Work Experience in SOP

[HerrDBoo]

I am applying for IR masters programs. I am finishing up my SOPs, but had a last minute question. I don't have substantive relevant work experience in the field and in total with internships (5 mos in school 4 mos in a post-grad internship) and professional jobs I have something like 16mos of working experience. Some of the prompts ask how my professional background has prepared me for graduate work. Though I haven't been at my two professional gigs too long (3 mos as an executive recruiter and 4 mos currently in commercial real estate) I have learned a lot about contract negotiations and why leverage is important. 

 

Would it be naive to briefly mention this in SOP? Something like "My experiences both as an executive recruiter and as a real estate agent have shown me the importance of negotiation and deliberation. There are similarities that contract discussions have with negotiations between nations. All parties must state their needs, but each party’s respective voice does not carry equal weight. Likewise, while some decisions might seem favorable in the short term, how they play out over time is often difficult to determine." Or should I just leave it out all together?

 

Any thoughts would be helpful.

[Sigaba]

I am applying for IR masters programs. I am finishing up my SOPs, but had a last minute question. I don't have substantive relevant work experience in the field and in total with internships (5 mos in school 4 mos in a post-grad internship) and professional jobs I have something like 16mos of working experience. Some of the prompts ask how my professional background has prepared me for graduate work. Though I haven't been at my two professional gigs too long (3 mos as an executive recruiter and 4 mos currently in commercial real estate) I have learned a lot about contract negotiations and why leverage is important. 

 

Would it be naive to briefly mention this in SOP? Something like "My experiences both as an executive recruiter and as a real estate agent have shown me the importance of negotiation and deliberation. There are similarities that contract discussions have with negotiations between nations. All parties must state their needs, but each party’s respective voice does not carry equal weight. Likewise, while some decisions might seem favorable in the short term, how they play out over time is often difficult to determine." Or should I just leave it out all together?

 

Any thoughts would be helpful.

 

Here's something to consider. By your own admission, you don't have "substantive relevant work experience in the field," so how do you know there are "similarities that contract discussions have with negotiations between nations"?

[HerrDBoo]

Touche, but I think I elaborate that in the next two sentences. I might not have first hand experience, but I have studied topics like that in class and you can infer similarities. However, that's what brings me to my naive comment. I don't want to seem like a jerk making that connection if there isn't one to be made. It would hurt rather than help. 

 

In any case, thanks for that point of view!