MBA Personal Brand

What do other people think of you? What words would they use to describe you? Would you use those same words to describe yourself? When considering people from the different areas of your life, from work to social to volunteer to family life, would they describe you in similar ways? These questions essentially speak to your personal brand and how others perceive you.

As with well-known consumer products, you must (1) develop yourself (the product) by gaining skills, knowledge and experience and (2) define your brand by your actions and your work product. And finally (3) market your brand through your communication and your presentation (how you talk about and carry yourself).

• Step 1: Understand how an MBA will change your personal brand

  Your personal brand is defined by (1) the skills, knowledge and experiences that you have, (2) how you use those to add value for others, and (3) how that value is communicated. Your personal brand changes – what it looks like today will be different than when you finish your MBA. You will have a new set of skills, knowledge and relationships to leverage. Your task is to understand how the MBA will change you. I encourage you to personally think about your expectations for business school – what do you think is going to happen to you in the MBA?

• Step 2: Define your personal brand

  In the MBA application process, you must market yourself to Admissions Officers. To determine the most persuasive messages to sell Admissions Officers on your candidacy for their MBA program, first define your personal brand. This will serve as the basis for what you write in your MBA applications through your essays, resume, etc. and for how you talk about yourself, your values and your goals.

• Step 3: Incorporate your personal brand into your MBA story

  The purpose of defining your personal brand is to determine how you communicate who you are to others. After you define your personal brand, (1) check to make sure that what you are saying and doing are consistent with that brand and (2) determine how you further incorporate it into your messaging and actions.

Tell Your Story in the MBA Application

Completing an MBA application is a ton of work – not because there is a lot to do and write, but rather because there is such limited space to capture who you are and why that school should admit you. Follow these steps to tell your story in the most compelling way:

• Step 1: Understand what each school wants from MBA applicants

  You have done so much MBA research. You should understand your MBA value proposition and how getting an MBA will help you achieve your goals. You should know how different schools consider academic readiness, career and leadership potential and school fit. Now learn as much as you can about the schools’ application processes. The goal here is not to try to “game” the system, but rather to find out what is most important to each schools to determine the best ways to tell your story. For example, Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School does not require or accept letters of recommendation…seriously. If you are applying to Olin, this could change how you tell your story of teamwork, leadership and professionalism, because you can’t leave part of that story to your recommenders to tell. Now at Olin, they ask for two references so you still have to prep those references in the same way, in case they get the call, but you can’t rely on it.

• Step 2: Determine the MBA story that you want to tell

  Your MBA application should be the story of your accomplishment and preparedness and of your potential for greater success and impact. You will spend a great deal of time addressing questions that the Admissions Committee has about you. Take the time now to determine what you want the Admissions Committee to know about you. Determine how you will use every part of the application to your tell your story.

• Step 3: Use each application component to your advantage

  Use every application component (Application Form, Undergraduate and other transcripts, GMAT or GRE report, Resume – Work experience and activities, Essays, Optional Essay, Recommendations, Interview Report), to tell your MBA story – a tale of accomplishment and preparedness and of your potential for greater success and impact.

MBA Relationship Management

During the MBA application process, you should develop relationships that can strengthen your business school applications, support your school selection and grown your professional network.

Strengthen your MBA applications
There are countless numbers of people who have gone through the business school admissions process before you as candidates that can share their business school experiences to help you understand the MBA value proposition and the opportunities that attending business school can offer you.

Support Your School Selection
There are so many great business schools, and it can be difficult to figure out which ones are the right schools for you. Leverage relationships with MBA alumni and current students to learn about their schools, and also about how they choose which school to attend and why. Ultimately, you will have to decide what’s best for you, but get advice and insight from others so you make a thoughtful choice.

Grow your professional network
So often the alumni network is cited as the most valuable aspect of business school and that’s likely true for many MBAs. Engaging that network though doesn’t start on day 1 of your MBA program, it should start on day 1 of your MBA application process. When you conduct an informational interview with an alumnus to understand more about their experience, you are building your network. When you meet a fellow prospective MBA candidate at an admissions event, you are building your network. At this point, you are largely building your network for later use and you don’t know who is going to make the introduction, send you the job description, provide the funding or be the business partner to advance you toward career opportunities. So it’s important to cast a wide net.

• Step 1: Understand what relationship building opportunities that your schools of interest offers

  While there are some generally-accepted practices in building relationships with Admissions Officers, each school has its own preferences and offers different alternatives for relationship management. Conduct your research to find out what options your schools of interest provide for connecting with Admissions Officers, students and alumni. For example, University of Minnesota Carlson MBA program provides a “Lunch with Carlson” networking opportunity in which they provide information about the MBA program over lunch with other prospective students. This provides an intimate setting for developing relationships.

• Step 2: Set your relationship management goals based on your specific needs

  Relationship Management is a skill that you develop through practice. Determine your relationship management goals for the admissions process. Consider (1) Alumni and students that you will talk to as you determine your MBA value proposition, (2) School-specific relationships to understand the culture (to help you with school fit), (3) Relationships with your potential recommenders, (4) Relationships with admissions officers, (5) General relationship building (you can never know too many people!), and (6) Don’t forget about the contacts that you already have; it’s great to develop new relationships, but also utilize the contacts that you have already worked to cultivate and maintain

• Step 3: Meet Admissions Officers and tell your story

  To be successful in establishing relationships, you need to plan, prepare and practice. Have a relationship management plan, prepare yourself to put your best foot forward and then “go for it”. Relationship Management is a skill that you develop through practice and gets easier the more you do it. You will be learning from others, but remember that you also want to tell your story. You should be able to succinctly talk about (1) Your current job and background, (2), Your career goals and your MBA value proposition, and (3) Questions for the person with whom you are speaking

Prepare for the Financial Costs

Attending business school is a costly endeavor. Tuition alone can exceed $60,000 per year for some programs, and the total cost of business school extend far beyond that. While putting together great MBA applications may be your top priority, also consider how you will prepare yourself financially for business school.

• Step 1: Understand the costs and returns

  As you consider the significant costs of MBA programs, get a full understanding of the potential costs that you would incur for each of your schools of interest. Also calculate your anticipated returns, or the benefits that you expect to realize if you complete the MBA program. Particularly when estimating the return on your MBA investment, talk with people who are in the industries that you plan to pursue. This will help you not only understand the financial opportunities, but also the reach and impact that you could have.

• Step 2: Get your financial house in order

  Very few MBA students are able to pay cash for their MBA education – maybe some part-time students and those that are independently wealthy before school. Most MBA students will rely on a combination of savings, student loans, scholarships and a job (either a campus job or paid summer internship). You may need to take on some debt – that’s just the reality for most MBA students, but consider the following: (1) Saving even a couple thousand dollars will go a long way, (2) Credit worthiness is important in getting loans, particularly private loans so make sure your credit and credit score are as strong as possible, (3) You will need your credit cards so pay your balance off or substantially down, and (4) Living like a student is difficult after years in the working world. Scale back your spending as early as possible (this will also help you save).

• Step 3: Tell your story to minimize your financial costs of business school

  For a number of you, the cost of business school will be a determining factor in which MBA program you ultimately choose. It is especially important than that you tell your story to minimize the cost of business school. I’m not suggesting that you badger MBA admissions officers about the cost of business school – that is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Instead you should fully understand the available scholarship opportunities, how the recipients are selected and how you stack up (are you a competitive candidate – if not look elsewhere). In talking with Admissions Officers and others, remember that money can be a delicate topic. While it may be true, no school wants to feel like they have to pay you to attend their MBA program in the form of a scholarship.