This summer, second-year MBAs and alumni connected with admitted MBAs at CDO’s Intro to Diversity Recruiting to prepare for diversity recruiting this summer and fall. Sloanies shared guidance for those taking part in Pre-MBA programs — including Access, Admit Me, ALT Finance, Forté, Ivy Advisors, Jumpstart, MLT, ROMBA, and Toigo — and navigating early recruiting events with companies like BCG, Kearney, Morgan Stanley, PWC, Deloitte, and more. From their insights, we created these tips for success.
4 Tips for Success in Diversity Recruiting
1) Identify your career goals and values. One of the biggest challenges of any MBA recruiting is being clear on your goals and values so you know which opportunities are a match for you. This will help you avoid accepting an opportunity that isn’t a good fit, just because it’s an early offer. There will be many opportunities for you throughout the year. That said, many great companies engage in early diversity recruiting. CDO’s Career GDP – Good Decision Process shares a great framework for making good career decisions.
2) Be prepared for the pace of the diversity recruiting landscape. Diversity recruiting kicks off early and moves fast, so take time to think about how you will respond if you are given an early offer. While you may feel pressure to accept an early offer, there are ways you can advocate for yourself to get more time to make your decision. First, familiarize yourself with the ‘earliest deadlines for recruiting offers’ with the MIT Sloan Recruiting Policies for the MBA program, which our company partners are asked to honor when recruiting MIT Sloan MBAs. Then, reach out to the MBA Career Advisors (mbacdoadvisors@mit.edu) if you have any questions or would like to discuss how to prepare in advance of an offer, so you can advocate for yourself in real-time.
3) Leverage the MIT Sloan network for information and support. MIT Sloan MBA students have access to alumni — through the MIT Sloan Affinity Graduate Alumni Council — that they can interact with to help understand employer expectations or prepare for case interviews. If you have questions or aren’t sure what to expect, leverage this valuable network.
4) Connect with your MBA Career Advisors on offers and negotiations. MBA Career Advisors (mbacdoadvisors@mit.edu) are available for admitted/deposited students who are preparing for early/diversity recruiting interviews, considering offers, and negotiating offers. You can use mbacdoadvisors@mit.edu to book appointments during the summer, or when you have questions about an offer. Note: Needing advice on an internship/job offer, or how to negotiate an offer, is considered an urgent situation by our advisors, and if you let them know this is your situation, an MBA Career Advisor will prioritize your request.
With Gratitude to our Second-Year MBAs and Alums:
We are grateful to the student and alumni panelists who generously shared their experiences and guidance for incoming students, so they can begin this process with a strategy and supportive network.
Panelists:
MBA ’24
Christian Bradley | https://www.linkedin.com/in/c–bradley/
Stefan Sayre | https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefansayre/
Alumni
Andrew Mairena | https://www.linkedin.com/in/amairena/
Dela Gbordzoe | https://www.linkedin.com/in/delag/
Event Organizer(s) from Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Career Development Office:
Steven Branch | Samantha McGurgan | Georgette Arato | Rose Keating | Anna Kerchner
Additional Resources:
If you are new to Diversity Recruiting, check out the Pre-MBA Internships & Pre-MBA Programs page on Your CDO where you will find descriptions of the types of summer recruiting events, links to companies with these programs, and information on how to update your LinkedIn profile to position you for recruiting.
