As someone who has spent nearly a decade in MBA Admissions, I’m still amazed at the rare examples of Schools who operate using a model of collaboration where Admissions and the Career Centre actually work together constructively (and I feel very fortunate to work at an institution that does this well!) The more common approach is one of deep conflict where each area blames the other when convenient. I enjoy the natural tension balancing academic and professional achievement when Admissions Committee meets, and collaborating doesn’t mean this tension should disappear, but instead should be elevated to a discussion about what the best decision is for each applicant and the School. Debate about the likelihood of academic success vs. career success – and what, if anything, should be more prominent, generates better discussion and ultimately better decision making which is positive for all involved in MBA admissions. These decisions should never be transaction in nature and should always think about an applicant not only as an MBA student, but as an alum of the School forever and admissions decisions should signal confidence in the fit between the applicant and the Program.
With this in mind, it seems blatantly obvious to me that Admissions Directors SHOULD care deeply about the Career Centre feedback on candidates, and must factor in post-MBA employability into Admissions decisions. Now employability can mean a number of things, but my perspective is that it is only ethical for us to extend offers of admission to candidates when we believe our Program will support the candidate in achieving career success – however they have articulated this throughout the admissions process. At Rotman we see lots of qualified candidates who ultimately are not successfully selected for the class for this reason, and we work very closely with our Career Centre to integrate their feedback into the admissions process. The Career Centre actually builds our admissions interview (content and process) and the Director of the Career Centre sits on the Full-Time MBA Admissions Committee so their influence is felt both directly and indirectly in the process. Our two departments share information frequently and there is real-time feedback flowing between these areas on an ongoing basis.
Ultimately, admitting candidates to a Program that isn’t a good fit from a career perspective is poor decision making, and considering the significant investment that candidates intend to make from a time, tuition, and opportunity cost perspective I strongly believe that Admissions Directors should think deeply about admitting candidates who will be set up for career success by coming to your particular School, and refuse admission when the fit isn’t there despite other compelling criteria. Career success isn’t just achieved through your application profile, but also through the sheer effort put into the job search for your industry of choice, and by performance in the Program (both inside and outside of the classroom). An offer of admission at Rotman signals to our candidates that not only do we believe you will be successful academically, but we have great confidence in your ability to achieve career success – however you define it!
On a final, and related note, it is timely to disclose that today is my last day prior to maternity leave for the year – very exciting times for me personally! I couldn’t be more thrilled to be handing over the reigns in Admissions to Leigh Gauthier, who will become Director of Admissions and will be fabulous in the role. Until this transitions, Leigh has been the Director of Rotman’s Career Centre and our team is very excited to work even more closely with her in this new capacity! Stay tuned for lots of exciting work to come from Rotman and I will look forward to jumping back in next summer 🙂