International MBAs: Build a “Personal Board of Directors”

Talk to international MBAs who have “made it” in the path that you want to pursue to make sure it’s possible, then outline the steps you’ll take in your application. You should not be “going it alone.” It’s much more important for international students to know what they are getting themselves into given work authorization realities. For many reasons, it’s a good idea to build a “personal board of directors” with regard to your admissions journey. This board should consist of at least 1 or 2 members who have attended the caliber of business schools to which you hope to gain admission and have taken a path that is similar (but not necessarily identical) to the path you’d like to take. 

Your chosen “directors” can talk about how they decided on the professional path that they took post-MBA and be honest about whatever limitations they may have encountered related to work authorization challenges. Even if they didn’t forge the same exact path you hope to, they should know something about the companies that their friends and classmates applied to and which companies and industries reliably sponsor people like you. Think of an admission consultant with a top-flight MBA degree as one of your “directors.” Even if they aren’t international themselves, they doubtlessly witness the work authorization struggle with many of their peers and a seasoned consultant will have successfully counseled many international applicants in your shoes. 

Talk to your “board of directors” and do your research to figure out which companies sponsor and ideally, which recruit heavily at your school (don’t change up your overarching strategic positioning, just change company names to show you have done your research). For instance, you might pick Amazon over Google for cloud, depending on which has a stronger relationship with your school. Strategic positioning shouldn’t change from one school application to another school application, but target companies within the same industry should be based on school recruiting figures. Many schools have company names and numbers of students hired on their class profile pages. Another way to do this research is to do Linkedin searches to see the number of alums from a particular school at a given company (and how many of those started fresh out of business school as an international student likely needing work authorization). 

No Attorney Needed

We aren’t immigration lawyers (and neither are the members of the Admission Committee!). We are MBA admission strategists. The point we are trying to make here is that international MBA students face great odds not just in admission but post-graduation employment in most U.S. industries outside big tech, consulting, and finance. Admissions Committees of course know this and are less likely to choose a candidate who espouses interest in post-graduation U.S.-based employment in an industry that is known not to sponsor internationals. What we can help you do is listen to your passions and help you craft a strategic positioning profile regarding your post-MBA career goals that is both shiny and ambitious but also realistic given both your prior experience and your work authorization realities. 

It’s important to remember that the AdCom members likely aren’t immigration lawyers, either, but they are well-versed enough in the work-authorization realities of their students to know when a U.S.-based post-MBA career path simply isn’t plausible. If an applicant with experience as an engineer in coal-fired power plants in China/India/Pakistan writes in their essays about working for Dynegy or an electricity provider in a commercial role post-MBA, that’s going to set off red flags about work authorization issues (even though the applicant may otherwise be professionally qualified for this type of role). If you know your situation is different due to some complexity of immigration law, explain that in your essays!

Admissionado is a results-driven MBA admissions consulting agency. We have a lust for smart ideas and tactics that – quite simply – work. We embrace a two-person specialty approach to consulting, leveraging the talents of strategic business geniuses with masters of writing. Browse through our website to get a sense of our style, our process, our team, and our case studies. We’re a no-nonsense crew, committed to delivering a boutique experience that stretches potential and earns admit letters.

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