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Many business school applicants believe that MBA admissions committees have distilled their criteria for selecting candidates over the years and have in mind a specific “type” of individual they want. For example, within this world of stereotypes, applicants believe that Harvard Business School (HBS) is looking only for leaders, Kellogg is looking only for marketing students, Chicago Booth is looking only for finance students, and even that MIT Sloan is looking only for “eggheads.” Of course, these stereotypes—like most stereotypes—are inaccurate. Chicago Booth wants far more than one-dimensional finance students in its classes, and it provides far more than just finance to its MBA students (including, to the surprise of many, an excellent marketing program). HBS is not a school just for “generals”; among the approximately 950 students in each of its classes, HBS has a wide variety of personalities, including some excellent foot soldiers. So, at mbaMission, we constantly strive to educate MBA candidates about these misconceptions, which can sink applications if applicants pander to them.

By way of example, imagine that you have worked in operations at a widget manufacturer. You have profound experience managing and motivating dozens of different types of people, at different levels, throughout your career, in both good economic times and bad. Even though your exposure to finance has been minimal, you erroneously determine that you need to be a “finance guy” to get into NYU Stern. So, you tell your best, but nonetheless weak, finance stories, and now you are competing against elite finance candidates who have far more impressive stories in comparison. What if you had told your unique operations/management stories instead and stood out from the other applicants, rather than trying to compete in the school’s most overrepresented pool?

We think that attempting to defy stereotypes and truly being yourself—trying to stand out from all others and not be easily categorized—is only natural. Of course, for those of you who are still not convinced, allow us to share a quote from Stanford’s former director and assistant dean of MBA admissions, Derrick Bolton, who wrote on the school’s admissions website, “Because we want to discover who you are, resist the urge to ‘package’ yourself in order to come across in a way you think Stanford wants. Such attempts simply blur our understanding of who you are and what you can accomplish. We want to hear your genuine voice throughout the essays that you write, and this is the time to think carefully about your values, your passions, your hopes and dreams.”

Makes sense, right?

Is there a place for introverts at work? Yes!

Many successful CEOs and leaders, such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffett, are self-proclaimed introverts. In fact, the CEO Genome project examined more than 900 CEOs and found that more than 50% of those with superior results were actually introverts. This makes perfect sense, considering that introverts bring introspection and a calm and thoughtful approach to problem solving. They build meaningful connections and show real passion for the job.

We at mbaMission have curated a few tips to help introverts succeed in the workplace:

1. Accentuate your strengths. Be an observer and absorb as much information as possible. Then use your knowledge to make contributions, such as by asking questions and proposing well-thought-out solutions during group discussions.
2. Display confidence. Use direct eye contact and confident body language; you do not need to overly self-promote for others to perceive your self-assurance.
3. Take time to recharge. Understand what overstimulates (i.e., exhausts) you. Find ways to minimize those things—perhaps by carving out alone time every day at work. Do not plan a group lunch every day, for example.
4. Give yourself time to prepare. Ask for meeting topics in advance so you can develop your talking points beforehand and familiarize yourself with them.
5. Embrace individual interactions. Build your network by getting to know colleagues one-on-one first, rather than trying to get noticed in group settings.
6. Reframe your networking. Change your approach at events. Set a goal of having a meaningful conversation with one or two people. Building strong connections with a few people can help your career just as much as having many casual acquaintances.

And most importantly, recognize that introverts come in many different types. Believe in the value of your introversion tendencies, and leverage them to be an effective contributor, leader, entrepreneur, and decision maker.

For more information on introverts in the workplace, check out Susan Cain’s TED Talk The Power of Introverts and the Harvard Business Review articles “Can Introverts Survive in ‘Extroverted’ Careers?” and “Stop Telling Introverts to Act Like Extroverts.”

Aspiring MBA students increasingly desire careers with social impact, ones that allow them to make a difference in the world. Many are prioritizing impact over financial reward. As a result, we have seen a significant shift in the MBA landscape, with business schools introducing new coursework and resources related to social impact.

If you are an applicant seeking to integrate social impact with your business degree, how should you go about researching your career and program options?

Before we dive in, let us take a look at the social impact careers that are possible for MBAs. Many avenues exist to a profession with social impact. Here are several paths we have seen in our work with MBA candidates:

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
• Social impact consulting
• Impact investing
• Sustainability/cleantech
• Supply chain/sustainable sourcing
• Nonprofits/foundations
• Corporate roles (e.g., marketing, finance) within socially responsible companies
• Social enterprise/social entrepreneurship

Once you have identified the areas of social impact that interest you, gather information to confirm your career goals. Look for job openings on LinkedIn and other job search sites that have a social impact focus, such as Net Impact and Idealist. Network and speak with people in your target areas of social impact. Ask them how they got to where they are today, what skills enable their success, and what experiences helped prepare them. Also, check out these blog posts by our mbaMission Career Coach on Identifying Your Career Goals and the Four Key Qualities of a Successful Job Seeker.

Next, self-evaluate to identify how your background aligns with your desired roles. What skills and experiences do your target positions require? Do you have any significant gaps in your skill set? Earning your MBA should help close many of them (more on that later), but you could still consider pursuing a certification, investing in online coursework, participating in more regular volunteering to show your passion for social causes, join a DEI committee or CSR efforts at work, or seek out a junior board position to demonstrate leadership within a nonprofit organization.

Lastly, as you think about how the MBA fits into your social impact career path, look for business schools that have robust opportunities related to social impact. We have highlighted a few such programs in the past (including Berkeley Haas, the Yale SOM, and Duke Fuqua), but this list is rapidly growing. Depending on which area of social impact interests you, we also recommend Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, UPenn Wharton, Chicago Booth, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, Dartmouth Tuck, Michigan Ross, NYU Stern, and Oxford Saïd. Consider downloading free copies of mbaMission Insider’s Guides and International Program Guides to learn more about these schools and what they have to offer with respect to social impact.

As you research school options, we recommend you focus on three keys areas:

1. Career: Dig into each school’s employment report. Some programs publish the percentage of graduates going into the nonprofit sector, but look beyond that percentage because many social impact careers can be categorized in other industries (e.g., consulting, finance). Sometimes, schools also report the percentage of graduates focused on impact across sectors. For instance, Berkeley Haas indicated that 18% of its 2022 graduates accepted a role with a social impact component. Also, check to see if you can find several desirable organizations on the school’s major employer list. Talk to students (or recent alumni) to get their take on social impact career opportunities. How supported are/were they in their social impact career search?
2. Curriculum: Look through the program’s academic offerings and resources thoroughly. Does the school have an impact-focused major or concentration, such as UPenn Wharton’s new DEI and ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) concentrations? Does it have a center that focuses on impact, such as Chicago Booth’s Rustandy Center? Does the curriculum include at least five or six elective courses related to social impact? Are lab courses available that provide real-world exposure, such as the Yale SOM’s “Social Impact Lab”? Do any of the school’s professors conduct research in the areas of social impact that interest you?
3. Community: Familiarize yourself with the school’s extracurricular resources and student culture. Are any student clubs focused on social impact, such as Net Impact? Does the program offer conferences or case competitions related to social impact, such as Berkeley Haas’s Patagonia Case Competition? Are board fellowship opportunities available, such as Fuqua on Board at Duke Fuqua? Are scholarships offered for students pursuing social impact careers, such as Oxford Saïd’s Skoll Scholarship, or loan forgiveness programs? Is “impact” noted as part of the school’s mission statement or values?

We hope that by exploring your business school options with these questions in mind, you will be able to create a short list of programs that could equip you to pursue a career with impact. We at mbaMission have helped many MBA applicants on their way to pursuing social impact careers. If you would like more targeted guidance on identifying the right MBA program to pursue to help you launch your social impact career, we encourage you to sign up for a free 30-minute consultation with one of our admissions experts.

Scotland’s Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)—known as a leader in fashion education since the 19th century—inaugurated a fashion business school in London in 2013 and soon after opened a satellite campus in New York City. Rather than focusing on the design aspect of fashion, however, the GCU British School of Fashion offers a specialized business education with applications to the fashion industry, as the school’s then-director, Christopher Moore, explained in a BBC article when the new campuses were being revealed: “The remit of the school is clear: we are about the business of fashion. And while there are other great international design schools, we are quite different. Our aim is to be a leading school for the business of fashion.”

The GCU British School of Fashion’s MBA in Luxury Brand Management program aims to impart industry tools and skills related to such topics as consumer behavior, globalization, and strategic management. The school also professes a commitment to social responsibility, sustainability, and fair trade as part of its core values. With support from a number of British fashion brands, which have included Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, AllSaints, and the Arcadia Group, the school’s faculty also features a team of honorary professors and fashion industry leaders. The program was designed “to meet the growing demand for experienced managers who really understand luxury brand management in a global context,” the school’s website states. The school also offers programs in Luxury Marketing, Fashion and Lifestyle Marketing, and Fashion Business Creation.

London Business School has also taken steps to attract applicants with an interest in luxury brand management and retail. Although the school does not offer a degree on the subject, students can partake in numerous activities in the field throughout their studies. One of the most notable opportunities is the Walpole Programme in Luxury Management, a partnership with the Walpole British Luxury brand. The program equips students with the tools necessary to enter global management positions after graduation. Students take elective courses, visit companies, participate in workshops, complete internships, and work with a mentor from Walpole throughout the program.

The London Core Application Practicum (LondonCAP) module, which was launched in 2017, is a hands-on learning opportunity during which students work with companies on projects related to their interests—a notable past partner is the British Fashion Council. Students can also join the Retail & Luxury Goods Club, which is one of the largest clubs on campus, with reportedly more than 4,500 members. The group welcomes industry speakers and organizes career treks to such locations as Milan and Paris, in addition to hosting an annual e-commerce conference, whose past speakers have represented such companies as Net-a-Porter, Marks & Spencer, and LVMH. The theme of the Retail & Luxury Goods Club’s 2022 conference was “Learning from the Past Decade to Build a Better Future,” and the event welcomed such speakers as the founder of Stuart Weitzman, the managing director of The Savoy, and the president of The Business of Fashion.

Business school deans are more than administrative figureheads. Their character and leadership often reflect an MBA program’s unique culture and sense of community. Today, we focus on David Schmittlein from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

David Schmittlein first came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2007 after spending almost 30 years in the marketing department at Wharton. Upon joining MIT, Dean Schmittlein announced his top priorities in a press release: “to enhance MIT Sloan’s visibility and engagement with leaders of the business community, regionally and globally, especially among the school’s alumni. MIT Sloan should be a wonderful focal point for the professional lives and development of Sloan alumni and others in the broader MIT community who are engaged in business and innovation.”

In addition to enhanced global visibility, a significant focus of Schmittlein’s deanship thus far, according to MIT’s website, has been “to work with the faculty in creating new high-quality management education programs, to develop enhanced educational opportunities for current students, and to develop and disseminate business knowledge that has impact and that will stand the test of time.” In an interview with mbaMission, the school’s assistant dean of admissions at the time, Rod Garcia, remarked that one noticeable change since Schmittlein entered the position is that “the dean has placed a huge emphasis on concept-based action learning. We have our Entrepreneurship Lab, our [Sustainable Business] Lab, our China Lab, … among others. The movement toward these labs has accelerated during the dean’s tenure as he has engaged with our alumni around the world.”

For more information about MIT Sloan and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.