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MBA admissions officers covet applicants who expect to lead significant family businesses because, simply put, they have a higher likelihood of career success. However, family business applicants do not get a free pass. They must still show that they have the professional skills and strong determination to do well in their long-term career. Here we share our top advice for MBA applicants who expect to run a family business after graduating from business school.

Show that you can earn it.

Top MBA programs might have a slight bias in favor of candidates who have a clear path to the CEO’s chair, but they absolutely have a bias against entitlement and privilege. Family business applicants need to demonstrate that they have not simply been handed one opportunity after another but can actually earn such opportunities on their own merits. Candidates who have worked outside the family business prior to applying to an MBA program can often establish this fairly easily, but those who are still working within the family business need to be sure that they can detail accomplishments that are independent from a family member. If you are currently working in your family business, you must be able to say you “owned” this accomplishment and can substantiate your depth of commitment in your interviews, essays, resume, and other parts of your application. In addition, maintaining significant engagement in community activities and pursuing personal goals can be quite important and helpful for individuals in a family business—including pursuing entrepreneurial ambitions—because doing so sends the message that they are capable of achieving success on their own.

Have your own vision.

The MBA admissions committees are less interested in applicants who plan to become CEO and then simply put the family business on autopilot. They want to see that you can honor the past while having your own ambitions and growth agenda, and that you intend to take what you learn from your MBA experience to propel your family business to the next level. The schools want to know that you can be a catalyst, not just a caretaker. So keep this in mind when sharing your goals in your personal statements or when responding to questions about your aspirations in your interviews. Never disparage the past, but clearly show that you have a personal vision for growth in a new area or a plan to change the company in an exciting way. Hypothetically, if you were in a third-generation manufacturing business, you could discuss anything from reinvesting in robotics to developing new product lines to diversifying profits into entirely different industries. The admissions committee will be less concerned about the specific path you describe and more concerned that the idea you have in mind is exciting and, most of all, yours.

Consider recommenders carefully.

That you should not ask a family member for a letter of recommendation should go without saying, but this does not mean that you lack strong options. Instead, you could ask, for example, a client, supplier, mentor, independent board member, or advisor to the family business to write on your behalf. What is most important is that whomever you ask to write your recommendation, you must advise them to not just be a cheerleader but to write a thoughtful and even critical letter, just as they would for any applicant. Your letter must clearly be objective because anything else could seem disingenuous and damage your candidacy. As long as their letter comes across as honest and thoughtful, your recommender can establish credibility and help your chances.

If you are a family business applicant and you have questions about how to manifest an “earn it” identity, how to communicate your vision for your firm, or whom to choose as your recommenders, we encourage you to sign up for a free consultation with an mbaMission admissions expert. We have worked with many family business applicants over the years and can answer your most pressing questions during this complimentary half-hour session.

This post was written by our resident Career Coach, Elissa Harris. To sign up for a free 30-minute career consultation with Elissa, please click here.

Many MBA candidates believe that business school will offer them time to explore different careers or gain clarity on their career goals. Unfortunately, this does not magically happen. Developing this kind of insight requires a significant time commitment on your part, along with a lot of targeted research and reflection.

So, what parameters and process for your research and reflection will yield maximize results without putting you into a circle of “analysis paralysis”? Consider the following seven tips:

1. Recognize that you will never have 100% perfect information to help you decide on your post-MBA career goals. For example, none of us could have predicted how things have unfolded since March 2020. Significant business challenges have arisen, but so have interesting new opportunities. Your career will be iterative and will likely include lots of twists and turns through which you will learn more about yourself and continue to find new positions that offer more fulfillment.

2. Hold yourself accountable to a process and timeline. Write down weekly and monthly goals and milestones, estimating the amount of time required for each, and then work backward. For example, if you plan to start school in August, ask yourself what you need to accomplish by the end of May, June, and July, respectively.

Schedule actual blocks of time on your calendar for your job search–related activities and write down the outcome of your actions; this will not only ensure that you do the tasks but will also provide tangible evidence of your progress.

3. Leverage your MBA program’s resources. Check and see whether summer self-assessment resources are available—perhaps access to external tools such as CareerLeader or internally developed exercises and industry-specific content. Read this blog post for tactical advice on starting your job search before you even arrive on campus.

4. Identify themes from your past experiences. Explore your previous experiences (go back to your brainstorming documents for MBA program applications) to figure out what key elements you want in your next professional role. Ask yourself questions like What did you like most at work (or in your extracurriculars), and why? What did you like least, and why? When were you at your best? What skills were you constantly praised for demonstrating? What type of problem solving excited you? What are you most curious about?

5. Conduct a 360-degree review. Ask five to seven (or maybe even more) people who know you well—managers, colleagues, direct reports, vendors, friends—for feedback and advice. Prompt them with specific questions, such as the following: What do you think are my biggest strengths? What skills do you think will be most beneficial to a long-term career? In what type of situations am I at my best? When have you seen me most engaged in something?

6. Narrow your options. Evaluate your best options, given the marketplace realities and your interests, skills, and risk tolerance. Use insights from items 4 and 5 to build a set of criteria/priorities for your target role. Identify two or three potential careers, then gather information on each pathway, noting any unanswered questions for future exploration.

7. Network to confirm areas of interest. Speak with people in your target roles, and focus your questions on areas of priority (e.g., if stability and a structured career path are important to you, ask questions on that topic). Seek to understand potential employers’ needs through questions such as these: What type of people are most successful in this role? What skills enable you to be successful in this role? What are the biggest obstacles you face on a day-to-day basis? What are the most effective strategies for job searching in this space?

Finally… although we understand that having someone simply tell you exactly what career to pursue would be great (and certainly much easier), we strongly believe that devoting the necessary energy to making this decision for yourself will lead to more success in recruiting and more satisfaction in the role you ultimately accept.

When the COVID-19 pandemic first struck, the MBA admissions world (like the rest of the world) was thrown into chaos. Admissions officers fretted that the candidates they had already admitted would not be able to travel to campus, so they opened their doors to new applicants—who could not take the usual entrance exams because the test centers were closed! The obvious solution in the short term? Programs such as MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, and Michigan Ross waived their testing requirements entirely. Then, as “take from home” GRE and GMAT options began to be offered, some admissions officers quickly reverted back to their original mandatory testing policies, while others allowed applicants to apply for test waivers, and still others expanded their testing options to include the Executive Assessment (EA), MCAT, DAT, and similar exams. So, which option is best for you? Should you take the GRE or GMAT, apply for a waiver, or target an alternative test?

Here are five reasons you might still need (or even want!) to take the GRE or the GMAT:

Your target MBA programs still require the GMAT or GRE.

The most obvious reason for taking one of the conventional tests is that at least for now, virtually all the top MBA programs still require these scores. Although this is subject to change, as of the writing of this blog post, only seven of the top 30 programs (Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, NYU Stern, Cornell Johnson, Texas McCombs, UNC Kenan Flagler, and UW Foster) offer applicants the opportunity to apply for a test waiver, and you have no guarantee that they will grant your request. So, unless your target programs are on that short list and your waiver requests are granted, you will need to take either the GMAT or GRE to keep your options open.  If you want to apply to Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, and/or UPenn Wharton, you need to get cracking on your GMAT/GRE studies. If you were hoping to avoid taking a test altogether, your options at the moment are quite few.

But wait, what about those alternative tests we mentioned? A small group of full-time MBA programs is accepting scores from such tests as the EA (essentially a mini GMAT), the MCAT, and the LSAT, among others. For now, the EA has the most traction in the MBA world because it is accepted by most Executive MBA programs and is thus more of a known entity among admissions officers. One of the nice things about the EA is that it is a threshold test, which means you simply need to achieve a minimal score to prove your competence, rather than having to match or exceed a target program’s lofty average.

While the option of taking the EA or another alternative test might be appealing, you will likely run into a  problem ¾ your target list is unlikely “covered’ by these alternative tests.. So, if you want to apply to a top-30, full-time MBA program with the EA or the LSAT, your options are likely to be limited. And when you are applying to your dream MBA programs, you do not want to limit your options!

Read the rest of this entry  

Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we profile Gautam Kaul from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

Gautam Kaul, professor of finance and the Robert G. Rodkey Collegiate Professor of Business Administration, teaches both core curriculum courses and electives. Kaul also served as the Special Counsel for Digital Education and Innovator in Residence at the University of Michigan from 2012 to 2018. He has served as a board member for the school’s Social Venture Fund since 2014.

In addition to referencing his intellectual capabilities, students with whom mbaMission spoke described Kaul as extremely friendly and having a great sense of humor. He is also known for his willingness to help students both inside and outside the classroom. In 2005, in direct response to student interest, Kaul developed the elective course “Finance and the Sustainable Enterprise.” In return, students recognized his efforts and awarded him the Sustainability Pioneer Award and a plaque in his honor on one of the chairs in the main auditorium of the university’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Kaul has been nominated for an MBA Teaching Excellence Award (which is voted on by the student body) numerous times, most recently in 2019, and he won the award five times. He is also the 2009 recipient of the Victor L. Bernard Leadership in Teaching Award from the university’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.

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

As we turn the page on a new business school admissions season, you might be one of the thousands of applicants wondering exactly what you will end up communicating to the admissions committees in your application essays. Those who plan to apply to Harvard Business School (HBS) or the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB)—two of the world’s most prestigious business school programs—might be especially nervous; HBS and the GSB have continuously vexed applicants with open-ended prompts: 

“As we review your application, what more would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy for the Harvard Business School MBA program?” (Harvard Business School)

“What matters most to you, and why?” and “Why Stanford?” (Stanford Graduate School of Business) 

We at mbaMission are proud to offer our “What Matters?” and “What More?”: 50 Successful Essays for the Stanford GSB and HBS (and Why They Worked) guide written by Jeremy Shinewald, Founder/President of mbaMission, and Liza Weale, Founder of Gatehouse Admissions, in partnership with Poets&Quants. 

Having helped hundreds of candidates gain acceptance to HBS and the GSB, Jeremy and Liza have pooled their collective experience to analyze a carefully curated collection of 50 successful essays to both schools, breaking down why each essay worked. The result is a truly essential guide to crafting essays confidently and effectively.   

“What Matters?” and “What More?”: 50 Successful Essays for the Stanford GSB and HBS (and Why They Worked) offers the following: 

• Actual HBS and Stanford GSB essays, submitted by past candidates who were ultimately admitted, along with expert commentary on the strengths (and sometimes weaknesses!) of each one
• Ten “pairs” of essays for HBS and the GSB, showing how the same candidate approached the two schools’ differing essay prompts
• Two essays by reapplicants, highlighting useful tactics for writing these essays the second time around
• Overviews and examples of four different approaches you can take to composing your essays: thematic, inflection points, single anecdote, and mosaic
• Best practices for each essay question, such as how to handle the prompts’ vastly different word counts and what not to include in your essays

The guidance, samples, and critiques in “What Matters?” and “What More?” will help you find the best approach for sharing your strongest stories with these programs—and position yourself for success!

If you plan to apply to HBS or the Stanford GSB, this digital guide is a must-have resource, and it is on sale now for just $24 (from $60). Purchase your copy today—and be sure to contact us if you are interested in speaking one-on-one with an mbaMission expert admissions consultant via a free 30-minute consultation.