As you apply to MBA programs, you need to think about your past work experience and how it all fits into your overall story. Work experience is important because of what it reveals about you in terms of your character, maturity, and abilities. Even if your GPA and GMAT/GRE scores are spectacular, your work experience…
4 Tips for Demonstrating Professional Growth in a Flat Organization
If you work in a flat organization, how do you demonstrate advancement and growth? After all, your career progress will be compared to that of other candidates who have regular promotions with clearly delineated expanded responsibilities. In a flat organization, you may hold the same, possibly vague or even unimpressive, title for years, even though…
MBA Admissions Tip: Explaining Frequent Job Switching
You’ve got a strong transcript, a solid GPA, and you aced the GMAT. You know you’re a strong candidate for pretty much any top MBA program. There’s just one thing standing in your way…your resume. You’ve had some good jobs—that’s not the problem. The problem is that you’ve had too many of them, very close…
7 Tips For MBA Applicants From a Family Business Background
You work for the family business and are applying for an MBA. Will this background be a net plus for you, or a minus? How can you make the most of this experience? Whether you work for your family’s tiny startup with headquarters in your home’s basement, at one of your family-owned local grocery stores,…
Deferred MBA Programs and Other Options for MBA Hopefuls With No Work Experience
When I used to travel to applicant fairs to represent London Business School, I’d commonly be approached by candidates asking, “I want an MBA but don’t have any full-time work experience. Can I study at your school?” While the answer in that instance was “no”, the conversation never ended there. The discussion would then turn…
Work Experience in Your MBA Admissions Profile
The last two articles explored the importance of the academic portion of your MBA application, including your undergraduate performance as well as your GMAT. This article will focus on the other, equally important, side of the coin: your work experience. Although more schools are now open to considering candidates without post-college experience, most top MBA…