What’s going on, everyone. So, I was just checking the gmail account for this blog and I realized how many people don’t even take the time to send a “thank you” email after I’ve taken the time to write a thorough response. I know it’s a small thing, but I swear things like this make me want to either take longer to respond to emails, put less time and thought into giving decent responses, or stop with the “responding to questions” theme of this blog altogether. aaarrgghhh! don’t mind me though, I’m just venting…
Anyways, the email below is from an applicant who has some questions about how employers at tech companies look at the backgrounds of applicants from Bschools. She’s also wondering how having an MBA from India may affect her shot at getting into a US school. Both of these questions are difficult for me to answer because I’ve never worked directly in either situation, but, as always, I’m going to try my best to give a good response.
———-
YG wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
Have recently started frequenting your blog and was pleasantly surprised at how much time you’re taking out to help prospective students. Great work. So thought of writing to you to get some first hand advice too.
I’m from India and have a score of 700. AWA:6, Work ex: 2.5 years, Female, Age: 25.5. Am currently working with a Kliener Perkins and Sherpalo Ventures funded start up. Mine is a Product and Business Development Role which has entailed launching the country’s first Mobile Voucher product, which is extensively being used by companies across segments for customer promotions, employee recognition, loyalty Programmes and has lead to a 1000x growth for the
organization in terms of transactions. I also head the business development role for the media cluster where my role entails getting strategic alliances in place and developing value added services for Media partners which are transaction lead. Prior to this, I was working with GE Money in a sales role and handled a team of around 50 sales staff. I was hired as part of
GE’s Management Trainee Programme and was also awarded the Best Trainee for my class.
Now I already have an MBA from one of the decent Business Schools in Inda (top 10) and am only applying to Stanford as my long term goal is to start a venture of my own in the internet/mobility space within 5 years time. So at Stanford, I would be able to get a very focussed entrepreneurial education and the oppurtunity to meet lot of experts in this space.
However, if admitted, my immediate goal would be to work in a similar role (Product/Business Dvelopment) in one of the Technology companies like Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Ebay, NTT Docomo or even Microsoft , Apple. What I need to know is that how difficult would it be
to move into such a role in these companies,with only one year of relevant experience? Have you seen instances of people with little experience and no engineering background moving into such roles? Or are all these companies hell bent on hiring people with engineering backgrounds?
Also, would a second MBA really work against me in applying to Stanford?
Look forward to your reply and really appreciate your help!
Warm Regards,
YG”
———-
My response:
YG,
Thanks for checking out my blog. I’ve got to let you know that I may not be the best person to offer advice on the questions that you asked. I didn’t really pursue the types of jobs at Tech companies that you’re interested in, so I didn’t have extensive conversatons with recruiters about what they were looking for. Also, I’ve never worked in the admissions office at the GSB or any other business school, so I’m not spun up on how they look at applicants who already have an MBA from another institution. With all that said, I’ll still make a run at responding, but I wanted to let you know my ‘fit’ for your questions beforehand.
As I said above, I’m not 100% sure what the recruiters at Tech companies are looking for in candidates, but many of my classmates were targeting a Product/Business Development role and successfully got the offers. Some of those people came from technology backgrounds, but others came from out nowhere to swoop in and find success. The folks with no technology background had to work harder to impress their interviewers throughout the process and get those jobs, but they were able to do it, often with the help of classmates. So, I can’t give you any exact sense of how difficult it would be to move into one of the technology companies you’re looking for, but I can say that it is possible for you to do so.
Between now and your business school matriculation, you might want to do some deeper research on the profiles that your target companies are looking for and figure out the best way to build the desired skills or how to best describe your year’s worth of technology experience to appeal to them. A good start might be to do some research on Product Management and what it entails and then build your knowledge base by taking some relevant courses online or buying relevant books. Since your technology experience might not be as extensive as some of the other candidates, you’ve got to make sure you know the content of the work inside and out. Remember that a top MBA is the great equalizer and, if leveraged correctly, can get a person into a wide range of jobs, regardless of previous experience as long as that person is well prepared to enter the recruiting process.
Your more difficult question is the one about whether having an MBA already will work against you when applying to the GSB. I am not an expert on this because I never worked in the admissions office while I was there, but I can try to give you something to work with. I know of alums from other top business schools who went in with an MBA from another school, so it is possible for you to qualify for admission at a top school. As for the GSB, I know that one of my classmates had a Masters in Business from a European school prior to matriculating at Stanford, but I’m not sure if that is considered the same as having a previous MBA. I don’t see why having an MBA already would be a major factor, but you should address the issue in one of your essays to let the admissions reps know why you’re trying to pursue another MBA when you have one already. Also, I would HIGHLY recommend that you call the admissions office and ask them this question because my response here is only a guess. I’d hate for you to consider it as the “rule of law” on the issue ad then get disappointed later on if things don’t work out.
Take care and good luck with your business school applications. I hope you get a chance to make that transition into a tech company after Bschool.
-Marquis
Anyways, the email below is from an applicant who has some questions about how employers at tech companies look at the backgrounds of applicants from Bschools. She’s also wondering how having an MBA from India may affect her shot at getting into a US school. Both of these questions are difficult for me to answer because I’ve never worked directly in either situation, but, as always, I’m going to try my best to give a good response.
———-
YG wrote:
“Hi Marquis,
Have recently started frequenting your blog and was pleasantly surprised at how much time you’re taking out to help prospective students. Great work. So thought of writing to you to get some first hand advice too.
I’m from India and have a score of 700. AWA:6, Work ex: 2.5 years, Female, Age: 25.5. Am currently working with a Kliener Perkins and Sherpalo Ventures funded start up. Mine is a Product and Business Development Role which has entailed launching the country’s first Mobile Voucher product, which is extensively being used by companies across segments for customer promotions, employee recognition, loyalty Programmes and has lead to a 1000x growth for the
organization in terms of transactions. I also head the business development role for the media cluster where my role entails getting strategic alliances in place and developing value added services for Media partners which are transaction lead. Prior to this, I was working with GE Money in a sales role and handled a team of around 50 sales staff. I was hired as part of
GE’s Management Trainee Programme and was also awarded the Best Trainee for my class.
Now I already have an MBA from one of the decent Business Schools in Inda (top 10) and am only applying to Stanford as my long term goal is to start a venture of my own in the internet/mobility space within 5 years time. So at Stanford, I would be able to get a very focussed entrepreneurial education and the oppurtunity to meet lot of experts in this space.
However, if admitted, my immediate goal would be to work in a similar role (Product/Business Dvelopment) in one of the Technology companies like Google, Yahoo, Amazon, Ebay, NTT Docomo or even Microsoft , Apple. What I need to know is that how difficult would it be
to move into such a role in these companies,with only one year of relevant experience? Have you seen instances of people with little experience and no engineering background moving into such roles? Or are all these companies hell bent on hiring people with engineering backgrounds?
Also, would a second MBA really work against me in applying to Stanford?
Look forward to your reply and really appreciate your help!
Warm Regards,
YG”
———-
My response:
YG,
Thanks for checking out my blog. I’ve got to let you know that I may not be the best person to offer advice on the questions that you asked. I didn’t really pursue the types of jobs at Tech companies that you’re interested in, so I didn’t have extensive conversatons with recruiters about what they were looking for. Also, I’ve never worked in the admissions office at the GSB or any other business school, so I’m not spun up on how they look at applicants who already have an MBA from another institution. With all that said, I’ll still make a run at responding, but I wanted to let you know my ‘fit’ for your questions beforehand.
As I said above, I’m not 100% sure what the recruiters at Tech companies are looking for in candidates, but many of my classmates were targeting a Product/Business Development role and successfully got the offers. Some of those people came from technology backgrounds, but others came from out nowhere to swoop in and find success. The folks with no technology background had to work harder to impress their interviewers throughout the process and get those jobs, but they were able to do it, often with the help of classmates. So, I can’t give you any exact sense of how difficult it would be to move into one of the technology companies you’re looking for, but I can say that it is possible for you to do so.
Between now and your business school matriculation, you might want to do some deeper research on the profiles that your target companies are looking for and figure out the best way to build the desired skills or how to best describe your year’s worth of technology experience to appeal to them. A good start might be to do some research on Product Management and what it entails and then build your knowledge base by taking some relevant courses online or buying relevant books. Since your technology experience might not be as extensive as some of the other candidates, you’ve got to make sure you know the content of the work inside and out. Remember that a top MBA is the great equalizer and, if leveraged correctly, can get a person into a wide range of jobs, regardless of previous experience as long as that person is well prepared to enter the recruiting process.
Your more difficult question is the one about whether having an MBA already will work against you when applying to the GSB. I am not an expert on this because I never worked in the admissions office while I was there, but I can try to give you something to work with. I know of alums from other top business schools who went in with an MBA from another school, so it is possible for you to qualify for admission at a top school. As for the GSB, I know that one of my classmates had a Masters in Business from a European school prior to matriculating at Stanford, but I’m not sure if that is considered the same as having a previous MBA. I don’t see why having an MBA already would be a major factor, but you should address the issue in one of your essays to let the admissions reps know why you’re trying to pursue another MBA when you have one already. Also, I would HIGHLY recommend that you call the admissions office and ask them this question because my response here is only a guess. I’d hate for you to consider it as the “rule of law” on the issue ad then get disappointed later on if things don’t work out.
Take care and good luck with your business school applications. I hope you get a chance to make that transition into a tech company after Bschool.
-Marquis
Oh…No. Trust me. I open your blog once in a day to see if there is any new post.
Hi Marquis:
I have your blog setup in my RSS reader & always wait for new entries.
Okay … okay …. you’ve vented, now … continue! When you think of all the wonderful people out there that love you and do appreciate your efforts, it’s all worth it, right! You do this because of your beautiful heart and your desire to assist others. Some people just don’t think about thanking others but … if we waited on things like that, we’d all become stagnant. Plus, how would your dear ole mom know what’s up with you if you stop these blogs? Do you have any idea how much I’m learning from you? Love you much and proud of you! “mom”