Careers

Read our collection of MBA career strategy advice and interviews with MBA career services directors.

Published: August 7, 2024

Famous MBA Alumni: Big Tech & Social Media

Are you familiar with the famous MBA alumni in tech? The names at the top of major corporations boast diverse and impressive resumes. They’ve founded companies, networked with household names and generated strategies that have changed the face of business. There is, however, one thing that these people have in common; one point that crops up time and time again amongst the lengthy lists of accomplishments. For many of these leaders, it all started with an MBA: the degree that laid the foundations of success for some of the biggest names in business. Read more

Published: June 25, 2024

MBA Admissions Tip: Defining Your Post-MBA Career Goals

Having clear and realistic post-MBA career goals is essential to the business school application process. Though essay prompts tend to vary year to year, the two things that nearly every prospective student can count on being asked are “What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals?” and “How will Business School X help you achieve these goals?” Even if this sort of question doesn’t appear in the essay portion of the application, rest assured that you’ll be asked this question in the data forms and/or during your interview. Identifying clear post-MBA career goals will help in everything from Read more

Published: April 11, 2024

‘Big Tech’ Hiring Declined for Class of 2023 MBA Graduates

Tech jobs have been a popular choice for MBA candidates since the early 2000s – gradually becoming one of the top three career paths that many business school graduates pursue (along with consulting and finance). In this analysis, we take a closer look at which leading MBA programs managed to place their graduates into tech industry jobs in 2023 despite the overall decline in tech industry hiring. We also review recent trends in MBA graduate hiring at Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft (aka Big Tech). Technology Industry Job Placement for the MBA Class of Read more

Published: March 21, 2024

From B-School to MBB: Strategy Consulting Jobs Placement at Leading MBA Programs

Take a closer look at MBB consulting jobs placement out of the best MBA programs. MBA graduates continue to seek out management consulting jobs for the opportunity to provide strategic advice to business leaders operating large companies. Jobs at leading strategy consulting firms such as McKinsey, Bain and BCG (known as the MBB) are particularly coveted by business school students because these firms often provide a fast track to senior positions in large corporations. In addition, M7 business schools such as Booth and Kellogg have very strong track records of MBB job placement. Management Consulting Job Placement for the MBA Read more

Published: March 17, 2024

M7 Business Schools Continue to Dominate in Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance Careers

MBA graduates continue to be drawn to careers in the finance industry due to the large compensation packages, the chance to work on high-profile deals at investment banks, and the opportunity to invest in the next billion-dollar company at a venture capital or private equity firm. As we will see below, the top MBA programs really deliver on finance industry job placement and can accelerate finance careers. In particular, M7 business schools continue to dominate in the buy-side job placements for venture capital, private equity, and investment management. In this analysis, we review Class of 2023 MBA Read more

Published: March 14, 2023

‘Big Tech’ Jobs & Careers Remain Popular with MBA Graduates

Take a closer look at MBA graduates’ tech industry jobs placement overall and at Big Tech firms for the full-time MBA Classes of 2018 to 2022. Despite a recent decline in tech industry hiring, the technology sector continues to be a popular choice for MBA graduates because it provides them with the chance to impact a domain with a big influence on everyday life. For example, a project manager role in tech offers MBA graduates an opportunity to manage and launch the latest consumer tech brands. In addition, the top MBA programs have a strong track record Read more

Published: February 21, 2023

Does ‘MBA’ Now Stand for McKinsey, Bain/BCG and Amazon?

MBA programs provide a great formal business education that can help graduates accelerate their careers in many different business industries. In fact, MBA employment reports published by the business schools often list hundreds of employers who have hired recent MBA graduates. However, a closer inspection of these reports reveal that four firms (McKinsey, BCG, Bain and Amazon) actually represent up to 30% of all jobs accepted by recent graduates at many leading MBA programs. Job Concentration at Top MBA Programs Business school finance faculty often highlight the benefit of diversification. For example, an investor can reduce volatility in their equity Read more

Published: February 14, 2023

From B-School to MBB: Consulting Jobs Placement at Leading MBA Programs

MBA graduates continue to seek out management consulting jobs for the opportunity to provide strategic advice to business leaders operating large companies. Jobs at leading strategy consulting firms such as McKinsey, Bain and BCG (MBB) are particularly coveted by business school students because these firms often provide a fast track to senior positions in large corporations. In addition, M7 business schools such as Kellogg have a particularly strong track record of MBB job placement. Management Consulting Job Placement for the MBA Class of 2022 All of the top MBA programs provide their MBA graduates with the opportunity to pursue a Read more

Published: February 1, 2023

M7 Business Schools Dominate in Venture Capital and Private Equity Fields

MBA graduates continue to be drawn to finance jobs due to the lucrative compensation packages, the chance to work on high-profile deals at investment banks, and the opportunity to invest in the next billion-dollar company at a venture capital or private equity firm. As we will see below regarding the MBA Class of 2022, the top MBA programs really deliver on finance industry placement and can accelerate finance careers. In particular, M7 business schools dominate in the buy-side job placements for venture capital, private equity, and investment management. In this analysis, we review MBA Class of 2022 Read more

Published: January 18, 2023

2019-2022 MBA Job Placement Trends: The Rise and Fall of Tech and the Return to Consulting and Finance

In our previous article, we highlighted the decline in tech industry jobs accepted and the increase in consulting jobs accepted from the Class of 2021 to the Class of 2022 among leading full-time MBA programs. To place this observation into a larger context, we dug into the last four years of MBA career report data to see larger trends in tech, consulting and finance industry job placement. From the Class of 2019 to the Class of 2021, there was an increase in tech jobs accepted across most top MBA programs as tech industry firms grew and successfully Read more

Published: January 17, 2023

Tech Jobs are in Decline at Top MBA Programs. Is This the Canary in the Coal Mine for MBA Hiring?

MBA Class of 2022 graduates were clearly impacted by the softening in the technology sector in 2022 after the pandemic-fueled growth in tech industry jobs in 2020 and 2021. Compared to the Class of 2021, Class of 2022 graduates were offered fewer jobs in the technology industry, leading many graduates in search of other options. Fortunately, consulting firms increased hiring for the Class of 2022 to help offset the decline in tech industry hiring. Will this growth in consulting jobs last or is the decline in tech jobs an early sign of an overall MBA job market Read more

Published: August 1, 2022

MBA Real Humans: Alumni – LIVE Webinar Summer 2022

The Clear Admit Real Humans: Alumni Series spotlights recent graduates from the world’s top MBA programs. Each of the alumni provide feedback on their MBA experiences and share how business school prepared them for their careers at leading firms. Join us at 8 pm ET on Wednesday, August 17th to hear from a group of our featured alumni on the following: 1. What was the most rewarding thing about your MBA experience? 2. How has your MBA helped you in your career? 3. Think back on the recruiting process for your first post-MBA role, what are some Read more

Published: May 12, 2022

Webinar: Behind the Scenes of Management Consulting – Video Recap

Interested in management consulting? This management consulting webinar is for you! The management consulting career path is considered integral to the professional aspirations of countless MBA applicants and students. As a traditional industry, the management consulting career has held consistent gravitas and respect among all sides of the MBA universe. In this management consulting webinar, we take a 360-degree view of the management consulting career path. We tapped into the expertise of Erica Suesserman of My Consulting Offer, and Chandler Arnold, of Stacy Blackman Consulting, the leading MBA admissions consulting firm, and exclusive Read more

Published: March 21, 2022

Real Humans of Citibank: Anoop Kinjavdekar, Cambridge Judge MBA ’20, Management Associate

Today’s edition of Real Humans – Alumni introduces a management associate at Citibank , Anoop Kinjavdekar, Cambridge Judge MBA ’20. Citibank is one of the “Big Four” banks in the U.S. and a subsidiary of Citigroup. Founded as the City Bank of New York over 200 years ago, the bank now has 2,649 branches in 19 countries. Anoop shares his story from a Citigroup base in Singapore. Below he offers a peek into MBA life at Cambridge Judge, a sense of the work culture at Citibank, and reflection on how he managed to move from semiconductor Read more

Published: March 20, 2022

Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: U.S. Graduates Pursuing Post-MBA Careers in Tech

Post-MBA careers in tech are a very popular option for MBA graduates, whether they choose to join a large company like Google, Amazon, or Microsoft, or jump into a role with a small venture-backed tech start-up. In fact, tech, along with consulting and financial services, are three of the most popular industries for Class of 2021 MBA graduates. In this installment of Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes, we take a closer look at technology industry placements across leading U.S. business schools. Class of 2021 Post-MBA Career Placement in the Technology Read more

Published: March 17, 2022

Real Humans of Deloitte: Alex McNair, Emory Goizueta MBA ’18, Consultant

Deloitte, perhaps best known as a “Big Four” accounting firm, is also the largest healthcare consulting company in the world by revenue. So when Alex McNair, Emory Goizueta MBA ’18, decided to pivot from higher ed fundraising to consulting, the firm was a natural destination. He now advises life sciences and healthcare clients. In this edition of Real Humans – Alumni, Alex talks about how the MBA prepared him for his new role and why he loves working at Deloitte. Alex McNair, Emory Goizueta MBA ’18, Consultant at Deloitte Hometown: Frederick, Maryland Read more

Published: March 16, 2022

Real Humans of Google: Ryan Yu, HBS MBA ’21, Product Manager | Google Cloud AI

MBAs are a vehicle for transformation–whether for your industry, function, geography or whatever else you can dream up–and that’s just what Ryan Yu went to business school for: A new path. Pivoting from consulting to tech, Ryan talks about how Harvard Business School helped him make this change. He also offers insights into landing a product manager role at Google in this edition of Real Humans: Alumni. Read on for his story, career advice and more. Ryan Yu, HBS MBA ’21, Product Manager at Google Age: 29 Hometown: Manila, Philippines Read more

Published: March 15, 2022

Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: Graduates Pursuing Entrepreneurship

As we noted in Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: Graduates Seeking Employment, many young professionals are interested in pursuing an MBA degree as a way to advance their professional career. In most cases, this involves MBA graduates seeking to land a high paying job post-MBA. But what about the MBA graduates who are not seeking employment? In particular, how about the MBA graduates pursuing entrepreneurship? MBA Graduates Pursuing Entrepreneurship: Starting a Business Many MBA students consider becoming an entrepreneur and MBA programs offer a nice array of entrepreneurial programs to cater to Read more

Published: March 14, 2022

Real Humans of Bain: Sanchita Shandilya, INSEAD ’21J, Consultant at Bain & Company

Nearly 50 years ago, William Bain, Jr. left BCG to launch what would become another Big Three consulting firm: Bain & Company. In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, we hear from Sanchita Shandilya, INSEAD MBA ’21, who also embarked on a new adventure to a leading one-year MBA program to launch her career in consulting. Read on for how INSEAD heightened Shandilya’s skills and prepared her for the exciting life of a Bain consultant. Sanchita Shandilya, Insead MBA ’21J, Consultant at Bain & Company Age: 29 Hometown: Read more

Published: March 13, 2022

Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: U.S. Job Placement in the Management Consulting Industry

For many years, MBA graduates have sought to work at leading management consulting firms for the opportunity to provide important strategic advice to business leaders operating large companies. Jobs at leading strategy consulting firms, such as McKinsey, Bain and BCG, are particularly coveted by MBA graduates. In this installment of Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes, we take a closer look at the management consulting industry job placement across leading business schools. Class of 2021 MBA Job Placement in the Management Consulting Industry Here is a chart showing the percent total of Class of Read more

Published: March 9, 2022

Real Humans of McKinsey & Company: Cortne Edmonds, NYU Stern MBA ’21, Associate

McKinsey & Company is the oldest and largest of the “Big Three” management consulting firms and they routinely recruit MBAs for associate positions and more. Within this enterprise of 30,000+ employees, what does it mean to “make your own McKinsey?” In this edition of Real Humans – Alumni, Cortne Edmonds, NYU Stern MBA ’21, explains this concept and much more about becoming an Associate at the leading consulting firm. Cortne Edmonds, NYU Stern MBA ’21, Associate at McKinsey & Company Age: 32 Employer & Title: McKinsey & Company, Associate Hometown: New Read more

Published: March 8, 2022

Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: U.S. Job Placement in the Finance Industry

For many years, MBA graduates have been drawn to careers in the finance industry due to high compensation and the chance to work on high profile deals at an investment bank or invest in the next billion dollar company at a venture capital or private equity firm. In this installment of Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes, we take a closer look at the finance industry placement across leading business schools. Key categories include sell-side investment banking jobs, buy-side jobs in investment management, private equity (PE) & venture capital (VC) as well as other finance industry Read more

Published: March 6, 2022

Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes: Graduates Seeking Employment

Since one of the benefits of going to business school is to help young professionals advance in their career, many MBA applicants (and current MBA students) are interested in seeing the employment outcomes for recent graduates. In response, business schools survey their MBA graduates and issue employment reports which highlight successful MBA job placement outcomes by region, industry and function. It is important to keep in mind that a lot of the information prominently displayed in the MBA employment reports is gathered from the subset of Read more

Published: March 2, 2022

Real Humans of BCG: Steve Neumann, Georgetown McDonough MBA’ 2019, Project Leader

Boston Consulting Group (BCG)—one of the Big Three of the top consulting firms known as MBB—has offices in 50 countries, and therefore no shortage of opportunities to pursue a diverse and lively profession. In this Real Humans – Alumni, we meet Steve Neumann, Georgetown McDonough MBA ’19, who talks about setting his sights on joining BCG and how McDonough empowered him to do so. Steve Neumann, Georgetown McDonough MBA ’19, Project Leader at BCG Age: 30 Hometown: Newtown, Pennsylvania Undergraduate Institution and Major: Georgetown University — Marketing major Read more

Published: March 1, 2022

Top MBA Career Placement Outcomes: Trends by U.S. Region

In this edition of our Top MBA Program Career Placement Outcomes series, we take a closer look at trends regarding which U.S. regions dominated post-MBA employment for Class of 2021 MBA graduates. You can also review our first piece, which broke down schools by region and their regional placement. For our analysis, we used the statistics in the official employment reports from 27 full-time MBA programs* based in the United States. In particular, we focused on MBA graduates of these 27 MBA programs who are seeking employment, received Read more

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MBA Applywire

November 20, 2024 9:42pm ET

Applying: Babson / Olin, , Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Emory / Goizueta, Rice / Jones, Rochester / Simon, SMU Cox, UCI Merage, Washington U. / Olin

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Technology - Entrepreneurship

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Entrepreneurship

GRE: 333

GPA: 2.56

Years of Work Experience: 5

Location: Lagos

Notes:

I just got rejected for WashU Olin and I have an interview invitation with Questrom. GPA continues to bother me but I addressed it in my supporting essays.

November 19, 2024 12:51pm ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, INSEAD, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Tech in government

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Entrepreneurship Companies: Bain , McKinsey

GRE: 319

GPA: 2.9

Years of Work Experience: 7

Notes:

I got cancer when I was undergrad that's why my undergrad GPA is low. After MBA I want to work in consulting then make a social impact in Africa through entrepreneurship

November 19, 2024 12:06pm ET

Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, U. Washington / Foster, UNC Kenan-Flagler, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden

Pre-MBA Career: Wealth Management and Military

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Asset Management, inc. HF, Other Companies: Bain , BCG , Deloitte , McKinsey , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Asset Management , State Street , Vanguard

GPA: 3.80

Years of Work Experience: 7

Location: San Diego

Post MBA Location: Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, Charlotte

Notes:

UG Degree: BBA Financial Markets at an Accredited Institution.

Civilian Work History: 3 years as Wealth Advisor under an RIA in Minneapolis and Denver. Total AUM of ~$350-400M, served as a salaried advisor in a primary and secondary capacity. Holistic services to include investment management, estate planning, retirement planning, insurance planning, tax planning, etc.

Military History: 4 years as a supply/logistics officer heading efforts for air/ground mobility, defense contracting, supply and procurement, and fiscal budget management while located at various bases within CONUS and multiple forward deployed locations.

Professional Certifications: Obtained Certified Financial Planner designation (2022) and Series 65 (2019).

November 18, 2024 12:50am ET

Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, NYU Stern, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Consulting

Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking Companies: Bank of America , Barclays , Citibank , Credit Suisse , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Chase

GRE: 323

GPA: 3.32

Years of Work Experience: 7

Notes:

Education:
- Combined Major in Economics and Statistics
- CFA Charterholder (passed all three levels on the first attempt)

Professional Experience:
- Manager at a Big 4 firm Specializing in capital projects and infrastructure, with a role similar to investment banking
- Seven years of experience, mainly in financial services in Ghana

Extracurricular Activities:
- Pro bono capital-raising services for SMEs
- Aspiring to run a full advisory firm for SMEs in the future
- CFA exam coaching and tutorial classes for candidates
- Founder of a travel and tour club offering affordable trips to explore beautiful and historic scenes in Ghana

Will being 32 years old affect the attractiveness of my candidacy?

November 17, 2024 9:24am ET

Applying: Columbia, , Georgetown / McDonough, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, NYU Stern, Oxford / Saïd, Stanford GSB, UCLA Anderson, Yale SOM

Pre-MBA Career: Higher Education

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Media, Undecided Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , JP Morgan , Morgan Stanley , JP Morgan Chase , Apple , Google , Microsoft , Andressen Horowitz , Charles River , Sequoia Capital , Blackstone , KKR , 21st Century Fox , Comcast , Walt Disney

GPA: 3.97

Years of Work Experience: 5

Location: Denver, Colorado

Post MBA Location: New York City

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MBA LiveWire

November 21, 2024 10:36am ET

Accepted to Cornell / Johnson

Round: Round 1

Received via phone November 21, 2024

GPA: 3.5

GMAT: 760

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Finance

Application Location: United States

November 21, 2024 4:51am ET

Waitlisted at NYU Stern

Round: Round 1

Received via portal on November 19, 2024

GPA: 3.54

GRE: 331

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

Application Location: Nicaragua

Note:

Waitlisted without interview. How can I flip this in my favour?

November 21, 2024 3:13am ET

Accepted to Washington U. / Olin

Round: Round 1

Received via email November 20, 2024

GPA: 3.81

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Finance

Application Location: Los Angeles

Note:

100K scholarship!

November 20, 2024 11:49pm ET

Interview Invite to Berkeley / Haas

Round: Round 1

Received via email November 20, 2024

GMAT: 645

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Note:

Consortium

November 20, 2024 9:20pm ET

Interview Invite to Dartmouth / Tuck

Round: Round 1

Received via portal on September 04, 2024

GPA: 3.74

GRE: 311

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

Application Location: Tampa, FL

Note:

Applied early enough to guarantee interview.

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