{"id":30146,"date":"2015-08-20T10:41:40","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T17:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=30146"},"modified":"2016-07-27T16:04:18","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T23:04:18","slug":"why-applicants-should-consider-a-schools-soft-skills-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/why-applicants-should-consider-a-schools-soft-skills-training\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Applicants Should Consider A School\u2019s Soft Skills Training"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Best<\/a>


<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Is success part of your DNA?\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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You need a lot more than an advanced degree to climb the old career ladder. Corporate recruiters are looking for newly minted MBAs to show leadership potential<\/a>, ability to work in diverse teams, and communication skills. These tools in the MBA toolbox fall under the umbrella of soft skills and were not actively taught by most business schools until relatively recently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why? To please employers, of course. Eighty-nine percent of recruiters in the just-released\u00a0<\/span>GMAC 2015 Corporate Recruiters Survey Report\u00a0<\/span><\/i>said that communications skills are a \u201ccritical factor\u201d when selecting whom to interview, second only to \u201cProven ability to perform\u201d and ahead of \u201cStrong technical and\/or quantitative skills.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cStrong writing skills\u201d are fifth with 56% of recruiters saying they are a critical factor.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why applicants are also becoming more interested in what\u2019s on the soft skills menu at their dream schools. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs we recognize that content, such as marketing and strategy, has become increasingly accessible, applicants are discussing what kinds of <\/span>skills<\/span><\/i> they will pick up at school,\u201d says Dan LeClair, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the accrediting organization, <\/span>Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).<\/span><\/p>\n

Many applicants will tell you they are looking for a program in which they can \u201cgrow,\u201d which is code for becoming a better leader. While they are not choosing schools based solely on their trust exercises, obstacle courses, or group therapy sessions, they are looking for something in addition to being able to read financial statements. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, when applying to business schools, James Rapuzzi says he was less impressed with rankings and core curriculum than the leadership training schools provided.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was more focused on finding out, \u2018What are you going to teach me that I don\u2019t already know?\u201d he says. \u201cAnd who will I be surrounded by and what can I learn from my classmates?\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, Rapuzzi, who graduated from the Notre Dame University Mendoza College of Business<\/a>\u2019 full-time MBA program in May 2015, says his greatest lessons came from group projects and communication coursework that had him giving speeches and writing in a professional manner. He recently moved to New York City, where he\u2019ll be working at an investment bank in its financial sponsors group, and he credits his communication and networking training for helping him get interviews and later a full-time job offer. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRecruiters are vetting you throughout the job search,\u201d adds Rapuzzi. \u201cThey are looking at you and asking, \u2018Are you the type I can put in front of a client? Is success part of your DNA?\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Octavia Costea, who graduated from Babson College\u2019s F.W. Olin School of Business in May 2015, shares a similar story. She sought programs that would help her with strategy, analytics, and entrepreneurial endeavors<\/a>, she writes in an e-mail. She too picked up soft skills nonetheless and adds she found herself taking advantage of resources that weren\u2019t required but helped her develop as a manager. <\/span><\/p>\n

When Costea was facing challenges with her cohort, she turned to the school\u2019s sessions on improving communication. \u201c<\/span>I tend to be direct, lay the problem on the table, talk it out and move on,\u201d adds Costea. \u201cHowever, non-confrontational people don't respond well to that approach. The speech center helped me understand that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For some schools, soft skills are old hat. Stanford Graduate School of Business<\/a> has been offering its most popular elective, \u201cInterpersonal Dynamics,\u201d which was long ago nicknamed \u201cTouchy Feely,\u201d for more than 40 years. Columbia Business School<\/a> has the Program on Social Intelligence, which includes a roster of courses designed to hone leadership skills. Other schools have begun offering retreats, lessons in meditation, and workshops with improvisational actors. The list goes on. <\/span><\/p>\n

Swimming through the information available on all these programs can be overwhelming for applicants. LeClair suggests applicants search for transformative experiences by asking business schools about opportunities for hands-on learning, personal coaching, and examples of how they demonstrate to potential employers the so-called softer achievements of their graduates. <\/span><\/p>\n

Today, soft skills are at the \u201cheart of the value proposition of an MBA education,\u201d says LeClair. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is changing,\u201d he adds. \u201cOur success will depend less on what we know than our ability to frame and reframe problems, communicate, and think creatively.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Best<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Accepted:<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0MBA Project Search: Matchmaking for MBAs and Businesses<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0The Hottest Skills that will Land You the Hottest Jobs<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0Have an Open Mind, Learn Skills, Build Relationships: Darden MBA Interview<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You need a lot more than an advanced degree to climb the old career ladder. Corporate recruiters are looking for newly minted MBAs to show leadership potential, ability to work…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,243],"tags":[1048,1230,1896],"class_list":["post-30146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-advice-for-mba-applicants","tag-leadership-essay-and-mba-admissions","tag-mba","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30146","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30146"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30146\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30157,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30146\/revisions\/30157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}