Landing Your Dream Job – The Best of Ivan Kerbel (The Sequel)

Entrepreneur

Other Questions:

How is an MBA different from a PMP or CFA?

“…as stand-alone credentials, the PMP and CFA qualifications serve purposes that are more specialized and of narrower scope than the MBA. One would expect a project management professional to excel at initiating, planning, executing, etc. a project in any context. [And one would expect] a chartered financial analyst to excel at resolving the financial analysis, investment management, etc. complexities of any business undertaking, and an MBA grad to be able to perform a substantial proportion of tasks in the above realms, perhaps with a less in-depth skill-set, but with a number of other skills and tools (marketing, competitive strategy, etc.) to offer.”

Is an MBA a good route to entrepreneurship?

“With regard to the topic of utilizing business school as “guidance for a startup”, I think that the formal education would supplement your practical experience — and I think business school can work especially well as an incubator and launch platform for a new venture — but I’m not sure I would classify the degree as a “must have” in order for you to be a successful entrepreneur…(I would worry less about your GMAT and the ‘rank’ of the school, and more about where you feel will have the best fit, culturally, and where the curriculum appeals the most to you.)”

Does leaving an employer and then returning hurt my candidacy?

“My first thought is that this story could / should make for a very interesting application essay. Especially within the context of American culture, there is no “shame” attached to leaving an employer to try something else, and then returning to that same employer later on. What matters most … and what will be the most revealing about your work, your ambitions, your interests … is the narrative related to the growth experience and opportunity you were pursuing when you left, and the realization / learning experience that caused you to return. If I were looking at your profile from an MBA employer perspective, I would expect a greater level of professional maturity, new-found insights about your career goals and potentially what makes you a better match with one organization versus another, and greater detail regarding your ongoing relationships with the colleagues you came back to … all interesting fodder for future interviews, and real-world experience that may help you to be a more ‘advanced’, or sophisticated job candidate.”

What is the main difference between a full-time and a part-time program?

My sense, and this is simply subjective rather than evidence-driven, is that for part-time MBA programs, there is a greater emphasis on the actual course subjects and your academic achievement (as the main drivers boosting your career options), rather than on the holistic experience, extracurricular activities, travel, and other opportunities that are part of the experience of full-time MBA programs. Hence, I believe that any perceived disparity in quality, rank, social experience, etc. in business schools matters less outside of the full-time MBA space (emphasis is more strictly on what you studied and what you learned); I hope that helps you as you compare programs … something that you can also do by looking at course syllabi and faculty bios.”

DON’T MISS: WHY INTEREST IN PART-TIME MBA PROGRAMS IS SAGGING

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