10 Tips Before Getting Your MBA

MBA stands for Master of Business Administration, a graduate degree that goes beyond the basics of business education and teaches leadership and technical skills needed to lead or manage a business.

Before pursuing an MBA, you should consider your career goals and motivations, research and select the right program for you, and prepare for the rigorous curriculum and significant time commitment by developing strong communication and time management skills. You also need to arrange financing, build a support network, and consider practical steps like taking prerequisite courses, brushing up on business fundamentals, or even pursuing a pre-MBA internship.

Some of the required aptitudes, as well as the know-how are soft skills required to navigate a successful business life, can and should be developed from before the MBA is completed, and during the time of completing it.

Some of the required aptitudes, as well as the know-how are soft skills required to navigate a successful business life, can and should be developed from before the MBA is completed, and during the time of completing it.

Before MBA students reach commencement, experts say, there are some things they should know from the beginning, such as the importance of connecting with classmates, attending recruiting events, participating in activities beyond the classroom and being willing to risk failure.

Understand the Different MBA Specializations

While a general MBA is right for some students, many will want to specialize according to their desired career path. Institutions offer a range of MBA specializations, and not every business school offers the same ones.

Utilize School Resources

Your graduate institution has a wealth of resources to help you succeed. If you aren’t sure what’s available, asking your professor or advisor (or enrolment team, if not yet admitted) is an excellent place to start. Take advantage of what you can, from your professors to your advisor to other professional staff members dedicated to your success.

Be aware that a MBA Degree Doesn’t Equal Guaranteed Success

People make the same mistake with their undergraduate degree or their chosen institution: no degree, no connection, nothing can absolutely guarantee career success. Yes, an MBA absolutely helps numerous professionals advance, work smarter, and offer more to their employers. But success still depends on an individual’s choices.

Business students should look at risks as opportunities for knowledge, it’s critical to not be afraid of taking risks and failing.

Prepare for Your Post-MBA Career

If you’re studying full-time, make it a part-time job to prepare for what happens post-MBA. If you wait until graduation day to start exploring options, you’ve likely waited far too long.

Even if you’re studying while employed in a career position, don’t wait until graduation day to test the waters — either with your current manager or with other firms.

It’s possible to have a job (or a promotion) lined up well in advance of your degree completion. Start preparing early and keep developing and maintaining any leads you have throughout your MBA program.

Lean on your colleagues

Some of the first connections you make won’t be alumni or faculty. The other students in your cohort are a resource worth investing in. Similar to your alumni network, your cohort has the potential to be your first points of connection into new businesses and markets. Some of them may even be potential employees of yours!

And in the short term, they can help you through the coursework. Learning in complete isolation is possible, but undergrad study groups exist for a reason. Imagine how much more powerful that concept can be in a graduate program where every student is intensely motivated to succeed.

Network with Alumni

Many master’s in business administration graduates report that the connections they made during their studies were nearly as vital as the studies themselves. Along with recruiting events, other activities outside the classroom are as important as what occurs in class, networks of students provide opportunities for gaining access to formal alumni networks.

Your MBA program has plenty to teach you. But unless you’re already working for your dream company, you’ll need a network of connections over the course of your career to help you reach your perfect job or find your way across the entrepreneurship path.

Get into the MBA Student Mindset

If you do already have career experience, you likely have some firm opinions about what works and what doesn’t. That’s good: you’ve attained some success, and you should be proud of that success.

But don’t let that experience or success stop you from learning everything you can or experimenting with concepts you’re initially sceptical of. That’s the MBA student mindset: a willingness to learn and experiment, always in search of better methods or ways to improve your current workflows and habits.

Refresh Your College Hard Skills

For some, this may mean studying for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), which is an integral element in some business school applications and may be required for admission to an MBA program. This isn’t a pass-fail exam; it’s a graded or ranked one, meaning the better you do, the better you’ll look to admissions departments. However, other schools do not require GMAT scores for some applicants – like Keiser University.

It may still be a good idea to refresh some of your college student hard skills before you start, even if you have significant business experience and don’t need to pass a standardized test. Maybe you haven’t written a formal college paper in a while, you can knock the rust off ahead of time. Revisiting research methods, APA formatting and even note-taking during a lecture can make the transition back to student life easier. Many business schools are aware of this shift for students and provide resources through their library or a writing studio.

Develop Your Soft Skills

Think about the most successful businesspeople you know. Are they unpleasant to be around? Hard to talk to? Bristly or avoidant?

There are exceptions to every rule, but you’re probably answering “no” to all those questions. Most people who are successful in business are (or at least know how to be) kind, empathetic, communicative, gregarious, and so on. They typically communicate effectively and are good listeners.

In other words, they have developed soft skills.

Why does this matter? Because a master’s in business administration isn’t going to spend much time teaching soft skills.

You’ll learn about analyzing data and business theory and all sorts of information and theoretical concepts that will help you excel in business. But all the business data in the world can’t make you a better communicator. It can’t make you kinder or friendlier, either. Those skills are just as vital, and we can all improve from where we are. So, start working on them today.

Gain Work Experience First

Your MBA experience will be exponentially more valuable if you wait until you’ve gained some work experience in your desired field before you enter. Though it’s not impossible for an MBA student to enter the program straight from undergraduate study, doing so may not be the right choice.

Current career professionals who already have work experience and are seeking to further their skills tend to benefit more from the MBA degree because they have a framework and a context for applying the things they’re learning.

Many MBA programs offer professionals flexible terms and schedules so they can continue working while earning their MBA.

Conclusion

Business is intrinsically linked to social skills and the field of humanities, not that it is required for you to be super outgoing and a very social person to become a great business man or woman. Yet skills such as empathy, know-how, good listening skills, social manners, and a good sense of how to source opportunities of human capital and business deals is always essential.

The degree of intuition required to navigate both your personal and business life, should be developed before enrolling an MBA course, along the same and for the rest of your personal and professional path.

Completing an MBA doesn’t guarantee you good professional opportunities – although it helps a great deal -, but being a good decision maker, holding a good judgement about people and situations, identifying the suitable connections and knowing how to manage your failures are jewels that will definitely help you to leverage your profile in your business journey.