I’m going to pick right back up from where I left off in my last post on undergrad preparation for the MBA.* That means addressing another oft-asked question we hear from undergraduate students about MBA admissions. This time, it has to do with your work experience and how important it is to score a role at a “top” company in the eyes of the Admissions Committee.
The answer? Not as crucial as you might think.
While it’s always impressive to see a candidate come in from a widely recognizable firm, what we value even more than that is the actual experience you will bring to the MBA class.
Industry diversity in the MBA Class
Business school isn’t just about enhancing your skills – it’s also about enriching your classmates and your network with the distinct knowledge that you can provide as a professional.
In order to create the type of challenging culture Chicago Booth is known for, we seek to craft a class that encompasses a rich variation of industry experiences. To that end, we look for all types of backgrounds, ranging from the consulting and finance tracks to areas more emergent, like start-ups, technology, social enterprise, self-employment or involvement in a family business.* While the benefits of working for a large brand name company are well known, we also recognize that candidates who have had a different sort of experience bring unique skills that will lend balance to student group dynamics and in-class debate.
My dream job fell through – now what?
For many early career candidates, dealing with a harsh economic climate and a super competitive peer set can be crushing when it comes to nailing that highly sought-after internship or first entry-level position. We definitely note resilience and creativity when it comes to how you developed your Plan B. For example, let’s say you narrowly lost an incoming role at top consumer goods company but managed to pick up a great position with a smaller regional one instead; turns out that role allowed for terrific career growth and even some management experience. Or maybe you ultimately were not offered a spot with the elite marketing firm you’d been eyeing all through college and so took a chance with a creative start-up. As it happens, the demands of that environment called for you to push and develop yourself further than you would have imagined, and you ended up adding an entirely new level of skills to your resume. Terrific! We’re all for it.
How we evaluate your work experience
Now that we’ve established the fact that it’s the experience, not the company name that makes a candidate shine, let’s talk a little more about how we evaluate that portion of your application. Regardless of your industry or job title, we want to know that you’ve proven yourself to be a successful professional and have sought to maximize opportunities. We like to see that you generally rank above your peers in terms of career acceleration and future prospects and that you have actively taken on leadership roles – no matter how small – and are on your way towards developing a management style. Finally, we hope to see strong evidence of your performance backed up by letters of recommendation from supervisors or mentors who may not be the highest contacts on your corporate totem pole but who genuinely know you and your work.
There are many proactive ways you can work towards achieving these milestones in your first job, so no matter where you end up after school, make sure you take advantage of what’s available to you, even if it seems less than perfect at first. There are valuable lessons to be learned when working for a small or lesser known company and your access to those experiences will be impressive later on.
In sum, don’t be ruled by the brand – start by creating your OWN brand. Chances are, you’ll hook us.
Best,
Meghan
More...
The answer? Not as crucial as you might think.
While it’s always impressive to see a candidate come in from a widely recognizable firm, what we value even more than that is the actual experience you will bring to the MBA class.
Industry diversity in the MBA Class
Business school isn’t just about enhancing your skills – it’s also about enriching your classmates and your network with the distinct knowledge that you can provide as a professional.
In order to create the type of challenging culture Chicago Booth is known for, we seek to craft a class that encompasses a rich variation of industry experiences. To that end, we look for all types of backgrounds, ranging from the consulting and finance tracks to areas more emergent, like start-ups, technology, social enterprise, self-employment or involvement in a family business.* While the benefits of working for a large brand name company are well known, we also recognize that candidates who have had a different sort of experience bring unique skills that will lend balance to student group dynamics and in-class debate.
My dream job fell through – now what?
For many early career candidates, dealing with a harsh economic climate and a super competitive peer set can be crushing when it comes to nailing that highly sought-after internship or first entry-level position. We definitely note resilience and creativity when it comes to how you developed your Plan B. For example, let’s say you narrowly lost an incoming role at top consumer goods company but managed to pick up a great position with a smaller regional one instead; turns out that role allowed for terrific career growth and even some management experience. Or maybe you ultimately were not offered a spot with the elite marketing firm you’d been eyeing all through college and so took a chance with a creative start-up. As it happens, the demands of that environment called for you to push and develop yourself further than you would have imagined, and you ended up adding an entirely new level of skills to your resume. Terrific! We’re all for it.
How we evaluate your work experience
Now that we’ve established the fact that it’s the experience, not the company name that makes a candidate shine, let’s talk a little more about how we evaluate that portion of your application. Regardless of your industry or job title, we want to know that you’ve proven yourself to be a successful professional and have sought to maximize opportunities. We like to see that you generally rank above your peers in terms of career acceleration and future prospects and that you have actively taken on leadership roles – no matter how small – and are on your way towards developing a management style. Finally, we hope to see strong evidence of your performance backed up by letters of recommendation from supervisors or mentors who may not be the highest contacts on your corporate totem pole but who genuinely know you and your work.
There are many proactive ways you can work towards achieving these milestones in your first job, so no matter where you end up after school, make sure you take advantage of what’s available to you, even if it seems less than perfect at first. There are valuable lessons to be learned when working for a small or lesser known company and your access to those experiences will be impressive later on.
In sum, don’t be ruled by the brand – start by creating your OWN brand. Chances are, you’ll hook us.
Best,
Meghan
More...