Join Stratus Senior MBA Admissions Counselor Donna Bauman (Kellogg MBA) and MBA Admissions Counselor Melisa Prevost (Haas MBA) as they share examples of people who have made successful career transitions through the MBA degree. Register for “How to Change Careers with an MBA” on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, at 7:00 pm ET.
Most people pursue an MBA to make some sort of change in their career. Career changes encompass four different factors: level, location, industry, and function. The more factors that you want to change, the more important it is to find the right MBA program to help you make that change. Here are some tips to help you assess the scope of your desired career change and craft a story that will enable an admissions committee to understand why you want to make that change:
Start with the end in mind.
Define what you want to do in the short and long term. For your short-term goal, identify a role/function at a sample company (e.g., to work as a brand manager at a company like Nike). While the role/function shows what you want to do, the sample company gives an indication as to the size of company and the industry in which you want to work. For your long-term goal, think about where you want to be aspirationally or what big problem you want to solve. Following our brand manager example, do you want to launch your own wellness company, or do you want to be the CMO of a large wellness-focused brand?
Explain why this goal makes sense for YOU.
Many applicants ask if they need to share a personal story from their childhood to explain their post-MBA goal. The answer is “Maybe,” and it depends upon the scope of your change. If you are looking to change two or more factors, you will need to explain why you want to make this move. This explanation can leverage professional or personal experiences and inspirations to tell part of your story. If you work in consulting and want to enter the industry of your favorite project, then your work experience might be the best way to explain why. In contrast, a personal story is important if you are changing to an industry or function tied to a personal interest. If you want to move to fintech from consulting, then a personal story about how you have volunteered to teach personal finance might be a part of your story.
Assess your transferable skills/experiences.
Start by finding a job description for your ideal post-MBA job, and then identify the skills you might already bring to that role. Have you managed or developed budgets? Managed client relationships? Built a team? Your skills can come from personal experiences—and they should if something personal is driving your goals. If you want to transition to entertainment from finance, you might talk about how you learned English as a child by watching TV. What’s important is to convince the admissions committee that this change makes sense for YOU.
Define what you need from an MBA.
Leverage that same ideal job description to identify what you need from an MBA. Where do you need to grow? Identify skills that you can gain from an MBA. Mental check here: is the list of what you need larger than what you bring to the role? If so, your desired career change might be something bigger than you can achieve with an MBA alone, and you might want to re-assess whether this goal is the best first step for you. In such cases, identify another role you could take first that would help you grow into your ideal role.
Identify programs that can best fill your skill gaps.
Consider certificates, majors, institutes, and centers that might help you hone specific skills. Look at employment reports to see what companies are recruiting in your industry. Talk with students and alumni of different programs to understand what resources they leveraged. For example, if you are looking to move into impact investing, is there a fund you can help manage? Or if you want global exposure, what study abroad or global experiential learning opportunities are available? Explain what you will leverage at a specific program to gain the skills you need—and therefore be employable post-MBA.
Find others who have made similar changes.
Leverage your professional, personal, and academic networks as well as LinkedIn. Find others in your ideal role and investigate the path they took. If you want to create a new path yourself, present evidence that you are a path creator.
Identify the best type of program for you.
To accelerate your career or change job levels, a one-year, part-time, or executive MBA program can help you make that transition. If you are looking to change two or more factors, a full-time MBA will be more important to consider, as this program will enable you to build new skills through experiential learning opportunities and a summer internship. When making a larger change, an internship will allow you to build skills and establish a network in your new industry or role.
Research where graduates go.
If you want to change locations, understand where students from different programs go after graduation. Look at employment reports to see what companies and geographies are attracting that program’s graduates.
Explore your options.
If you are having trouble defining your goals, spend time doing informational interviews in industries/functions that you find interesting. Brainstorm what about your current job excites you and what impact you want to make in the world. Talk with a trusted advisor or mentor to identify different options.
An MBA can be a great launching pad to a new career. Telling YOUR story and why YOUR goals make sense for YOU is the most compelling and authentic approach you can take in your business school applications!