How to answer: Post MBA Plans

Question

How should I answer essay questions pertaining to post mba plans? Do i have to be very specific about the industry and function? ie Tech as Biz Dev, Financial Serv as Consultant, etc...

domotron · Answer

Yes definitely map out your planned career trajectory and be as specific as possible.

For example, Product Manager at Google is better than I want a career working with a product in tech post-mba.

fxMBAconsulting · Answer

Hi,
Your post-MBA career goals should make sense to the adcom first and foremost. Even if you don't know exactly what you want to do long-term you should have some idea of what you would like to do short-term. If you want to go into consulting post-mba perhaps you would move back into your current industry (in a different role) following 2-5 years in consulting...there are lots of options. The Adcom and career services want to make sure that they have the resources available to help you with your post-mba job placement - your goals should align to some extent with a particular school's resources.
Best,
Leah Derus
fxmbaconsulting . com

MBAPrepSchoolTeam · Answer

This is a great question, notadmin23, and one worth considering from a couple of different perspectives:

1) Ad Coms: Ad Coms ask this question largely for two reasons: (1) to make sure that the students on campus represent a diversity of future career paths and, (2) to make sure you know why you're going to business school. For the first, there is no right or wrong answer; they really want to know where you're going to fit in terms of the overall balance of the class. For the second, they want to know that you've really given your future career some thought and that you're not just looking for a two year vacation. Recruiting at business school generally happens at break-neck speed and, if you haven't some clue where you want to go, it's easy to get completely overwhelmed by the process.

2) You: See the last point above. Even if what you really want is that two year vacation, you are going to have to contend with the realities of the B-school job market very soon. If you don't know what your career aspirations are, recruiting can be a very trying time. So, put some thought into this before you show up; you'll be happy that you did.

In terms of specifics, it's nice to know what the short- and long-term plans are but you don't want to be overly defined. You want to appear as highly employable, not just committed to one specific job at one specific company. Speak in terms of functions, industry, types of companies. This keeps your options focused but your potential employers broad.

Hope this is helpful and best of luck in your application process,
MBA Prep School

MBAbot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club MBAbot: 

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

 This post was generated automatically.

How to answer: Post MBA Plans

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards