No matter where you are on your journey to get a top-ranked MBA, the end goal is still the same: land your dream job.
For those early in the process and who are trying to decipher through the seemingly endless MBA formats and schools, attending a prestigious school can be enticing. All the barriers aside, who doesn’t want to say they attended Harvard Business School?
However, it is important to keep in mind that prestige alone cannot guarantee—nor necessarily hinder—employment at your dream company. Some people may find success after graduating from an M7 school; others may land a great gig as an alumni of a school you’ve never even heard of. Others, unfortunately, may not find a job at all.
“You’re not just on ‘easy street’ where people are throwing jobs at you,” says Jeremy Shinewald, founder and president of mbaMission, an MBA admissions and career consulting firm. “There might be a perception that that’s true. It’s not true.”
Your alma mater is just one indication to companies of the rigor of your education experience as well as the skills you may have learned. Ultimately, whether you’ve earned your degree from a top school or not, there are other ways to make your job application pop against other candidates.
### Why MBA prestige does help
#### Networking and recruiting
Top schools boast strong alumni networks and employment pipelines. For that reason, attending a school with name recognition grants more access to coveted employers who often recruit directly from them.
Campus recruitment is an investment for employers, so they’ll continue to create opportunities for students at schools where other alumni have been successful employees.
“There is great talent everywhere,” says Dee Clarke, a former independent talent acquisition consultant who held MBA recruitment leadership positions with Amazon, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs. “But the challenge is where is the most ROI [return on investment]” for companies that recruit directly from MBA programs.
When deciding on which MBA program to attend, experts say prospective students should do their research and figure out which schools may have past relationships with top companies, meaning they have sustained recruitment or attend on-campus fairs.
A way to do this is by searching LinkedIn and exploring some of the popular post-grad destinations for recent alumni. Some top schools also post reports of the organizations that are hiring their recent students for jobs and internships. Harvard and Wharton are two examples.
One bit of good news is that with Zoom and other video platforms being much more normalized, virtual recruitment fairs are more popular at more schools. What does this mean? Students from schools that haven’t been necessarily deemed the top can have face time with recruiters and have a chance at landing some of the most competitive roles.
“Candidates that exhibit traditional skills with a mindset of balancing performance targets with sustainability are increasingly sought after,” says Clemens Kownatzki, associate dean of full-time & part-time programs at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.
#### Specializations
Not all business schools and their curriculum is the same. Each program offers different core classes, electives, and opportunities for specialization, concentrations, certificates, or dual degrees. Plus, companies are generally aware of these trends.
For example, for those who want to get started in Silicon Valley, being a Stanford graduate might give you a leg up versus someone on the other side of the country. The same goes for Wharton’s prestige in finance.
Many schools also have more niche concentrations like artificial intelligence, healthcare, or real estate. Overall, doing your research before you even apply to schools is key since you can cater school and job application materials to your career goals.
### An MBA is only part of the equation
Ultimately, one’s school and university does matter in the business school world since it serves as an initial vetting process for recruiters, but it is absolutely not the end-all-be-all.
For example, merit still matters to employers, Shinewald says. While school status can help put you in front of certain employers, a company won’t reject someone who is overwhelmingly qualified for a role yet comes from a less prestigious school, he says.
If you come from a less-known business school, job applicants may need to work a little bit harder at networking and interviewing to best communicate the in-demand skills they bring to the table. For each job you apply to, pay close attention to the job requirements, but know that graduating from a certain ranked school is never a requirement.
### When a school’s name matters—and when it doesn’t
Applicant expectations vary from employer to employer, but some industries still tend to hire from top MBA programs. In turn, that may influence where you decide to apply.
“There are MBA roles in some industries where pedigree is a non-negotiable factor,” says Sameer Kamat, founder of MBA Crystal Ball, an MBA admissions consulting firm. “Think elite management consulting, investment banking, private equity. This is why these industries have their favorite hunting grounds to recruit fresh talent.”
In management consulting, a student’s alma mater may matter even greater than a student’s experience prior to their MBA, Kamat adds.
The tech industry, however, is generally not married to where you attended school. Rather, these companies may be more interested in the skills you picked up along the way, such as in topics like data science and coding. The companies also tend to have less consistent hiring timelines.
Businesses in the financial services and consulting industries, however, start recruiting up to a year in advance, often visiting campus during the fall and spring semesters in search of future full-time employees or interns. A lot of business schools are struggling to manage the anxiety of students who wait for tech companies, which come to campus much later.
### The takeaway: leveraging your unique experience
For any MBA grad, experts recommend highlighting key experience on your résumé. This either compensates for a less prestigious school name or gives additional context and experience to your time at a well-known business school to set you apart from your peers.
MBA students or grads should of course include their education, GPA, and any vital on-campus or work experiences on their résumé, while also keep in mind that it may not be a human who is first seeing your materials; make sure it is computer readable.
But remember just your educational background, a résumé is only part of the puzzle. Students need to have a top-notch cover letter and interview to succeed.
“Increasingly though, the differentiator is not what you know but how you apply your knowledge,” Kownatzki says. “Are you using your skills to simply enrich yourself or can you apply your recently acquired skills to make a difference in the world?”
### Frequently asked questions
#### Does it matter if your MBA is accredited?
Yes, graduating from an accredited, ideally nonprofit, university, will help you stand out against others with less-respected degrees. There are hundreds of well-known universities with MBA programs with a variety of format and price offerings.
#### Do employers value an MBA?
Yes, employers particularly in industries like finance, consulting, and tech value the management, critical thinking, and problem solving skills students learn during an MBA program. The better you are at expressing how your skill set can be used to particular companies and roles, the better odds you have at landing your desired job.
#### How do I justify my MBA to my employer?
You need to explain your added value in relation to your employers goals and needs. While all MBA students learn the principles of business management, you need to explain what makes your skillset unique and makes you particularly equipped to solve emerging business issues.
Check out all of Fortune’s rankings of degree programs, and learn more about specific career paths.