{"id":48272,"date":"2020-04-08T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=48272"},"modified":"2020-04-07T23:43:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T06:43:00","slug":"no-work-experience-want-mba-what-should-you-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/no-work-experience-want-mba-what-should-you-do\/","title":{"rendered":"No Work Experience. Want MBA. What Should You do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"No<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I used to travel to applicant fairs to represent London Business School<\/a>, I\u2019d commonly be approached by candidates asking, \u201cI want an MBA but don\u2019t have any full-time work experience. Can I study at your school?\u201d While the answer in that instance was \u201cno\u201d, the conversation never ended there. The discussion would then turn to the options for those who don\u2019t meet the work experience requirement of most MBA programmes, but who have the desire to pursue graduate management study and start making their mark in the business world. Two of the most commonly pursued paths for candidates in this situation include pre-experience masters programmes and deferred MBAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pre-experience \/ early career programmes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

These terms are used interchangeably, but they both refer to those programmes that cater to recent graduates (\u2018recent\u2019 meaning 0-3 years out of undergraduate). While this category started with the general management MiM (masters in\/of management<\/a>), the portfolio of programmes now includes masters in finance, innovation and entrepreneurship, and data analytics, to name but a few of the courses you might find available at business schools today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applicants fitting into this category are commonly referred to as pre-experience or early-career candidates, and this market continues to grow; according to the 2017 Tomorrow\u2019s Masters<\/em> report by CarringtonCrisp, \u201c67% of respondents were looking at a business master\u2019s programme as an alternative to an MBA\u201d. While pursuing a programme like a MiM doesn\u2019t negate the need for the MBA later down the road (indeed you will find individuals who have both a MiM and MBA), these programmes are excellent options for recent graduates looking to start their careers in the business world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a myriad of reasons as to why a graduate may want to pursue their studies now versus waiting to pursue an MBA \u2013 they may be looking to specialise in a specific area, such as finance or marketing early on in order to enter a specific function. Or they might be looking to \u201cconvert\u201d their liberal arts or science degree into a business career. Whatever the reason, these degrees provide graduates with an excellent foundation and help students build the skills, knowledge, careers support, and network to get a head start in their career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deferred MBA admissions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This may be slightly confusing considering the mention of MBA. What deferred admissions means is that you apply while you are in your final year of study (or just after) and before starting full-time work. If you are accepted, you receive a guaranteed seat to join after spending a couple of years in the working world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These programmes are a great option as they offer security (yay, no having worry about studying for the GMAT and writing your applications alongside your busy work schedule!) and add some clout to your resume (wow, already accepted to an MBA before even graduating? Impressive!). Of course as with anything there are pros and cons, so it\u2019s important to think about whether committing yourself to a deferred programme makes sense with your career aims, or whether you will need some flexibility and the ability to change path in those first couple of years after graduating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some programmes are open to students from any university (Harvard\u2019s 2+2), and others are open only to the school\u2019s undergraduate population (University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Moelis Advance Access Program). There are also scholarship programmes, such as NYU\u2019s William R. Berkley Scholarship Program, which not only provides early entry to their MBA, Tech MBA, or Fashion & Luxury MBA, but also full funding. Regardless of entry criteria or offering, these programmes are incredibly competitive, so you\u2019ll need to prepare your best application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some other options currently on the market (as of March 2020) that you may want to take a closer look at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n