The MBA Application Trauma: Career Management/ MBA Coaching

The MBA Application Trauma:
Career Management/ MBA Coaching
Viewpoint by Andrew Scharf, Head of the WCW Group
Putting aside the vapid arguments of the jealous and less informed, the MBA in whatever version has become the sine quo non of the business world for the majority of professionals worldwide. Can you succeed without the MBA degree?
Of course you can. Visit the social networks such as LinkedIn, Google Trends, Viadeo, Facebook and see that countless examples abound. Does Lady Gaga have an MBA? Do you look and act like Lady Gaga? I thought not.
For the majority of us, it is almost impossible to access senior levels of management without this credential unless we have been something so striking that other criteria come into play. Recently, I was discussing with an MBA Candidate the rules of engagement. He is proud and ambitious and ready to take the plunge. However, as I explained to him, the MBA application process is fraught with pitfalls in a game of snakes and ladders for the unsuspected.

Some of you will have your hearts set on Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Chicago-Booth or perhaps London Business School, INSEAD or even IMD. To stand a chance of acceptance, you must do your homework and make your written MBA application stand out like a diamond in the mud. A 800 GMAT score and a stellar career at KPMG or Goldman won’t matter if your profile is not marketed appropriately.
So, is now the right time to do the MBA?
The answer is an unequivocal, yes. However, to succeed in getting accepted today, you need a strategic plan. The competition is global and it is ferocious. The business schools, particularly the American ones, are spoiled for choice. They are turning away thousands of extremely qualified candidates.
Why?
Simply, because their applications are not strategically conceived. Your stated goals whether short or mid term, must be as clear and as precise as you can get them. This means that candidates cannot be vague in the slightest.
Investigate the sector you want to move in to. Over 65% of MBA candidates wa