Staying Positive When Your Coworker is Also Going for an MBA
Getting into a top MBA program is challenging, especially for professionals from over-represented buckets like consulting and banking. It gets even more worrisome when you know your coworker is also going for an MBA and you’re applying to some of the same schools.
Although it’s natural to feel competitive, remember that business schools want diverse, well-rounded candidates—and everyone has something unique about them. So, even if you feel like you’re a clone of your coworkers, these tips can help you stand out and succeed in the elite MBA admissions process.
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Every business school has its own culture, strengths, and values. As you finish your list of target schools, take time to study each program so you can tailor your application to reflect their stated ethos. Explain how your career goals and values align with theirs, making a compelling case for why you are the perfect fit.
Also, keep in mind that top MBA programs vary in their selectivity and acceptance rates. Instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, consider applying to a range of schools, including some with varying acceptance rates. This diversifies your options and increases your chances of securing a spot in a top MBA program.
Self-Assessment and Differentiation
First, remember that MBA admissions committees are not looking for cookie-cutter candidates with identical experiences and backgrounds. They seek diversity, both in terms of industries and personal stories.
Before you dive into your applications, step back and do a thorough self-assessment. Reflect on your journey, the challenges you’ve faced, and the valuable experiences you’ve gained. Your primary goal is to emphasize your strengths and achievements in your application essays and interviews.
What skills and perspectives do you bring to the table that set you apart from your colleagues? Coming from consulting or banking might be an advantage if you leverage your industry expertise. You can emphasize how your current role has equipped you with skills that will directly transfer to the business world. Also, make sure to highlight your project management, financial analysis, and client engagement skills to prove your potential as a future MBA student and business leader.
Admissions committees like candidates who understand specific sectors because these folks bring valuable insights to classroom conversations. In your MBA essays, discuss how your professional experiences relate to your longer-term career goals. Show how you plan to apply your industry knowledge in innovative and meaningful ways after graduation.
Another way to stand out from your coworker who’s also going for an MBA is by demonstrating your commitment to continuous learning and personal development. Consider taking on extra responsibilities at work or acquiring new skills outside your current job scope. This will not only set you apart from your peers but also prepare you for the academic rigor of an MBA program.
Bonus tip: You can also reach out to mentors or alums who have successfully navigated the MBA admissions process for advice. Their insights can be invaluable in shaping your application strategy. They can help you refine your career goals, guide school selection, and offer tips for effective application writing.
Showcase Your Leadership and Teamwork Skills
Like MBA students, consultants and bankers often work in teams. Focus on your leadership and teamwork accomplishments and your successful management and collaboration with teammates. Use concrete examples that underscore your capacity for working in harmony with others, a sought-after trait in MBA candidates. Be sure to share how you’ve made a difference at work through your leadership and unique contributions.
Remember to emphasize your soft skills, too. In the competitive world of consulting and banking, technical skills often take the spotlight. Yet, MBA programs also value candidates with good communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. Highlight your people skills and ability to work well with others in and outside your field.
Letters of recommendation
Next, it’s time to get laser-focused on your recommendation letters. Since you share similar skills with your coworker who is also going for an MBA, these letters must show off your professional and personal qualities. Remind them that the most critical thing they can do is include examples to back up any claims they’ve made about your strengths or personality traits.
Listen to B-Schooled Podcast #127: How to Pick the Right Recommenders
Sharing details of how you contributed to projects or giving specific examples of how you interact with others or went above and beyond (including funny anecdotes or quips that give insight into your personality) — these are the things that make for a great recommendation letter.
Focus on extracurriculars
Admissions committees understand that it’s tough for some people to have meaningful involvement in an organization outside of work. Consultants and bankers often fall into this category, as do some military applicants.
Take a Deeper Dive With The Scoop on MBA Extracurriculars
Still, they look for accomplished individuals not solely focused on their professional lives. Taking part in extracurricular activities can help bolster your leadership, teamwork, and commitment to community engagement. Show that you’re not just a workaholic but also someone who contributes to their community.
But don’t think you need to spend hundreds of hours helping in a soup kitchen to make a good impression on the AdCom. Find something you’re passionate about instead.
“Overall, we are looking for the quality of your involvement and leadership roles, NOT quantity,” the UCLA Anderson admissions team stresses. Your prior involvement is a good indicator of how you’ll be on campus as an MBA student.
Rethinking the Competition When Your Coworker is Also Going for an MBA
Instead of viewing your coworkers as rivals, try seeing them as potential allies. The MBA admissions process is a massive undertaking. Why not collaborate and exchange insights, experiences, and strategies to get through the slog together? Forming a GMAT or GRE study group or support network with your fellow applicants can help you all improve. In addition, sharing knowledge and giving helpful feedback can improve your MBA applications.
Top MBA programs vary in their selectivity and acceptance rates. Instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, consider applying to a range of schools, including some with varying acceptance rates. This diversifies your options and increases your chances of securing a spot in a top MBA program.
The process of getting admitted can be stressful, especially when some of your office peers are going through it too. Remember to manage your stress levels and maintain a positive attitude. Focus on what you can control, such as the quality of your application, and let go of the rest. Your journey might be shared with coworkers, but your individual path to success lies in your distinct qualities and experiences.
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Stacy Blackman Consulting offers multiple services to meet your MBA application needs. From our All-In Partnership to interview prep, essay editing, resume review, and much more, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today for a free 15-minute advising session to talk strategy with a Principal SBC consultant.
Here’s a snapshot of the caliber of expertise on our SBC team.
Ashley
Ashley is a former MBA Admissions Board Member for Harvard Business School (HBS), where she interviewed and evaluated thousands of business school applicants for over a six year tenure. Ashley holds an MBA from HBS. During her HBS years, Ashley was the Sports Editor for the Harbus and a member of the B-School Blades Ice Hockey Team. After HBS, she worked in Marketing at the Gillette Company on Male and Female shaving ...
×Kerry
Kerry is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). During her 5+ year tenure at HBS, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a wide range of backgrounds across the globe. She also led marketing and outreach efforts focused on increasing diversity and inclusion, ran the Summer Venture in Management Program (SVMP), and launched the 2+2 Program during her time in Admissions. Kerry holds a B.A. from Bates College and ...
×Pauline
A former associate director of admissions at Harvard Business School, Pauline served on the HBS MBA Admissions Board full-time for four years. She evaluated and interviewed HBS applicants, both on-campus and globally. Pauline's career has included sales and marketing management roles with Coca-Cola, Gillette, Procter & Gamble, and IBM. For over 10 years, Pauline has expertly guided MBA applicants, and her clients h ...
×Geri
Geri is a former member of the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS). In her 7 year tenure in HBS Admissions, she read and evaluated hundreds of applications and interviewed MBA candidates from a diverse set of academic, geographic, and employment backgrounds. Geri also traveled globally representing the school at outreach events in order to raise awareness for women and international students. In additio ...
×Laura
Laura comes from the MBA Admissions Board at Harvard Business School (HBS) and is an HBS MBA alumnus. In her HBS Admissions role, she evaluated and interviewed hundreds of business school candidates, including internationals, women, military and other applicant pools, for five years. Prior to her time as a student at HBS, Laura began her career in advertising and marketing in Chicago at Leo Burnett where she worked on th ...
×Andrea
Andrea served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Harvard Business School (HBS) for over five years. In this role, she provided strategic direction for student yield-management activities and also served as a full member of the admissions committee. In 2007, Andrea launched the new 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School – a program targeted at college junior applicants to Harvard Business School. Andrea has also served as a Career Coach for Harvard Business School for both cu ...
×Jennifer
Jennifer served as Admissions Officer at the Stanford (GSB) for five years. She holds an MBA from Stanford (GSB) and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Jennifer has over 15 years experience in guiding applicants through the increasingly competitive admissions process into top MBA programs. Having read thousands and thousands of essays and applications while at Stanford (GSB) Admiss ...
×Erin K.
Erin served in key roles in MBA Admissions--as Director at Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and Assistant Director at Stanford's Graduate School of Business (GSB). Erin served on the admissions committee at each school and has read thousands of applications in her career. At Haas, she served for seven years in roles that encompassed evaluation, outreach, and diversity and inclusion. During her tenure in Admissions at GSB, she was responsible for candidate evaluation, applicant outreach, ...
×Susie
Susie comes from the Admissions Office of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where she reviewed and evaluated hundreds of prospective students’ applications. She holds an MBA from Stanford’s GSB and a BA from Stanford in Economics. Prior to advising MBA applicants, Susie held a variety of roles over a 15-year period in capital markets, finance, and real estate, including as partner in one of the nation’s most innovative finance and real estate investment organizations. In that r ...
×Dione
Dione holds an MBA degree from Stanford Business School (GSB) and a BA degree from Stanford University, where she double majored in Economics and Communication with concentrations in journalism and sociology. Dione has served as an Admissions reader and member of the Minority Admissions Advisory Committee at Stanford. Dione is an accomplished and respected advocate and thought leader on education and diversity. She is ...
×Anthony
Anthony served as the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he dedicated over 10 years of expertise. During his time as a Wharton Admissions Officer, he read and reviewed thousands of applications and helped bring in a class of 800+ students a year. Anthony has traveled both domestically and internationally to recruit a ...
×Meghan
Meghan served as the Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at the Wharton MBA’s Lauder Institute, a joint degree program combining the Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies. In her role on the Wharton MBA admissions committee, Meghan advised domestic and international applicants; conducted interviews and information sessions domestically and overseas in Asia, Central and South America, and Europe; and evaluated applicants for admission to the program. Meghan also managed ...
×Amy
Amy comes from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she was Associate Director. Amy devoted 12 years at the Wharton School, working closely with MBA students and supporting the admissions team. During her tenure at Wharton, Amy served as a trusted adviser to prospective applicants as well as admitted and matriculated students. She conducted admissions chats with applicants early in the admissions ...
×Ally
Ally brings six years of admissions experience to the SBC team, most recently as an Assistant Director of Admission for the full-time MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS). During her time at Columbia, Ally was responsible for reviewing applications, planning recruitment events, and interviewing candidates for both the full-time MBA program and the Executive MBA program. She traveled both internationally and dome ...
×Erin B.
Erin has over seven years of experience working across major institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Columbia Business School, and NYU's Stern School of Business. At Columbia Business School, Erin was an Assistant Director of Admissions where she evaluated applications for both the full time and executive MBA programs, sat on the admissions and merit scholarship committees and advised applicants on which program might be the best fit for them based on their work experience and pro ...
×Emma
Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. Emma conducted dozens of interviews each cycle for the MBA and EMBA programs, as well as coordinating the alumni ambassador interview program. She read and evaluated hundreds of applications each cycle, delivered information sessions to audiences across the globe, and advised countless waitlisted applicants. ×
