Can You Really Use Business School to Re-Brand Yourself and Break Into Finance?

“Just go to business school.”

“Go to a top MBA program.”

“With HBS on your resume you can do anything you want.”

It’s one of the most common pieces of advice given to anyone interested in consulting or finance: get into a top MBA program.

Even if you went to a no-name undergraduate, did nothing finance-related since then, and you don’t know anyone in the industry, a top MBA program will let you break in.

Or will it?

Positioning Yourself for Business School, Part 2: The Non-Financier

I was tempted to label this one “The Vagabond” or “The Average Joe,” but those didn’t sound very… flattering.

Last time, we looked at how to set yourself apart in MBA admissions if you’re coming from a finance background.

The main challenge there is “being interesting” – defined as not looking exactly the same as every other person who took the “2 years of banking followed by 2 years of PE” route.

If you’re coming from a non-finance background, though, you face a different set of challenges.

Obstacles for Non-Financiers

Positioning Yourself for Business School, Part 1: The Financier

It’s a question on everyone’s minds these days:

“How can I get into the Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton MBA programs?”

“If I don’t get into finance or consulting right now, should I go back to business school instead?”

“How can I stand out from everyone else who’s applying?”

With the markets still in turmoil, more and more people are thinking of heading to business school. Even those who actually have jobs are thinking of going back to school to insulate themselves from layoffs and get a 2-year vacation while they’re at it.

Regardless of your background, though, you’ll face a unique challenge getting into business school and then using it to get into finance:

The criteria to get into business school is different than the criteria to get into finance coming from business school, and the two often contradict each other.

So here’s how you solve that problem…