5 Ways to Get Smart about B-School

The third quarter is over and the game is close.  You have sweat pouring down your face, your muscles are tired, and you are banged up.  It would be easy to just go through the motions during the fourth quarter.  However, it would be difficult to justify the scoreboard if you did not leave your entire heart and soul on the field, win or lose.  This is how it feels after putting in the countless hours of GMAT preparation, recommenders’ guidance, and essay and resume revision.  So, after all this work we cannot just go through the motions during the interview.  We have to put everything we own into winning the fourth quarter.

In the military we have an immediate connection with others.  We share the same complaints from the focus on memorandum format rather than content to the supervisor who does not understand the actual problem.  We instantly relate when we chat about the peaks and valleys of being a leader.  This connection is difficult to find outside the military and it takes practice to relate to civilians.  We carefully craft our essays and resumes to relate as closely as we can to the admissions council of our dream schools.  Conversely, we cannot always do this when we are under the pressure of answering an on the spot question from an interviewer.

So, we need to take the opportunity to not only prepare our interview attire and responses, but to relate to those who are interviewing us.  We can do this in several different ways while waiting for an interview invitation:

1) Attend conferences:  Most major cities and possibly the schools you would like to attend have conferences on the subject you would like to study.  This gives you the opportunity to learn about a particular industry and network with leaders of that industry.  Most of the people who attend these conferences want to help out veterans and will help you translate your experiences to industry specific terms.

2) Read industry specific books:  Take the time to do an in depth study of the industry you would like to work in.  This will help you craft your responses to the questions such as “Why do you want an MBA?” “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” “Which company would you like to work for?”

3) Chat with family and college/childhood friends:  Take the opportunity to explain what you did in the military with those who are not familiar with the military.  The holidays are a perfect time to do this.  When your family or buddies ask, “What did you do in the military?” take the time to carefully craft a response.  Evaluate their body language and ask them if they understood your answer.

4) Interview with civilian sector employers:  If there will be a significant time gap between your exit from the military and the beginning of graduate school you can prepare for graduate school interviews by doing actual job interviews.  There are several military headhunter firms that hold interview conferences and you will have the opportunity to interview with up to 5 companies in one day.

5) Research the veterans group at each school:  Many schools are increasing the number of veterans they are accepting each year and are actively recruiting them.  To recruit, schools may hold veteran specific events where you can speak to current students and get a feel for the program.  This will help with the question “Why XYZ’s MBA program?”

As veterans we always ensure that we accomplish our mission.  Lets take this opportunity to complete our mission of doing our best to gain acceptance into the graduate school of our choice.  We will have no regrets if we leave everything on the field during the fourth quarter, no matter what the outcome.