Starting Your MBA Application Process Journey?
4 things you should know to start on the right foot: PART 1
What does every applicant have to know before starting their MBA application journey? According to Paul Lanzillotti, admissions expert and founder of Amerasia Consulting, what applicants should consider first and foremost is: who is your audience?
When starting your MBA application process you need to keep in mind that you are not writing your essays for your mom or dad, best friend, nor are you writing to your boss. You don’t have to know the exact name of the person reading your MBA application, but you do need to target your application to a real person on a specific schools’ MBA admissions committee. You need to try and assess and see if you are a good fit on paper, and be able to convince that person on the admissions committee that you are a good pick. Having said that, let’s move on and dive into the first four steps you should take when starting your MBA application process journey.
Build your realistic school shortlist by working backwards, starting with your post-MBA goals
Find the schools employment report
How do you do that, you ask? To help you with this step, look up the schools employment report first. You will find this report in PDF format on almost every schools website. This is your first filter. Look to see who is graduating and what jobs are they getting? Then, assume the point of view of the admissions committee: Who is getting jobs and what do recruiters want to see? Post-MBA graduate statistics matter immensely to the school. They want to make sure recent graduates get work quickly. Therefore, you need to ask yourself is that school pumping out consultants or bankers? The schools need to be minting MBA’s.
Here is an example of Stanford Business School’s 2020 MBA Employment Report.
2. Don't force fit your goals
What if your goals do not fit with what that particular school does? Move on to the next school. But most importantly, don’t force fit your post-MBA goal.
3. Consider current work experience
Ask yourself can you achieve your short-term goals with current work experience and target MBA school?
4. Consider your competition
Remember the recruiters point of view. They don’t care if you can transition from one field to another. Rather consider your competition - applicants who already have more relevant experience than you. Paul states that he often has clients that think, “I know I can make this fit because I can overcome these obstacles.” But your competitor, another MBA applicant, might be a better fit with relevant experience.
Ultimately, by considering these four pointers, you will come closer to getting an idea of who your audience is. Keep an eye out for the next step to take on your MBA Application journey. Tomorrows blog post will be on How to Dial-In Your Realistic and Specific Goals Using LinkedIn.