Social media and MBA applications: your social footprint can impact your business school candidacy.
Have you checked out your social media profile? If not, you really should – your online footprint can impact your business school candidacy, both positively and negatively. Here is information about the relationship between social media and MBA applications.
• Understand Who is Searching, and Why
You may have heard that admissions officers sometimes google candidates. This is definitely true. Some schools routinely review all applicants’ online presence, others may investigate if they are interested in learning more about a particular aspect of your individual profile. You might also get checked out by students who are hosting you for a conference, who are assigned to interview you, or by alumni who are program delegates.
• Your Facebook Page – And Your Friend’s Facebook Page.
Please change your privacy settings, so that people can’t see pictures of you at your best friend’s bachelor party. Speaking of which, you should also look to see where you are tagged – and tell your friends not to post pictures of you that you wouldn’t want your boss to see. This is also a good time to refrain from public political commentary.
Very few people like updating their LinkedIn profiles, and there is a lot of confusion about what a compelling profile looks like. When applying to business school I suggest updating your resume and then importing that content onto your LinkedIn page. It’s also strategic to expand your connections as much as possible, so go ahead and send out invitations to your old college friends, etc.
• Be Cautious About What You “Like.”
Just in case, refrain from liking and following ANY business schools on twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. It’s better not to telegraph your complete list to admissions officers or students, and you definitely don’t want them to think that you prefer another program. It’s also a good idea to avoid participating in online discussions about highly controversial topics.
• Random Reviews of Restaurants, Books, Clubs, Etc.
These posts tend to pop up in search results, and also live on the internet for a surprisingly long time. Are you a frequent tripadvisor contributor, or an active member of Bachelor Nation? You might want to post under a pseudonym for the time being.
• Company Websites
If you are an entrepreneur and own your own business, admissions officers may look at your company site, as well as searching for press releases. In addition, if you work for a big firm they may view your biography. Please be sure to refresh any information that needs to be updated, so that everything is consistent with the narrative in your applications.
Karen Marks has more than 12 years of experience evaluating candidates for admission to Dartmouth College and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Since founding North Star Admissions Consulting in 2012, she has helped applicants gain admission to the nation’s top schools, including Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, MIT, Duke, Georgetown, Northwestern, Booth, NYU, Ross, UVA, Haas and more. Clients have been awarded more than $10.2 million in scholarships, and more than 95% have gotten into at least one of their top-choice schools.
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