Using an MBA to Change Careers

As an MBA admissions consultant, business school applicants often ask me whether it is appropriate to write about a desire to change careers in their applications. Some worry that expressing an interest in doing something different will negate the professional experience they have. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In my experience, many, if not most applicants to full-time MBA programs plan to make significant career changes, which is one of the reasons they are applying to business schools in the first place. Not only do business schools know this, they expect it. So they provide significant and varied resources to help students change careers.

Career Change Resources on Campus: From the Basics to More Customized Advice

Most business schools have a career services office with full-time staff dedicated to helping students determine their professional goals, find resources related to their industry of choice and prepare them for interviews and even contract negotiations. For instance, the Columbia Business School Career Management Center provides workshops on resume and cover letter writing as well as networking and industry-specific job search practices. It is staffed with full-time Advisors who provide one-on-one coaching and connect students with Career Fellows, second year students who serve as peer experts, and external professionals who serve as Career Coaches.

Columbia also offers the Executives in Residence program, through which students can meet individually with senior executives to get career advice. Executives currently include Jeff Zucker, former president and CEO of NBC Universal, Sabin C. Streeter, former managing director of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (DLJ) and real estate guru Leanne Lachman, President of her own real estate consulting firm, Lachman Associates, and Trustee of the Urban Land Institute.

Building Your Network and Getting Hired

In addition to providing a variety of options for individual professional guidance, business schools and student clubs help educate students on industries they are exploring or plan to transition to. For instance, change careers at Harvard Business School benefit from “Industry Weeks,” which are on-campus sessions that provide them with a basic introduction to industries in which they might be interested. They also cover opportunities and trends in those industries and provide advice on how to navigate the job search process in that industry.

For students who have researched their target industry, many schools and student clubs also provide students opportunities to visit companies in that industry. UCLA Anderson student clubs organize “Days on the Job,” which are onsite visits to companies around the world. These trips help students develop relationships with staff, learn more about the company and its recruiting process and what it’s looking for in candidates. Anderson clubs have organized Day on the Job events at companies including Toyota, Zynga, Google, Amazon, Disney and Taco Bell.

Business schools have begun to recognize that for some students, career change has more to do with geography than industry. So, schools like UCLA have designed resources like Anderson’s International Coaching Program for first year international students who want to work in the United States. The program helps students understand U.S. job search and work authorization processes and find American companies that hire international students.