Hello,
Can you please review my situation and provide insight?
Here is my profile:South Asian Female, 29 years old. GPA 2.95 from University of Toronto - downtown campus (2016), GMAT aiming for 750 minimum
I completed Level I of my CFA in 2018 but did not feel a connection with accounting / finance. Despite it, I continued in the field and found a job in late 2018.
I want to do an MBA because I am really passionate about generating change through technology. I dont want to learn engineering but I want to be able to launch and manage a venture which makes the world more accessible. I also want to be a Non Technical Product Manager for one of the FAANG companies, ideally ones that are working towards social change.
I am aiming for schools in California due to their proximity to silicone valley and Stanford’s my target school because of their focus on social change and tech. I plan on offsetting my GPA with a high GMAT score. I am concerned because I have a disability from a work injury which resulted in gaps. The disability is why I am passionate in launching accessibility ventures for people but I’m not sure about the impact of that on my application.
Here is my timeline:1) Oct 2018 - Jul 2020 (1 year 10 months) - Fund Accountant in Canada but I got injured at work in 2019 (concussion) and was on / off of work and eventually quit to recover.
2) Jan 2020 - Mid 2021 (Approx 1.5 year) - Joined an American NGO remotely and worked towards creating gender equality for students in Zambia, in accordance with the United Nations (UN). This was controversial and we initially faced political opposition. Eventually we were able to update the Zambian curriculum to include gender equality courses in partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Education.
3) Oct 2020 - Mid 2021 (Approx 1.5 year) - I used to enjoy hackathons and other tech projects in the past. I rediscovered my passion for tech and taught myself tools to design, manage and launch softwares (Wordpress, Adobe, Jira, etc.) and launched a business which worked on a pro bono basis (free) to help “not so tech savvy”, small businesses transition to virtual platforms in order to survive the COVID-19 social distancing laws. My symptoms flared up so I took time off again in 2021.
4) Feb 2022 - May 2022 - (4 months) - I was still in the “recovery process” but accepted an unpaid internship as a Product Designer because I felt the company's mission aligned with my own - creating virtual and accessible tools. I designed their B2B and B2C virtual workout app. After the end of this internship, I continued focusing on my health.
6) Jan 2023 - Mar 2023 (3 months) - Swimming was a part of my recovery but classes were expensive. So I launched a class for 15 girls to allow financially marginalized youth to access swimming lessons. The goal was to heal while also helping the community.
After that I took time to travel / network. I flew to California to better understand the tech scene and to connect with tech professionals including Directors for some well known tech giants. Currently, I am in Canada, not working and am enrolled in a GMAT course.
Here are my concerns:1. Do I need to disclose my disability and if I disclose it do I have to provide medical documentation?
2. A lot of my experience includes passion projects and I also have several gaps due to medical reasons. How can I frame my narrative to prevent all of this from working against me?
2. For my tech business, many of my clients were people I knew from before (friends/family) along with some new clients. It was a small business but I was just happy to be able to do something meaningful and work. To prove the business I can provide my registration, tax returns (doesn’t show income because it was pro bono but shows expenses) along with the businesses’ virtual profile on Instagram and Behance. Is this enough to prove the business?
3. Can I count the tech business towards my work experience?
4. My work experience from accounting (including the paid leaves) is approximately 2 years. Excluding the paid leaves brings it to approximately 8 months. Is it ok if I just briefly mention that I was injured and on and off of work instead of going into details about dates? Since I was technically employed during this whole time, I’m sure the employer will say that I was employed if asked.
5. Are Canadian (Ontario) employers allowed do disclose disabilities and details surrounding it (dates, symptoms etc.) ?
Thanks for all your help