MBA Specialization

The days when just having an MBA degree was a competitive edge are long gone. As more MBA holders enter the job market, employers are looking beyond an MBA to find the right candidate.

This is not to say that MBA holders are not currently in demand. Among the many types of business degrees, employers still find an MBA degree desirable. The real differentiating factors are where you get your MBA and what specialization you add to your MBA.

As businesses become more focused, many industries require that their executives and managers possess specific skill sets. In this environment, getting a generalized MBA won’t help you as much as an MBA with an added specialization specific to your chosen industry. After deciding to pursue an MBA, pick a focus, for instance Accounting or IT Management, and build your MBA curriculum around that specialization.

This information is also valuable in choosing a school. Knowing what specialization you’d like to pursue will help you weed out schools and programs that don’t meet your specific career requirements. An MBA program taught by an instructor who also has experience in your specialization should be considered along with schools and programs that are highly regarded.

The Secrets of the Effective MBA Essay

Your MBA admission essay is an important exhibition of your potential. There are some very easy ways to ensure that your MBA essay communicates both your desire to purse an MBA and your value to the school.

The first rule? Check your aspirations to write the great American novel at the door. Weak writers tend to overstate their case, use fancy words, and pepper their papers with colloquialisms. These mistakes should be avoided if you want to impress admissions officers with your MBA essay. Here are some other rules that should be in the back of your mind:

Topic Choice: Nothing spells disaster more quickly than a topic that is uninteresting. Many MBA essays focus on Mom and Dad and family hardships. If you want to stand out, find innovative ways of calling attention to your upbringing. Try hard to NOT become a cliche (or at least don’t try TO become a cliche).

MBA Essay Length: Communicate your idea in as few words as possible. Just because the school doesn’t put a cap on MBA essay length doesn’t mean there is no limit. The key to great writing is: Concise with Detail.

Avoid Overly Creative Writing: It’s hard to write a poem as an MBA admission essay without it coming off as an ode to Dr. Seuss. If you’re going to do it, you better have a background in poetry.

Keep these rules in mind and your MBA admission essay should work for you rather than against you.

Minority MBA Associations

People from all walks of life pursue an MBA. In fact, one of the biggest reasons to pursue an MBA degree is the opportunity for interaction with people of different backgrounds, races, cultures and perspectives.

But at the same time, it’s good to connect with others with whom we share common threads. MBA associations, such as the National Black MBA Association, are groups that can help you stay connected to people who share your background and education once you complete your MBA program. Two of the more prominent ethnic MBA associations are the National Black MBA Association and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs.

The National Black MBA Association has 39 chapters all over the United States. The National Black MBA Association is a professional membership organization of black graduates with MBAs, advanced degrees, and/or are entrepreneurs. Their goal is to increase the number and diversity of successful black people in the business community.

The National Society of Hispanic MBAs was created in 1988, has 28 chapters and more than 6,000 members in the United States and Puerto Rico. Known as the Premier Hispanic Organization, the NSHMBA exists to foster Hispanic Leadership through graduate management education and professional development. Another goal of the NSHMBA is to prepare Hispanic leaders for positions in a corporate America that has seen a steady increase in the number of Hispanic workers.

Some of My Best Friends

Hmm, looking back on this blog, I realize that it looks like almost every person I know has an MBA. This is not true: some of my best friends are mathematicians. And artists. And architects. And even computer scientists.

But I do seem to know a lot of people with MBAs. Maybe because so many more people realize what a great career advantage they can have with an MBA.

How many people who you know have MBAs? What are they doing with their lives right now?

Busy People

I’m trying to put together an MBA network of people, for this blog and for the purpose of professional development. But I’m finding the process a bit frustrating (although I suspect that when I get it rolling, it is going to be really successful.) As with many good people, everyone is really busy, and I’m finding it difficult to get through to talk to people.

Although I can email everyone, of course if the email is not at the top of their priority list they simply read it and leave it alone; so I use this as a first pass, and then ring everyone and talk to the email.

Most people are sort of interested but they want further information – sort of a put off. However, I suspect as in all these things, persistence will pay off in the end.

What is Good for You

Finishing your MBA studies can be a time of stress as well as success. I was talking to a candidate for a job that I am recruiting for, who finished his MBA last year. He worked really had during his period of study and had a degree of success that was greater than he had expected. But ironically, when he finished he felt burnt out, and could not concentrate on finding the job he wanted.

He sensibly decided not to worry too much, and took a job to fill in the time while he recovered. Now he is looking for the right job without having to hurry, and with the security of having completed his studies he finds that the jobs that he is attracted to are rather different from those he thought he would want during his time studying for his MBA.

I didn’t offer him the job – he wasn’t right for it, and he also thought that he would not fit in. However, if the right vacancy came along I would welcome him onto the team – he is educated, knowledgeable and he knows both what he wants and what is good for him.

Confidence

I’m amazed that some people think that business schools choose students on the sheer basis that they are going to be successful in the MBA program.

Actually, many universities –  especially the best universities — look more at the student’s potential to have a successful career. They become self-perpetuating in that they select the people who meet the profile that the selectors themselves fit, and therefore gain success at university.

I can’t personally make up my mind how good or bad this is. My experience employing graduates from Cambridge University in the UK is that you get a certain kind of person, not necessarily the most original thinker, or the person who can cope best with life, but someone who has bags of confidence (even arrogance) and who can use their intelligence well.

Follicly challenged MBAs

A rather amusing survey carried out by CBA consulting has suggested that men who gain MBAs are more likely to go bald than those that haven’t. Apparently there could be a link between high testosterone and baldness, and similarly for men who are ambitious – a trait likely to influence the likelihood of gaining an MBA.

I’m not sure whether I needed to know this or not – is it going to affect the selection procedure; will it affect GMAT scores? Whatever, I don’t think it will make much difference to my perception of good managers.

Chinese Puzzle

My Chinese contact for a joint MBA program is becoming interesting. We have started to talk about assessment and the need for academic rigor. The Chinese approach seems to involve knowing exactly what each mark is for, and in what circumstances it gets awarded. Our approach is that although marks are awarded for some specific items, there are also marks that can be awarded because of the general quality of the work.

Rules seem all important for the Chinese, an attitude that I found (with a different twist) in Russia. We are much more flexible when we are considering graduate degrees, and the importance for us is to have original work, or work that is done using other academic work as reference, but being able to analyze and synthesize.

We need to hammer out these differences now; if we have these differences with the institution, I can only surmise that the students will be even harder to deal with.

Career Progression

Gaining your online MBA may be the most important career move you ever make. Bureau of Labor statistics prove that gaining your MBA means that you can expect one of the highest average salaries of all graduates. Your MBA puts you well up the ladder of success in your management career.

By studying online you can make this career step without having to give up your full-time job. Studying and working means you do not have to sacrifice your standard of living in order to gain the qualifications needed to ensure your future progress.

Take a look at the online MBAs that are advertised on the Web, and make sure you start your career progression now.