Explore the Best of You from your MBA course

Applying to business school can be an all-consuming experience. Candidates spend so much time researching programmes, cramming for the MBA entrance exams, writing essays and preparing for interviews that it can sometimes be hard to remember that getting in isn’t the end goal. It’s just the beginning.

One needs to consider your original motivations for pursuing your MBA—not necessarily those you wrote about in your essays, but those that were your primary goals (academic learning, team and leadership development, networking, career exploration, getting a particular job, extracurricular activities, trying new things, etc). The most common mistake many students make is to follow the “herd mentality”—trying to do what everyone else is doing regardless of their interests or goals. The experts’ recommendation to fight this approach is to develop a hierarchy for your particular goals from which to filter your choices.

Think about choosing two primary goals along with a secondary one. For instance, perhaps academics and leadership development are your primary goals, with extracurricular activities as the secondary. You will be surrounded by people going to every career or industry presentation and joining lots of clubs. Using your filters, you can choose whether it makes sense for you to follow the group or pursing other choices. Using your filters will ensure that the choices you make align with your goals.

It is also important to take time to be introspective. The pace of the MBA can make you feel as if you’re bouncing from activity to activity. Carve out time each day to think through what you’ve learned about yourself and how you interact with others. Journaling is a great way to keep track of your development throughout the programme as well as measure your progress along the way. The programme will fly by quickly, so find a way to take stock on a regular basis, or you may end up on stage receiving your diploma wishing you could remember more about your experience.

If you are a soon-to-be member of the MBA class of 2015, you may be wondering how to best prepare for what comes next. Just as you spent ample time strategising how to get into business school, now you should put together your plan for getting the most out of your MBA experience. Here are some places to start:

Choose the right programme

Finding the right MBA degree programme that fits your needs, interests and goals will make an enormous difference to whether or not you have a positive experience while getting it. Do you want to stay with your current company and in your area of focus, or do you want to do something completely different? Do you want to be part of an MBA degree programme that has connections with local businesses, or do you hope to find a job with an international company? Do you want to stay in your current city/region after you complete your MBA degree, or do you want to move to a new city, region or country? By asking these questions in advance, you’ll be able to choose a programme that’s the right fit for you and will help you to have the best experience possible.

Learn everything you can outside the regular classroom

You’ll be spending plenty of time in the classroom (if you’re not getting an MBA degree online), but you’ll probably learn some of your most important lessons when you’re not in class. Have coffee or meet with instructors, mentors and professors oneon-one. If you’re in a two-year MBA degree programme, make an effort to get to know people in the second-year class (and also alumni) -- they’ve already survived the first year and will be able to offer insight on the best classes, best professors, toughest exams and probably even where to get the best lunch bargains nearby! Also, find ways to network whenever you can—networking is one of the most important aspects of getting an MBA degree. Think about your future career goals and find opportunities to meet people at lectures, events, parties, etc. Focus on the full MBA experience.

Network broadly

Most of us gravitate to people who share similar backgrounds and industry experience, so make a special effort to take advantage of the diversity in your B-school class. Doing so will greatly enrich your perspective and experience, and you never know when that contact from the other side of the world or completely different field will be useful down the road.

Be proactive

Is there something you hoped to get out of your programme that isn’t available? Let your administrators know. You’ll find that most will be willing to work with you on designing a new class or organising a trip or conference– all of which will look great on your resume.

Evolve your career goals

While you probably stated fairly concrete career goals in your application, part of an MBA programme is discovering new interests and talents. Don’t be afraid to update your blueprint as you go.

Apply for several summer internships

These can be more competitive than the eventual job offers. Even if you have your heart set on a particular internship, cover your bases.

Don’t get intimidated

Finally, keep in mind that it can be normal to feel a little out of your depth when you first arrive at your programme— especially when you’ll be surrounded by so many successful, smart people. Keep in mind that the admissions committee chose you because they knew you would be an asset to their community. So use the first couple weeks to get acclimated—then dive in. The next two years are going to go fast!

Some other key points

• Keep an open mind.
• Look at everyday as a learning experience and do not take anything for granted; even if you think you know all the answers, perhaps they now have new questions.
• Make it a point to read up on readings; actively read before the class. For one-week modules, do set aside 3-4 hours on the weekend before to read most of the material / all of it for the coming week. It’s difficult to get readings done during the week in a one-week course.
• Do not strongly feel that you have best ideas in the world. One should always assume that your way is the only way to work in a group. Take it easy, and be prepared to accept ideas that are better than yours.
• Try and give the lecture your undivided attention; this is especially true for courses that may not be your strongest point. This is basic, but always worth mentioning. It makes studying for exams that much less stressful.
• Keep a close watch on those job deadlines- several jobs; especially tailor-made global MBA programmes have application deadlines.
• Squeeze in some exercise during the week, no matter how busy you may be; it just prepares you a lot better for the weeks ahead.
• The MBA is definitely about getting those hard-skills in place and learning about marketing, strategy and finance, among other subjects. 

Finally, have fun. This may be the last time you take a break in your career to go back to school. Finding a bit of balance will be a struggle, but it is not that difficult as it seems to you. You will learn so much more from people than you will any textbook, and those are the relationships that can last a lifetime.