19. Sample Essay 1:
      Whether an employer should emphasize specialization in business courses or a
more varied academic preparation is a controversial one. On the one hand, the
increasing diversification of business activities requires employees to have specialized
knowledge. On the other hand, the capricious nature of the market needs employees to
have a more varied academic preparation so that he could handle unexpected situations.
However, in the final analysis, I believe that an employer should emphasize specialized
knowledge in business courses.
      One reason for my belief is that there are special requirements for each position of
a company and only those who have adequate knowledge for the position can take the
position. If everyone does his job well, the whole company will prosper.
      Another reason for my belief lies in the fact that entry-level employees do not
need a varied academic preparation, for they do not have to handle complicated
situations. Unlike those of a senior staff member, their responsibilities are clearly
defined in the job description.
      Perhaps the best reason for my belief is that one's energy is limited. If the
employer expects their employees to have a more varied academic preparation, college
graduates will spend less time on their own special field of study. As a result, they may
not have adequate special knowledge for their future positions.
      For the reasons above I therefore believe that an employer should emphasize
specialization in business courses in the application process. Although general
knowledge is also important in many respects, a specialist is more useful for a company.
 
Sample Essay 2:
      In recruiting for entry-level jobs, should employers stress a broad liberal arts
education, a technical business background, or should employers favor neither one over
the other? In my view, while the ideal job candidate has significant academic experience
in both realms, whether employers should favor one type of background over the other
depends on the nature of the particular job and the anticipated length of employment.
      First, a strong business background is more critical for some entry-level jobs than
for others. Fledgling accountants, financial analysts, and loan officers cannot perform
optimally without a solid academic background in accounting, finance, and banking.
Even in sales of financial products and services, new employees need extensive
technical knowledge to educate the customer and to be effective salespeople. However,
in other entry-level positions—such as personnel, advertising and marketing—technical
business knowledge may not be as critical as a broad experience with various types of
people and an enlightened view of different cultures.
      Second, the employer's hiring decision should also depend on the anticipated
length of employment. In recruiting short-term workers, especially for positions that are
labor intensive and where judgment and experience are not of paramount importance,
the applicant who is strongly business-oriented may be the better choice. On the job,
this applicant will probably be more pragmatic, and spend less time pondering the job
and more time doing it. However, an employer looking for a long-term employee may
be better served by hiring an applicant with a strong liberal arts background. By way of
their more general education, these applicants have acquired a variety of general,
transferable skills. They may be more adept than their colleagues with business-only
backgrounds at recognizing and solving management problems, dealing with business
associates from different cultures, and viewing-issues from a variety of perspectives. All
of these skills contribute to a person's lifelong ability to adapt to and even anticipate
changes that affect the company, and to move easily into new positions as such changes
demand.
      In sum, recruiters for entry-level jobs should avoid preferring one type of
applicant over another in all cases. Instead, recruiters should consider the immediate
technical demands of the job as well as the prospect of advancement and long-term
employment within the company.