IESE MBA Essay Prompts & Writing Guide 2025–2026

Start by painting a clear roadmap with three distinct milestones: your immediate post-MBA role, your position in 5-10 years, and the bigger vision that animates both. Vagueness here is fatal. Instead of ("I want a leadership role in consulting,") say something like ("I want to become a Senior Project Manager at BCG focused on energy transition strategy within 18 months of graduation, then move into climate tech strategy roles, ultimately leading corporate sustainability initiatives for multinational companies.") The specificity signals that you have done your homework, understand the market, and have thought seriously about your trajectory. Include job titles, industries, geographies, and company names wherever possible. For your longer-term goal, connect it to the impact you want to make; IESE deeply values leaders who see business as a force for positive change, not just personal advancement.

The second part of your essay requires you to show exactly how IESE will serve as the bridge between who you are now and who you aim to become. This is not a time to list ten classes from the course catalog or repeat marketing language from the website. Instead, identify the specific capabilities or mindsets you need to develop to reach your goals, then name which IESE resources will help you build them. Perhaps you need to sharpen your quantitative decision-making skills; the case method and EXSIM program provide that. Maybe you need a global network in emerging markets; the school's exchange partnerships and diverse cohort deliver that. If your goal involves a career shift, explain which MBA elements will close the skills gap. The key is to demonstrate that you have researched IESE's distinctive offerings and that they genuinely align with your needs, not that they align with every MBA on the market.

Throughout both sections of this essay, thread in IESE's core values: integrity, a spirit of service, a global mindset, and personal growth. Don't simply name these words. Instead, show through concrete examples or your stated ambitions how you already embody them or aspire to deepen them. If your career goal involves improving sustainability practices or serving underrepresented communities, make that connection explicit. If you have built teams across cultures or demonstrated ethical leadership under pressure, hint at that context when setting up your goals. Admissions readers want to see that your ambitions are not hollow; they want evidence that you are the kind of leader IESE is designed to cultivate.

Finally, treat the 450-word limit as a constraint that sharpens your thinking, not an excuse to ramble. Every sentence should advance your case. Avoid lengthy backstory; assume the reader has your CV already. Focus on what the MBA unlocks for you and why IESE is the environment where that transformation happens. A tightly written, specific, values-aligned goals essay signals maturity, self-awareness, and genuine fit with the school's mission.