I have received questions from people on WSO regarding whether or not their chances of acceptance will be impacted negatively because they don't have 'brand name' work experience. I wrote a blog post over on our company blog on this topic (http://blog.accepted.com/qualifies-good-work-expe…), which I will also post here:
MBA Admissions Committees Care About More Than Brand
Some of you may think that because you have worked in marketing but not at P&G, worked in banking but not at Goldman Sachs, or worked in technology but not at Google that your experience may not count as much to admissions committees when compared against applicants who have worked for brands with cache. For those of you with those assumptions, fear not. The quality of the work that you do is much more important than working at a name-brand institution.
Admissions committees are looking to fill their cohorts with individuals having as wide a range of experiences as possible, and especially experience that is relevant to an MBA curriculum. When faculty are teaching a particular subject, the lessons come to life when students have real world experience pertaining to the topic. As such, the skills and knowledge gained from significant projects managed from start to finish matter. Involvement with strategic initiatives matters. You don’t have to have been involved in a multi-million-dollar deal to gain strong leadership and management skills.
Small Projects Matter!
Even small projects that you “own” can be extremely valuable in providing expertise in particular areas. As you advance in your career, always be on the lookout for projects that allow you to take on a significant leadership role and provide you with a certain degree of autonomy.
When it comes time to reduce the work you’ve done to one bullet point on your resume, you want to be able to make that bullet as impactful as possible, for example, “Led a team of eight to cut costs in the supply chain by 20% through strategic re-purposing of older machines.”
This example shows leadership, strategic thinking and tangible results, all really important stuff! That’s what admissions committees want to see. It doesn’t matter if the size of the project was $10,000 or $1,000,000, or that it was done at Boeing or Jane’s Jewelry Factory. What matters is that you provided significant results to your company.
Increasing Responsibility
In addition to having tangible real world experience to share in the classroom, admissions committees are also looking for upward mobility. With any luck you have a strong track record of promotions, as that is the easiest way to signal that mobility, and would be immediately obvious on a resume. Even if you don’t, however, you can still showcase the fact that your responsibilities have increased over time through thoughtful wording in your resume, such as “Rewarded with project management of X following successful implementation of social media planning schedule.” Essays might also be a place to show the upward movement, depending on the topic. Being awarded by your company with greater responsibilities is the clearest signal you can give that you have what it takes to succeed in the MBA and in your career thereafter.
If you have concerns or questions about whether or not your work experience would be considered relevant for an MBA program, please ask your questions in a comment below or access our advice privately.
Questionable Work Experience for Top MBA Program? (Originally Posted: 05/04/2010)
Hey All,
Just wanted to get some opinions on whether my MBA aspirations are in touch with reality. I'm a big believer in "Go Big or Go Home" and so I don't plan on spending 100k on grad school unless I go to a top-10 program. I graduated in December from Cornell with a 3.5 GPA in Econ. GPA could have been higher but I also played a sport, was a teaching assistant, and a research assistant for multiple semesters. I did three summer internships at Morgan Stanley in the GWM analyst program during college, but couldn't pull any offers for a full-time analyst progam out of college due to my December graduation date (an insider told me they only hire Spring graduates for them). As a result I ended up at Bloomberg's analyst program where I'll essentially be helping buy and sell-side traders and analysts with their terminal questions. It requires me to have a very functional knowledge of the markets so I'm getting a decent education while I'm here.
The more I learn about FX/Comm/Equities/Derivatives, the more interested I become in Asset Management and trading. I'd love to do a Finance concentration at a top MBA program a couple of years from now. My question is whether or not this type of work experience (not banking) will knock me down a peg come application time. I'm assuming I can hit 700+ on my GMATs. Thoughts? Suggestions on what else I could add to my resume?
Cheers.
if you have a track record of getting commendations and/or a promotion than that would look fine (my guess). Or why not try to get an entry level asset management position after a year or two at bloomberg?
Can I realistically grab a worthwhile offer from an asset management division of a BB without any prior experience? I figured not, so I assumed going straight to B-School would be my best bet.
That type of position is perfectly fine for work experience.
top 10 MBA programs want diversity, they only hire about 10% of bankers and consultants for each class, the rest varies from the Peace Corp to teach for america to doctors, etc... so, your background will set you apart from the typical banker who's applying.
This figure is false. Though they do want diversity, they typically take around 30% from finance and 20% from consulting.
Your plan sounds goods as long as you get few promotions along the way to show your competency.
I'd recommend that you perfect bloomberg, and your knowledge of the markets. During your first year study for the CFA. Once you pass apply to some AM analyst positions. With your year+ experience and your CFA Level I you should probably be able to land a job. Then take it from there. At that point you may not even want to go to bschool.
Fair warning about Bloomberg - I'm assuming you're in the global data training program? They like to pass it off as something that takes a lot of skill in finance, but you're basically doing data entry and working the helpdesk. It's not a bad gig to start out in, but be sure you get something else lined up in a year, two years at the latest. Though, I think they pay for your CFA while you're there, so that's a nice perk you should take advantage of. Free snacks too!
If you can network well, try to get an interview with S&T or AM after bberg. IBD is probably out, but you should be able to get into a top MBA if you can get an AM job and a solid GMAT.
Best of luck!
And be sure to talk up your varsity sport experience - finance types get major chubbies for athlete's resumes.
Undergraduate at 29 best work experience for MBA business schools">M7 MBA (Originally Posted: 02/08/2018)
I am currently going to college and will not graduate until I am about 29 years old. I was interested in IB but it seems my age would be a problem. My goal in the future is to get into an MBA business schools">M7 business school for my MBA. What career path would you recommend so I can get the optimal work experience required asap to get into a top MBA program considering my age? The goal is to work the least amount of years to satisfy MBA business schools">M7 business school requirements. Thanks.
Hi shanongao, just trying to help:
Calling relevant professionals! catchingsignals Londonista notthehospitalER
Hope that helps.
How is Deutsche Bank IB experience viewed by MBA admins (Originally Posted: 10/14/2014)
Hi,
Ive been working as an investment banking analyst with Deutsche Bank in a regional office and wanted to know how the top bschools view DB applicants.
I should be able to get reasonably strong recommendations from my top-heavy team and expect to be a top rated analyst this year too
cheers
Nvm.
how would it help which regional office? its not going to change his chances for better or worse.
Its a well known company, especially among Ad-coms, so I would think it would be great to have that on your resume, regardless of location. I don't they have the NYC or bust mentality that most of us do.
Im based in Asia where we are a top 5 ranked bank across everything and my only MD is country head of my sector
How much to Business schools value work experience in applications? (unique work experience) (Originally Posted: 12/29/2017)
Currently an undergrad senior (finance) at Kelley with a 3.1 GPA who would like to transition into banking after an MBA
After school I was planning on working as a deckhand on a super yacht, as I will get to travel the world while I'm young and get paid to do it. I have a lot of connections to the yachting industry and this is something I've always wanted to do.
After 2 years I was hoping to return to the US for an MBA and transition into banking from there
Is this idea feasible? Would MBA programs be turned off by my yachting work ?
You have an uphill battle. What does working as a deckhand have to do with banking? That's exactly what business schools will think, if they don' trash your application after seeing a 3.1. Just my two cents. I suggest you find a significant hook to your application.
This isn't "unique" work experience, it's crappy work experience. What applicable business skills are you going to learn after two years of yachting? You sound like a wannabe jerkoff playboy, not someone who's focused on adding value to a corporation or professional services firm. Do you think getting into a top 10 business school is a cakewalk? You really think the kids from fucking White Squall are crushing models and bottles today?
You're coming from a decent undergrad with a shitty GPA and it doesn't exactly sound like you have a McKinsey or Goldman offer in your back pocket. If you really want to join the big leagues, it's time to buck up and get on the horse. It's going to be an uphill battle for you to get into a top business school at all at this point.
Birdbath,
Bschools will like the international exposure, be impressed by your sense of adventure, and wonder what does this have to do with business. If you work allows you to assume leadership or organizational roles on the boat, that will be helpful. But the top programs may be concerned about your 3.1 and most MBA programs will want to see some business experience before you start your MBA. If you combine the deckhand work with a couple of years of banking or business related work, your deckhand duties may actually be helpful to you. (And a high test score is going to be really important given your GPA)
Linda
Is highlighting un-glamorous past experience good/bad for b-school applications? (Originally Posted: 12/26/2011)
Hey,
So we read about all these work / volunteer experiences that the b-school adcoms look favorably upon. But what about those experiences that are not very glamorous?
I'm only asking because, from many sources, I have heard that coming up with a good story is extremely important in b-school applications, and also that showing progress (making improvements, going from one step to another, higher step) is important.
I don't come from an exemplary b-school applicant background. I worked as a part-time janitor in high school, and I also worked in a factory as a manual labor worker the summer after my freshman year in college for money.
Even though things are quite different for me now, (working in consulting in a big metro market) I was just curious if mentioning these experiences and trying to argue that I've been making progressive strides career-wise was a smart move when applying to b-schools.
What are your thoughts? Thank you.
I don't think it could hurt to put it on...if anything it shows that you were willing to put in time at a less than glamorous job to make some cash rather than sit around all summer like a lot of people. The improvement thing is also huge
thumbs up
I think it's a good idea and would show your commitment to bettering yourself rather than waiting around for it.
It's all about framing. Did you learn something valuable / applicable from those experiences? If you did (and I assume it was humbling / interesting / etc.), it could be worth bringing up for the right question.
yeah, of course. Those two jobs were definitely the most unsanitary, difficult (physically) and depressing experience I've ever had in my life. On one hand, they prove to be a good low point for me, because whenever I was having down time or stretches of slumps later, I could recall back to those times and think "but compared to those times, this isn't THAT bad..." On the other hand, they were humbling experience for the aforementioned reasons and be appreciative of everything in my life and take positive views.
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