Expert charts changing MBA landscape
What are students, schools looking for?
Peter von Loesecke, managing director of The MBA Tour, meets hundreds of MBA hopefuls from around the world and helps them connect with the business school that’s right for them. We asked von Loesecke what today’s students are looking for and how MBA programs are adapting to meet those needs.
Q. What are MBA schools looking for in student work experience?
A. The schools want students in the class that have a similar range of experience. The most common is four to seven years. There are programs that are focused on what they say are early career achievers, which might be zero to two years of experience.
Q. What are Canadian students looking for in an MBA program?
A. A significant portion of Canadian students, probably 60 to 70 per cent, value programs with strong alumni connections or strong pro- gram reputations in their career interest. There is no one career interest that captures the majority of students. What we do find uniquely Canadian is a strong interest in the energy sector. Programs focusing on careers in high-technology and health-care delivery are also popular in Canada. I’m also seeing a lot of people starting to focus on business and technology innovation. That’s the mating of business and technology to find some competitive advantage in the market place or lessen the inefficiencies of a market. Q. What other offerings are popular with students? A. A lot of prospective MBAS are looking for some form of leadership and management training in the curriculum and some students offer non-traditional methods for this. There may be team exercises or retreats. These programs are starting to attract more candidates. Q. What about the cost of MBA programs? A. There’s significant price-sensitivity out there now. We see that with the interest in part-time programs. Students are not looking to leave a job the way they once were with the promise of a better career at the end of their MBA. Q. How has the recession affected salary expectations? A. With the exception of a few candidates who are vying for posi- tions in investment banking or management consulting, those expectations have leveled off or declined in some cases. Businesses aren’t rushing to offer signing bonuses.
Q. What advice do you offer students deciding where to apply?
A. I strongly recommend that students talk to as many programs as they can. What seems like the obvious choice may not be what they value. Students really need to do some soul-searching about what they want out of their experience in business school, instead of following the crowd on the career du jour. When people tell you what you need for skills, listen carefully and figure out if that’s your strength.