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For many MBA programs, work experience is the heart of one’s candidacy.  While academic preparation is essential, an applicant’s professional history informs his or her ability to contribute to classroom activities and integrate each course’s subject matter into a broader framework.  Further, schools want to admit students who will go on to be successful alumni, and past performance is a strong predictor of future performance.

If you’re planning on applying to MBA programs down the road, it may seem obvious that you should try to excel in your career today.  Still, some may find that objective so broad that they aren’t sure how to act on it.  Knowing about the specific markers that admissions committees consider when evaluating a candidate’s work experience can help you to focus your efforts and take an active role in your ongoing career development.
 
MBA admissions committees often begin by considering a candidate’s overall career trajectory.  At the most basic level, they’re looking for movement or change over time: among varied projects, into new or additional roles, or between functions or organizations.  For candidates who have gained all of their full-time experience working for the same organization, business schools typically expect to see signs of upward progression, such as promotions, raises, or increases in responsibility.  If you plan to stay the course with your current employer until it’s time for your applications, be mindful of this and take proactive steps to build momentum.  For example, you might speak with your supervisor about paths to advancement in your firm, lobby for assignment to high-profile projects or clients, or volunteer to take on additional tasks outside of your basic responsibilities. 

Of course, many business school applicants will have changed jobs at some point in their post-collegiate careers.  Moves into new functions or different organizations are often lateral ones, as a professional may be willing to sacrifice upward movement in the interest of a better fit with his or her skills, interests, work values or preferred work/life balance.  Further, candidates who have worked in multiple roles and settings often bring a valuable perspective to the classroom, as they’re able to speak to an expanded range of questions and situations.

MBA-bound professionals should therefore not fear that changing course will negatively affect their chances of acceptance by their target schools.  Of course, the best (and most defensible) career moves are intentional ones; those that are made as a first step down a thoughtfully chosen path.  Whatever the change you may be considering, it should be made with an eye to gaining certain skills or knowledge, becoming more familiar with a sector of interest, or enhancing your job responsibilities and opportunities for achievement.  It should go without saying that you should make every effort to keep relationships intact and positive when leaving one employer for another, both for the sake of your business school recommendations and future networking needs.

Aside from broad trajectory, MBA admissions committees will also consider the impact an applicant has made on the job.  While promotions and salaries are nice markers of success, the accomplishments that hold the most sway with business schools are those in which the applicant’s actions have some benefit outside of his- or herself.  This can take any number of forms, from winning additional business from an existing customer by producing high-quality work, to stepping into an informal leadership role to bring a struggling team together.  Perhaps you’ll have the chance to identify and address some inefficiency in an organizational process, or to achieve significant cost savings for your company or a client.  As you progress through your pre-MBA career, be mindful of these various kinds of contributions you can make on the job, and take proactive steps to move into roles and projects that will enable you to make a mark on a team, process, or the bottom line.

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