If you’re an international candidate to US MBA programs, read this before finalizing your post-MBA career goals!
As an international applicant to a top US MBA program, you’re surely aware of the special challenges you may face once admitted, particularly in applying for a visa and securing housing. However, one thing you may not have considered is how your non-US citizenship impacts the reality of your career goals. In other words, if you’re hoping to remain in the US and pursue your career ambitions here in the long-run, it may be wise to consider which companies and industries will sponsor an H1B visa if that’s what you will require.
I recently came across this exact situation with a client. He is an Indian national hoping to work in a strategic planning group at a large financial institution in the US after graduation. American Express was actually his top choice company and he mentioned it specifically in his essay. However, after speaking with one of our career experts at Amex, he was disappointed to find out that team does not sponsor visas. So where did that leave his career goals?
Keep in mind that the adcom is briefed on company data regularly and may be aware of a particular firm’s policy on sponsoring visas. Since an applicant’s career goals should be realistic as well as logical and ambitious, the key is not to be too narrow in focus.Instead, showing flexibility in your target companies is the best way to get around this challenge. So I advised my client to broaden his target to Amex or a company of that top notch caliber.
The bottom line is that as long as you have a general sense of the hiring practices within your industry, you don’t need to kill yourself researching the specific visa policies of multiple potential employers. When in doubt, just show that you’re flexible and open-minded.
If you already figured this out, then more power to you! You’re ahead of the curve! And for those of you who didn’t, you still have plenty of time to tweak your career goals accordingly before the round 2 deadlines!
Best of luck with your applications!
Melody( Co-Founder of Vantage Point MBA Admissions Consulting | Shaping Success Stories for Top MBA Program Applicants | Championing Women in Business ) After embarking on my own MBA journey, I co-founded Vantage Point MBA Admissions Consulting to help aspiring business school students get accepted to the top MBA programs in the U.S. and Europe. As President, I currently lead a team of over 25 superstar consultants to give our clients an unmatched experience, with a focus on white glove, personalized collaboration and mentorship.
