By Ali Decker, MBA 2025
I came into my MBA knowing that I would not follow a typical recruiting path. Even in my second year, I didn’t have one particular role in mind – instead, I sought to join an organization that is positively impacting food system sustainability, in any role in where I could contribute my skills and experience and continue to grow professionally.
It’s difficult to filter jobs online by this criteria; but, as my CDO advisor pointed out, these clear goals are great as filters in conversations, i.e., during networking.
Creating a Plan for my Networked Job Search
The first step in planning my networked job search was to acknowledge that this process might take a while. I knew I had to treat my search as a marathon, not a sprint. Developing a strategic and simple plan for the year was a key element of my success.
To create my plan, below, I reflected on the goals I had for my target job, my second year in the MBA program, and my job search after graduation. I identified networking activities that would support my goals and help me move my job search forward throughout the year.
You’ll see that my plan is brief – I wanted to make the act of planning approachable and keep my plan simple enough that I could remember the core elements to guide my networking and other activities.
Methods for Success
Putting my plan into action was the next step. As I progressed through my plan, I found three approaches helpful: preparing strategically for job conversations, keeping an open mindset, and tracking my progress to understand which efforts were having a positive impact on my search.
- Setting goals for each chat focused me on what I most wanted to know from that person. It was often helpful to tell them up front, “Your role is one I’m interested in and I greatly respect your company, so I want to hear more …” or “I’m looking for ideas on companies in soil health that you respect and people I should connect to…”
- Being open and creative about “networking,” and pursuing a number of activities, helped me create a steady stream of connections. Two examples: I talked my way into private tours of a seaweed processing facility and oyster hatchery, and I reconnected with my MBA internship manager for advice. While being resourceful boosts your odds of connection, don’t get hung up on a “slow” networking week either; as with anything, networking events and individuals’ availability for chats ebbed and flowed over the year.
- Evaluating my results helped me see the positive impact of my networking activities. The graphic below shows how the variety of networking activities increased my pool of “people I know,” leading me to have referrals for one quarter of my job applications! As you can see from my post-graduation numbers here, the referrals had a much better hit rate as compared to non-referral applications.
What I Learned
If you are launching a networked job search, hopefully my story has convinced you about the importance of networking, and the value of converting your goals into a plan to navigate the process with more ease and success. These are the key pieces of advice I’d give anyone getting ready to launch their own search:
- Develop a clear goal about what you are looking for, to guide the job search. Return to the phrase “Why did I choose to pursue my current program(s)?” to get clarity and stay focused on what motivates you.
- Set concrete job search goals that align with, and support you in finding, what you are looking for. For example, set a target number of conversations and job applications per week.
- Remember to look for the silver lining in this experience. This is a unique time in your life when people from competing organizations will give you an inside look into their work. While you should acknowledge the difficulties of the MBA job search, make sure to acknowledge the joys, too.
I hope my plan gives a helpful starting point for you to develop your own plan based on your unique goals. Remember to set specific goals, be open to the many opportunities around you to make connections and ask questions, and make time for other non-job-related goals like enjoying time with classmates and relaxing.
Where Did I Land?
I joined a global leader in water technologies in the Boston area that is committed to environmental sustainability. As an Associate Product Manager, I apply my product development background toward Triple Bottom Line sustainability improvements (e.g., product redesign to reduce waste), and I bring the skills learned through the Sloan MBA and Sustainability Certificate to amplify the market success of sustainable technologies (e.g., water efficiency product line expansion). I am excited to have landed this sustainable product role and look forward to this journey of achieving meaningful sustainability impact through my work.
I wish you the same good luck with your search!
