Intentionality in the Kellogg MBA's Goals essay doesn't always mean the tried and often robotic STAR method of capturing actions, motivations, and results.
I once read an essay that took the STAR framework to the extreme, where none of the applicant's unique qualities remained in the essay. It read like a machine achieving a certain milestone and not the applicant's struggle to balance profitability with IMPACT. There was no vulnerability. Nor did the reader get a sense of the challenge she was trying to overcome.
A quick and easy way to bring intentionality is by reflecting and capturing urgency in your career, volunteering, and extracurricular decisions, while never forgetting the beneficiary who benefited from your actions. The Kellogg MBA goals essay should not read like a timeline of your career transitions, where the stakeholders or beneficiaries were an afterthought.
If your first career pivot required 2 years of experience, highlight how you started preparing for the career transition - the mentorship you sought, the extra projects that you took on your plate, and the skill acquisition timeline that helped you prepare. Skill acquisition doesn't mean certification. You need to cite hands-on experience or experience shadowing a project.
If the non-profit you volunteered for had a strict timeline on reaching the beneficiary, cite how you accelerated the access to the underprivileged beneficiaries. It could be contributions through marketing ideas, technological interventions (such as AI and Automation), operational tweaks (process optimization), or leading a team of volunteers.
If certain talent acquisition was strategic (public speaking, learning a new language), cite how picking up a new skill helped you build cross-cultural intelligence.
The best Kellogg MBA Goals essay captures intentionality by capturing all aspects of an applicant's personality. The 450-word limit certainly helps.