“One thing I’ve always told my students is that the spend to recruit an individual MBA is 150K per successful hire before the start of your first day at work… just keeping that enormous investment in mind and the fact that there are super smart undergraduates who are willing to do challenging tasks and people who have more experience and stronger track records helps MBAs gain a better perspective…MBAs are super important to the talent pipeline of companies and industries (especially service industries) but don’t take it for granted that there are no other options on either end of the experience scale.”

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Darren speaks with Ivan Kerbel of Practice MBA about what applicants need to know about MBA career strategy. A Wharton MBA himself, Ivan headed Yale SOM’s Career Development Office and was also a Associate Director at Wharton’s MBA Career Office. There are few people worldwide who have Ivan’s know-how about MBA career strategy – listen on for the inside scoop!

About Our Guest

Prior to founding the Practice MBA, Ivan Kerbel served as Director of The Career Development Office at The Yale School of Management, as a Senior Associate Director at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton MBA Career Management office, and as an Associate consultant at Katzenbach Partners, an organizational design and people performance strategy boutique in New York City.

Ivan got an MBA from Wharton and an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, and graduated with a BA in History from Yale University.

Topics & Questions

• What’s the value of an MBA in industry today?
• Which industries and employers are looking for MBAs?
• What do younger and older MBA applicants need to consider?
• What must international applicants consider about MBA careers in the US?
• Can MBAs still make big career switches post-MBA?
• What’s harder – getting into business school or competing against your peers for jobs?
• How does the size of an MBA class affect how career services operates, for example Yale SOM vs. Wharton?
• Where does entrepreneurship fit within MBA careers?
• Ivan’s most important advice to applicants about MBA careers

Show Notes

• Talk to Ivan about career consulting; Ivan’s LinkedIn Profile
• Practice MBA – offers admitted MBAs a chance to prepare for business school by spending 1-3 weeks together in an intensive summer residence training program in July, prior to the start of school
• Landing Your Dream Job or Internship – The Best of Ivan Kerbel (Poets & Quants)
• Have an MBA Career Strategy Question? Ask Ivan (Poets & Quants)
• CEIBS MBA

Ivan getting comfortable before our open-ended session. Yup, that’s an ice-bucket microphone stand!