Tong Zhang
Stanford MBA Alum | Clarifying Your Story for Top MBA Applications
Studied at Stanford Graduate School of Business
Worked at Apple
Available Friday at 1:30 AM UTC
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Tong's Coaching Offerings
Custom hourly · $200/hr
Get help with Essays, Application Strategy, and .
Tong’s MBA Qualifications
I’m a Stanford MBA graduate, and I’ve been through the full application process: from shaping my own story to navigating how to present it clearly and coherently. What I realized through that process is that strong applicants aren’t held back by lack of experience, but by how fragmented or unclear their story comes through. I focus on helping you get to that clarity. That means understanding what actually ties your experiences together, what matters (and what doesn’t), and how to communicate it in a way that feels both authentic and compelling. My approach isn’t about over-editing essays. It’s about helping you build a story that holds together across your entire application.
Tong can help with:
Essays
Application Strategy
Interviews
School Selection
About Tong
I’m a Product Manager at Meta (Instagram), previously at Apple and Adobe, where I worked on personalization, ranking, and monetization systems. At Apple, I worked on News and subscription growth across personalization and monetization. At Meta, I’m working on ranking and ads systems, thinking about how content, signals, and incentives come together at scale. Before this, I took time away from work. I traveled, spent time with family, and stepped back to think about what I actually wanted from my career. That period changed how I think about growth, ambition, and what “progress” really means. I now work with PMs who are: • trying to break into or move up within top-tier companies • not getting traction in interviews despite strong backgrounds • preparing for high-stakes interviews (Meta, Google, etc.) • thinking through a reset, whether that’s role, company, or direction I tend to be thoughtful and structured in how I work. I focus on: • how you position your experience (not just what’s on your resume) • how you think through problems in interviews • helping you build a clear, internally consistent story
Why do I coach?
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why some people move forward quickly in their careers while others feel stuck. Over time, I’ve come to believe that a lot of it comes down to clarity: how well you understand your own story and how clearly you can communicate it. I’ve seen smart, capable people struggle in interviews or transitions, not because they weren’t good enough, but because their experience wasn’t coming through clearly. I’ve also been on the other side: navigating uncertainty, stepping away from work, and figuring out what I actually wanted to come back to. I’ve worked with coaches myself during transition periods, and I’ve found that having someone help you see things more clearly, especially when you’re too close to it, can make a meaningful difference. Coaching, for me, is a way to help people get to that clarity faster. Most of what I focus on is: • helping you see what’s actually holding you back • tightening how you present your experience • giving you specific, actionable feedback It’s less about “tips” and more about helping you build a point of view on your own career.
Work Experience
Product Manager
Meta (Facebook)
2026 - Present
Lead Product Manager
ZipRecruiter
2022 - 2023
Product Manager
Apple
2020 - 2022
GTM
Adobe
2018 - 2020
Education
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Master of Business Administration - MBA
Activities and societies: Arbuckle Leadership Fellow, Startup Garage, d.school, Future of Media Conference, Asian Business Student Association, China Global Study Trip Leader, GSB Pride