Build MBA Relationships Before You Hit The Submit Button
An MBA candidate recently asked me about the timing of building relationships with school representatives, wondering if it is important to build a relationship with schools before applying or whether it was OK to apply and then build relationships. The short answer: you should build relationships before you hit the submit button!
Developing relationships in the MBA application process is critical. These relationships are immensely beneficial as they can:
- strengthen your MBA applications,
- improve your MBA admissions odds, and
- grow your professional network.
Learn more in Relationship Management during the MBA Admissions Process.
The first two benefits of relationship building in the application process listed above are only realized if you make contact before applying to MBA programs. MBA admissions officers, alumni and students can help you understand your MBA value proposition and opportunities generally and at particular MBA programs. This insight will help you determine the programs that are the best fit for you and strengthen your MBA story for essays, interviews and other parts of your application.
Additionally, by building relationships before applying you may be able to improve your odds of admission. In my experience in admissions, it was so much harder to deny a candidate that I knew than saying no to a candidate that I had never met. When I knew the candidate, I was denying a person. When I didn’t know the candidate, I was denying a profile. Admissions decisions don’t turn on relationships so don’t stalk admissions officers thinking you can sway their decision in your favor with a little schmoozing. But know that where you have done your homework on an MBA program, taken the time to meet admissions officers and others, it may pay dividends later – possibly making the difference between your application being placed in the admit pile versus landing in the waitlist heap.
Your professional networking is always in need of enhancement, but that doesn’t need to be frontloaded in the application process – you can build your professional network after hitting the submit button. Be mindful though, that MBA alumni may be more inclined to talk to you when they have the added challenge of convincing you that you should apply to their MBA program (or convincing you to attend if you have been admitted).
You want to build relationships as early as you possibly can and continue to do so throughout the admissions process. Relationship management never stops!
Worried about building MBA relationships? If you don’t have a built in network of MBA alumni and students or aren’t able to attend a school’s admissions events, visit What if I Don’t Know Any MBA Alumni? Strategies for Growing Your Network
