And yet another motivation letter

Hey there!

I'm not a high-achiever like most of you here... Actually i'm a dropout who reconsidered education after spending a period traveling and now I'm very motivated to be accepted for a Msc in International Management... So my concern is to make the faculty people see my motivation and my strengths, so that they might overlook my not so impressive acamic records... This is what I wrote so far... I still have a few ideas that i need to develop, but I would really appreciate if you could give me feedback for this first part.

Thanks a lot!


Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in applying for the Master's Program in International Management starting in October 2011. I appreciate this opportunity to provide further background information in support of my application.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (in Foreign Languages – German) from the X. I chose to pursue this program in my third year of high school, although at that time I had no knowledge of German language. It was an ambitious goal to learn German in such a short period, but I enjoyed the challenge and I placed among the top students in the admission exam.

After the first year of university, I took time off to pursue my passion for travelling and photography. Subsequently, I took up photography courses and I spent one and a half years abroad, taking up various jobs in order to support myself and to finance my travels. Looking back, it was the most challenging and exciting period of my life. I learned new languages (Spanish, Catalan and Swedish), I had my first full-time jobs, I travelled all over Europe and parts of Africa, and I had my travel photos exposed at a photography exhibition in X.

Travelling enhanced my awareness and sensitivity to cultural differences and the ability to maintain an open mind. Abstract notions such as leadership, budgeting, and negotiation started to make real-world sense in the context of the challenges I was facing. The experience abroad helped me develop problem-solving skills and independence, but more importantly it gave me a sense of self and an idea of who and what I wanted to become. At the end of this period, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in International Management. I returned to university with newfound interest and motivation, and last year I completed my degree with a project thesis on ‘’Intercultural negotiations’’.

One of my career aspirations is to start my own Consulting and Business Coaching firm in X. My endeavor would be to provide a wholistic approach to consulting by integrating first-class knowledge of business and Intercultural Coaching. Over the last years, I realized that there is a gap between the needs and the support offered to expatriates and to X dealing with foreign partners. Therefore, I believe that I could contribute to the development of the business sector in my country by setting up a company that addresses intercultural issues and provides business people and consultants with useful tools for conducting business in an intercultural environment.

The ambitions that I have just exposed to you would not be realized without a solid theoretical background and a strong real world experience specialized in international management.

I am deeply convinced that the program in International Management could play an instrumental role in enabling me to achieve my goals. I am inclined to believe that my maturity, genuine interest in management, educational background, and personal skills are a good fit for the program.