Starting Your MBA Application Process Journey? PART 2
7 Questions You Should Ask Yourself When Dialing-In Realistic and Specific Goals Using LinkedIn
In yesterdays blog post, Paul Lanzillotti, admissions expert and founder of Amerasia Consulting, stated that the most important thing what every MBA applicant should know before starting their MBA application journey this year: is to know who your audience is. This includes being aware of the yin and yang element in the application process — every school has something to offer, but is simultaneously looking for something you can offer in return. Today, let's dive into the next step to bring you closer to creating your competitive MBA application in 2021 using LinkedIn.
How to dial-in your realistic and specific goals using LinkedIn
Firstly find a “critical mass” of LinkedIn profiles, this could be from 3 to 30 profiles.
These profiles must be from current MBA students or MBA alumni at your target business schools.
Find a good mix of first year MBA students, second-year MBA students and young MBA alumni who have graduated in recent years (in the past one to five years).
The reason for this is that older alumni may represent hiring trends that no longer are relevant to that particular school. You want to find the most current and accurate depiction of that business school at this point in time. Past the five or six year graduation mark, the business schools change, the admissions change and so do their hiring trends.
When you have your “critical mass” of LinkedIn profiles, consider these questions:
Where do these individuals intern as MBA students? What geographic locations were they pre-MBA, MBA and post-MBA? Was it in the United States? Or “back home”?
What group(s) were they in within their respective companies? What type of projects did they work on as an intern? The more specific you are the better chance of impressing the admissions committee. It shows the admissions committee you did your research.
What is the general consensus or overarching trend? Pay attention, for example, to what projects Microsoft is working on currently and do you have 60%-80% transferable skills?
Who else from your current or recent employer has gone on to graduate business school?
What titles did these students/alumni hold before entering business school (pre-MBA)?
Does your progression approximate theirs? Is yours better? Is your progression “fast track”? Do you have more awards at work? Don’t worry about salary for now.
If you have gaps, can you address them before deadlines?
A pro tip that Paul always suggests once you have all their LinkedIn profiles in hand, is to take a look at their individual involvement on campus. Were they president at a particular club? What was their role? If their profile is relevant to you, this will provide a blueprint for your application journey and can help guide your essays to make your business school application more competitive. For example, what clubs you will get involved with and how you will contribute, and why you need school XYZ to reach your goals. If they were a member of the Women’s Business Connection (if you are a woman) you can use this relevant information.
Or if for example, they were part of the Strategic Operations Management club at Wharton. Try to find out what roles they had and look on wharton.edu for any blog posts they may have written. This will help you understand what goes on at the school. And will create an excellent blueprint in what you want to write about. Ultimately, this research will contribute to the yin-yang element of your MBA application.
Keep an eye out for the next blog post on the next step to take on your MBA application journey: How to Start Reaching Out to Your Target Programs.