you’re good at. This may be your natural or cultivated talents.

Your passion includes the area where you will direct your talents and gifts.

The impact include what difference the platform will make in your life. How it will help to push you further or serve as a headstart along your path of career choice.

If you can effectively communicate those three things, you put yourself in the best position to be selected.

ENOUGH BUT NOT TOO MUCH

It is best to limit your personal statement to one page. Admissions officers are reading hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. They have to be able to read quickly through your entry, and you want to capture their attention at the first go.

Rule of Thumb: “One page is enough.”

When it comes to making an impression, especially as regards the decision makers, don’t wait for a second chance.

Make every first chance you get count. That is what will ultimately determine if you’ll ever get a second chance.

“FACTS” ARE NOT “BRAGS”

Your essay is the first way an employer or school gets to know you, and you are competing against other qualified candidates.

Lynell Engel Myer, an admissions expert at CollegeRaptor.com said “Your ability to tell —to communicate -about yourself is absolutely critical. If you don’t communicate your strengths, accomplishments and life stories effectively, you put yourself at a disadvantage.”

That you refused to constructively point out your strengths and accomplishments does not make you any humbler, and if you choose to, it doesn’t make you any more boastful.

The successes you communicate are the anchors they will base their judgment on about your abilities to take up these new opportunities.

Be wise!

Many are uncomfortable communicating their strengths and accomplishments, but if you keep the descriptions factual, such as what you have created or managed, awards you have won, or successes you have achieved while overcoming challenges, you’d be surprised at the context you can provide to your reader.

You’ll end up giving them a very full picture of who you are without sounding unnecessarily boastful.

In conclusion, remember that the success or failure of your application starts with how you introduce yourself to the decision makers.

A well written and structured essay (which I’m sure you can achieve by following the steps outlined in this guide) is the beginning of that success story you love to share as regards your applications.

I wish you all the very best in your endeavors and as you work towards advancing your career to the next level.