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Personal Statement Abhisek

Student's First Name, Middle Initial(s), Last Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Number and Name

Instructor's Name and Title

Assignment Due Date

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Personal Statement Abhisek

I was born and raised in a family where what mattered the most was the progress we were

making per day. The first discussion the family would have the next morning was the gains and

losses of the previous day. As a result, I was always intrigued that even though losses are

undesirable in a business, my father and grandfather had to accept them at some point. My

grandfather inspired me to believe that some external factors that led to the losses were beyond

our control. I spent most of my time pondering the factors we can control when running a

business. The search for answers to this question, plus other factors in my career, generated my

interest in business and management.

Growing up in a developing country back in the 1990s, I was mostly fascinated by

technology and its effects on those around me and the environment. I still recall my excitement

when my family first purchased a telephone, a personal computer, and a colored television. The

influence of technology on my mind as a kid was so profound that, along with my love for

mathematics, it led to my choice of computer science as my Engineering major.

I have amassed work experience since 2013. My first job was as a technology consultant

in a Finance and Controlling (cost analysis and management reporting) domain. Since then, I

have worked as an Enterprise Resource Planning software consultant, specializing in the area of

Finance and Controlling. Thus, having grown up in a business-oriented family with a

technological background, a master's in science management is the most suitable course for my

career. Since I started working, I have operated as a consultant in ERP with different Fortune500

firms. Thus, I possess a fair number of skills and enormous practical knowledge in management.

My working knowledge qualifies me as an ideal fit for the program. Besides, I see myself as a

resourceful candidate for the college and my colleagues on campus. Therefore, I believe I will

enrich the learning experiences of my classmates.

After working for over nine years in the same field of technology consultant finance and

management accounting and leading a mid-size team with multicultural members, I have two

short-term goals. The first one is to create an informed plus more disciplined approach to the

recommendations I make to my clients. I want to be better when recommending software designs

for my clients in the field. I want to move from serving my clients to ensuring that my proposals

contribute to their success. Clients looking to transform their management accounting and

finance software solutions are looking for more than just fixations. Thus, I want to be that person
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who provides reputable answers or solutions to their needs. The goal should go beyond guiding

them in technical designs and helping improve their business processes. My second short-term

goal is to improve my leadership style to empower my subordinates. In other words, I want to

adopt better leadership styles to ease my relationship with my subordinates. I want to build my

collaborative skills and become a better team player. I want to be a servant leader whom my

followers will emulate and follow my lead.

My long-term goal is to become a product owner with end-to-end knowledge of each

project aspect. This includes planning, budgeting, financing, and technical skills. I have gone

through the list of courses offered by the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign in the field

MSM program, and I am convinced that they align with my career goals. I believe that a master's

degree from a reputable institution like this university will increase my industry opportunities

and give me an added advantage over other candidates. The university is also ideal for equipping

me with the right skills and knowledge.

I value two things in my learning journey. The first is how the knowledge I gain will

apply in practice. I consider the applicability of the knowledge because I need to understand

whether the knowledge is making me more competent for my future responsibilities. I want an

experience that either equips me with more skills, or nurtures the ones I possess. The other thing

I value is the returns on my investment. By returns, I mean the long-term gains after completing

my learning. I want a learning experience that improves my position in terms of professional

growth. As a mid-career professional and the sole breadwinner in my family, I acknowledge that

I have limited time. This makes it difficult to leave my full-time job and attend physical classes.

As such, the comprehensive online degree program presents a suitable course I can enroll in and

continue with my job.