MBA grads offer tips on leading student groups | |
Andrea,
One of the challenges of business school is narrowing down your experiences to those that will best help you reach your goals. We're all ambitious, eager, energetic professionals, and we all want to do everything. Our goal is to help you find what is best for you!
We conducted a survey with past and present students to give you perspective on how student group leadership can impact your MBA experience. This week, we'll consider:
- Finding your leadership niche
- The skills students developed in leadership positions
- Ways in which student group leadership impacted career transition
- The biggest benefits of being a student leader
- Advice from students on managing student group commitments differently
- How to create new opportunities
The 100 Week Sprint team
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Save Time
Focus on specific groups, don’t try to impact them all!
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Save Money
Avoid the pressure to join every group, for most students, the sweet spot is between 5 and 7
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Expand Networks
Get to know people who share your interests, not just students, but alumni and others in the community as well
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Accelerate Learning
Ask for feedback on your leadership style as a group leader – the real-time feedback will be powerful
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Got 5 minutes? Analyze your current activities. Identify which ones seem to be most satisfying and allow you to build your resume.
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Got 30 minutes? Identify specific goals for your involvement. Know what you want to contribute to a group and what you want to gain from it.
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Got an hour? Talk to organization leaders and ask what you can do to position yourself for a leadership role.
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Find your leadership niche
During Week 19, we discussed identifying the opportunities that you would like to be involved in. Now that you've started to jump into many of those organizations, it's time to identify which you should delve into. From industry-focused organizations to student government to other interest groups (social, religious, athletic, etc.), there are many options! Keep these tips in mind as you look into opportunities:
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"Don't go for a leadership role just to have one. Pick something you're passionate about and play to your strengths."
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"Some people who are shy or quiet don't go for student leadership roles, but they should. It's an excuse to contact people, it's an automatic way to build friendships which turn to valuable professional contacts, and it's a lot of fun!"
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"Don't take a position unless you are really interested in the club. You'll be busy, so unless you really want to do the position, you won't do a good job."
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"Try something new!"
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What skills did you develop in a student group position?
(Select all that apply)
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How did student leadership impact career transitions?
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Affirmation: "Affirmation from graduates that it is 100% doable!"
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Teamwork: "Intense work with high-caliber peers. You can't fire your co-chairs...you've got to learn how to make it work with their cooperation."
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Access to resources: "I participated in case competitions, which led to published work and prize money, as well as a greater view of the value of my time in b-school; all of this ultimately led to a better job offer in the end."
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Training: "It developed and rounded up my skill set."
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Networking and interviewing: "I leveraged my leadership positions to demonstrate my tenacity and problem-solving ability."
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Building credibility: "Leadership is a good way to get extra recognition and make connections in your field of interest, particularly if you are transitioning from non-business to business roles."
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What are the biggest benefits of being a student leader?
(Select all that apply)
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Given the chance, would you have done things differently?
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The first year: "Diving deep in the first year constricts the time you have to explore. I would have just spent my 2nd year taking on a leadership role."
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Speaking up and pitching in: "When an event was going wrong, I should've voiced concerns to my co-chair rather than giving what I thought was respectful distance."
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Focusing on industry: "I wish I joined more industry focused groups. I wasn't switching careers, so I didn't prioritize it, but helping plan a large conference and interacting with alumni would've built my network."
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Meeting a more diverse group: "I wish I had suggested happy hours by industry to get to know students from other classes better."
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Creating new opportunities
What happens if you don't get selected as a leader, or aren't interested in the current openings? Are there any leadership positions you can create for yourself? It would boost your profile within the club, but also within the wider community (including potential recruiters). Or, could you organize a new club altogether (e.g., weekly soccer game, film society, gourmands) that leverages your current interests? Anything can be a leadership role if it ends in a tangible, definable achievement.
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Know someone who applied to Wharton?
Wharton’s interview process is unique in that it includes a group discussion. In an effort to help you prepare for this challenge, we offer group interview practice sessions. We conduct these sessions in a secure, online format to give you a chance to simulate the interview environment.
As you may remember, taking part in our practice session allows people to:
- Experience the stress of interacting with Wharton-grade peers driving towards a time-sensitive deliverable (for many participants, a first) in a risk-free environment
- Articulate their response to other Wharton applicants, hear their ideas, and gain valuable group feedback
- The chance to give and receive critical feedback from their peers
After the session, we will offer detailed written feedback, highlighting our assessment of the following:
- Effectiveness of their idea
- Their contributions to group dynamics
- Strengths to leverage and weaknesses to address
If you know someone interested in learning more, share this link:
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