Joni Fink Burstein studied as an Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia before transferring to Harvard University. One of only fifteen transfer students admitted to Harvard the year she applied, she matriculated and earned her A.B. cum laude. She holds a Master’s of Public and Private Management, now called an M.B.A., from the Yale University School of Management.

Joni’s corporate career began at the Xerox Corporation in marketing and Total Quality Management. After graduate school, she joined McBer and Company, a consulting firm started by and based on the research of professors from Harvard and MIT. At McBer and later as an independent consultant, she helped Fortune 500 companies develop their managers into top performers.

After interviewing undergraduate applicants for Harvard, Joni began coaching students on their approach to college and graduate school applications and essays and counseling adults as they apply for jobs and career advancement. Her work has included conducting interview coaching and mock interviews for MBA students applying for jobs and internships, refocusing personal statements for medical students applying for residencies, enhancing and streamlining resumes, and conducting practice interviews for professionals changing careers.

Joni brings her unique mix of corporate marketing perspective, experience in analyzing the characteristics of successful managers, and love of writing and editing to each and every person with whom she works. She takes great pleasure in guiding students and professionals in presenting themselves powerfully and teaching them skills that will last a lifetime.

In addition to seeing clients through Burstein With Advice, Joni has also donated her services to students in need, including those below the poverty line and students who are the first in their families to apply to college.

Talia Burstein, MD, has a natural instinct for marketing and provides invaluable input on medical school personal statements, activities, secondaries, and interviews. Her experience applying to medical schools and residency programs gives her boots-on-the-ground knowledge that med school applicants find immediately relevant, practical, and useful. As an interviewer for Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Talia reviewed applicants from the medical school’s perspective, enriching her ability to provide feedback and counsel to students preparing for their interviews. Currently a resident in anesthesia at Columbia University, Talia holds an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University Medical School and a B.A. from Emory University.