Tom Harrison looks at the importance of planning your future career and discovers it’s never too early and that you can never be too well prepared.

Be realistic
You’re on the way to qualifying for an MBA and enjoying all the potential career benefits that come with it, but are you going to maximize your return on a significant investment of your resources? Maybe you figure that an MBA is a golden ticket and you’ll soon have a flood of world-leading companies fighting for your services? That could happen, but is far from the reality, in most cases. Remarks from some top MBA employers might put things into perspective:

“Some MBAs have unrealistic expectations. In a corporate environment, they want to be the CEO next week,” says Timothy King from HSBC. Troy Meinhard from Pfizer comments that “MBAs sometimes have unrealistic expectations of initial responsibilities and speed of career progression,” while according to Alison Tipper from Merrill Lynch, “MBAs sometimes come in with a very high opinion of themselves and don't expect to be doing some of the work that they will have to do at the start of their career.”

Admittedly, these are responses to a survey question asking about the downside of hiring MBAs - all these recruiters did acknowledge a very significant upside - but the feedback about unrealistic expectations was given by many more employers surveyed for the QS TopMBA.com International MBA Recruitment and Salary Report 2007.

So why would some MBA job candidates not have realistic expectations of their next career stage? The answer is simple. They have not taken the time to research the job market and prepare themselves properly.

Career management is an ongoing, life-long process. It is likely your decision to undertake an MBA was made to enhance your career in some way, whether to develop confidence and competence to continue in a particular role, to widen your career options or to equip you for a far more senior position. You may have been motivated by increased responsibility, greater intrinsic job challenges or enhanced rewards.

Being prepared and knowing what you want to do, career-wise, is central to achieving your objectives. It requires you to be realistic about your goals through detailed and accurate self-awareness, understanding of the corporate world and knowledge of the market place.

Define your goals
There are three main career paths an MBA graduate may follow:

1: Continue to develop your current career - this is the most obvious and achievable objective, provided that it continues to meet your personal development needs. If you are considering returning to, or remaining with, a particular employer, it is important that you discuss your aspirations with your manager to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship between you and the company.

2: Switch careers - this is difficult, but not impossible, provided that you focus on demonstrating the transferability of your skills and experience and, if you are a student, maximize the opportunities presented by the MBA to gain knowledge and understanding of your new field. You need to identify which of your strengths and skills are most applicable to that field and concentrate on presenting those when required.

3: Go it alone and set up your own company - MBAs often wish to apply their studies in a truly autonomous environment with ultimate account-ability for their own actions. If you are considering this option, it is vital that you are realistic in assessing whether or not you have all the skills to establish and manage your own business, or whether sharing responsibility, through a partnership, would bemore effective.

Be focussed
Once you have chosen your path, it’s time to focus your efforts on achieving the best result. Seek out the right companies and the right roles for yourself. Think beyond industry sector and potential earnings – you need to consider location, culture, career prospects and work/life balance.Make the most of opportunities to hear about the companies that proactively target you and your fellow students through campus visits and direct mailings, but be sure to be active in finding other sources of information.

The Internet is a great source of such information, providing detail on every major employer froma variety of perspectives.Don’t just look at the company websites, but seek out blogs and business press sites that offer an independent or alternative view. There is a wealth of specific information about actual opportunities too. As well as company career sites and general job boards, there are MBA-specific sites such as global-workplace.com and topmba.com/careers offering jobs, careers advice, company profiles and more. If your school is signed up to one of these services, you will also have unlimited access to these sites, so be sure to check.

It is estimated that up to 75% of all MBA level jobs are never formally advertised. You will, therefore, almost certainly, need to exploit every source of opportunity available to you, including those that are opened up through effective networking and those that can be achieved through a focussed approach to your MBA. Your school careers service will assist you where possible by facilitating access to its own alumni and corporate contacts; however, the responsibility is yours, to ensure that these contacts are handled effectively.

Again, consider the Internet and networking sites such as LinkedIn. Such sites are designed for career networking and work better the more you put into them. It’s also likely you’re a member of one of the numerous social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace. These can also be useful, especially for getting the inside track on career paths or specific employers from experienced people who will often simply tell it like it is. First-hand accounts may be the most beneficial you will find.

Be proactive
In an increasingly competitive world, getting a job will require you to market yourself effectively. Even if your initial contact is through informal networking, it is almost certain that, at some point, you will be asked to submit a CV, and participate in some form of selection. Having an up-to-date and quality CV is imperative, as is preparing for an interview and/or other selection processes. Find out as much as you can about the company you are applying to, to make sure that at each stage of the recruitment process, you demonstrate that you understand the requirements of the position and your capability to do the job.

When applying or interviewing it is essential to demonstrate your specific interest in the industry sector, the company and the role. Companies frequently complain about candidates not understanding these basics and expecting their qualifications alone to get them the job. Some recruiters went as far as to use words such as ‘arrogant’ and ‘ill-prepared’ in the QS TopMBA.com Survey: “They are shopping the market for the best deal. Finding the right candidate that truly wants to work for your company is a challenge at times,” says Sangeeta LaForges from General Motors. Jeff Hirsch from ExxonMobil continues: “Too many students do not have a clear idea of their mid to long term goals.Our company expects a long term commitment and many of today's graduates are not ready to make that commitment.”

You may be the perfect fit for these companies but the key is in marketing yourself in the best possible way to show how your characteristics, skills, experience and ambitions match what they are looking for. Show how much it would mean to you to work for them. The more you know about the firm and the more you know why you’d be a good fit, the more you will impress.

Source: QS Top MBA Career Guide