The MBA is a powerful tool to help you take charge of your career, but the degree will do you the most good if you have a clear sense of what you want your career path to be and how the degree will further your goals. In addition to your personal network of family, friends, and colleagues, there are many resources right here on mba.com to help you explore MBA career paths and determine whether one is right for you.

Especially in this competitive market, MBA applicants who have solid career goals tend to do best in the admissions process; they are also most likely to be happy with the outcomes of their degree.

Unfortunately, some MBA applicants try to do things in reverse—they apply to business school before they really know what they want to do in their careers, believing that once they get in, they can figure it all out. That's not the best plan. MBA programs typically don't allow you time or opportunity to change your mind about what you want to study; it's best to know what your career goals are up front.

Also, if you have a career plan, it will be easier for you to choose the school, program, courses, and MBA concentration that will help you succeed. Keep in mind that MBA programs are very different from one another and excel at different things. Also, they have recruiting relationships with different companies, which means that you should make sure that the schools you apply to can help get you a job where you want to work. For instance, if you want to be an operations manager at a manufacturing company near where you live, the programs you should apply to may be different from the ones your neighbor should apply to if she dreams of a career in international finance.

You should compare schools only after you're sure of what you're looking for.

Just as you look for the schools that suit your goals, admissions officers look for applicants who are a "good fit" with their programs—people whose goals match what the program has to offer. Being able to articulate a realistic, convincing career plan is an important part of showing that you are a good fit for a business school.

It's one thing to have career aspirations, and it's another to ground them in reality by making sure your dreams match your experience, abilities, and preferences.

For reliable advice on what career paths, industries, and types of companies suit you best, we recommend the online career assessment CareerLeader.

CareerLeader® is used by most MBA programs' career services offices when they prepare to help graduating MBAs find jobs, but it can help you the most if you use it before you apply to business school.

CareerLeader® measures your business-related interests, abilities, and work-related values, using three separate assessments. The answers you provide produce a profile of business career paths and corporate cultures that are a "high match" with your specific skills and attributes. The CareerLeader® databank of industry information then helps you explore the careers that are good matches for you.

Once you select the career and the type of workplace environment you're looking for, you will be much better prepared to—

• select schools to which to apply
• answer admissions essays and give great admissions interviews
• ask the questions of admissions staff that will help you determine whether their schools have what you are looking for
• find the right school at which to further your career

For more information about using CareerLeader® to prepare to apply to business school, see Self-Assessment: The Real Edge.

In addition to the career information CareerLeader® provides, mba.com offers you a wealth of free industry and career profiles from two well-respected Web sites devoted to career development and advice, Vault and WetFeet.

We have chosen the most relevant and helpful career and industry information for MBAs from the Vault and Wetfeet Web sites and enabled you to access it right here on mba.com. Research the career paths and job functions you are interested in (or those CareerLeader® recommends you explore), and get ready to apply to business school with a clear sense of what you can expect in the field or industry sector you pursue.

If you take the time now to define realistic career goals and learn as much as you can about the career or job you wish to pursue, all the decisions ahead of you will be easier. You'll know whether an MBA is right for you, you'll have a good sense of what to look for in a school, you'll do well in the admissions process, and you'll be happier and more successful when you graduate.

CareerLeader® is a registered trademark of Peregrine Partners.