The Real Value of LinkedIn with Respect To B-School? Determining your Realistic Goals
In a recent GMAT YouTube live session, Paul Lanzillotti, admissions expert and founder of Amerasia Consulting, gives valuable advice. How to leverage LinkedIn for your MBA Research? He specifically talks about determining realistic goals using LinkedIn and how to go about it. Let’s summarize the key points.
What's the real value of LinkedIn with respect to business school?
Determining how realistic your business school goals are — especially your short-term goal — as well as what business schools are the most appropriate for your goals.
Overwhelmingly, b-schools will look at your short-term goals from a recruiter's point of view. “Can the applicant achieve their stated short-term goals given their current work experience and an MBA?”
This is why "career changers" are almost never rewarded. It doesn’t matter if you think you can make the transition, you have to consider your competition — all those MBA applicants who already have relevant experience.
In general, don't make the admissions committee's job more difficult for them. Don't make them say, “I like this applicant's background, but unfortunately his or her goals are just whack.”
Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule. Notably, those from non-traditional, non-business backgrounds. But chances are you are not that of a unique snowflake.
Regardless, if you do your research, you'll never put the admissions committee in this awkward and enviable position. If you don’t do your research, the admissions committee won't make excuses for you. They'll just move on. No one is that special.
Put another way, unless you really have something unique to offer, why would they take a chance on you when they don't have to?
So do your homework upfront - and of course, a good deal of this due diligence can be done using LinkedIn.
Approach your research with these questions (and by searching LinkedIn):
Who else — from my current (or recent) employer — has gone on to graduate business school?
What specific MBA programs? When I search LinkedIn, is there a critical mass of business schools? What does this Pareto chart look like?
What title(s) did my colleagues hold before entering business school (pre-MBA)? Does my progression approximate theirs? Is mine better?
For example, is my progression "fast track"? For example, do I have more awards at work? (Don't worry about salary for now.)
Be sure to find a good mix of first year students, second-year students, and young alumni. (Older alumni may represent hiring trends no longer relevant at the school, but not always.)
Where did these individuals intern as MBA students, what geographic locations -- was it in the US or “back home"?
What group(s) within their respective companies? What type of projects did they work on as an intern?
Where was their first post-MBA job — name of firm, starting title, and location? What projects did they work on?
Overall, is there a general consensus or overarching trend?
Hint: there should be.
Keep searching. How many profiles can you find on LinkedIn?
If you can't find a critical mass of profiles that approximate yours (for each b-school targeted), that means 1 of 2 things:
Your LinkedIn search game is weak.
Or — your background may not be appropriate for the program you are targeting.
If #2 is the case, switch it up.
Either target another business school or change your goals.
I advise changing your goals to match what you see in the LinkedIn data.
If no one with your background is pursuing similar goals, it won't just be a problem at one b-school. Most likely, it will be a problem at all of them. When it comes to appropriate STGs, these schools aren’t all that different.
What about developing long-term goals?
Review profiles of alumni who have graduated longer ago.
Where did they end up? Pay attention to profiles that are more "aspirational" in nature.
Which aspirational profile aligns was something you would want to do.
Finding a "critical mass" of long-term goals is much less important here.
What's more important is finding a template for something you really want to do (and could do.)
So, if it's entrepreneurial, then go for it. Just make sure it builds upon your short-term goals.
If it doesn't, you may end up having to explain your long-term goals to a far greater extent. This will require sacrificing content from other essay components – notably your short-term goals and your "why this MBA program" paragraphs.
What about backup goals?
Backup goals should never compete with your primary short-term goals.
Instead, they should offer an alternative path towards your long-term goals.
You should be more conservative than your primary short-term goals.
A good backup goal would be to return to your current employer, but in a post-MBA role.
However, this backup goal will only make sense if it serves as an alternative path towards your long-term goal.
If it doesn't, then take a look at those LinkedIn profiles you mined.
On the Pareto chart of short-term goals, what else was there? This could serve as inspiration for your backup goal.