Your LinkedIn profile could be the first thing business schools see.

Darren draws on his admissions experience and shares 7 tips to make a good first impression, reinforce your MBA story, and highlight additional qualities not in your application.

MBA programs are looking at your social media, especially your LinkedIn profile. Take 15 minutes to follow these guidelines, optimize your LinkedIn presence, and represent yourself well to b-schools, MBA students & alumni, and future employers.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/linkedin-tips-mba-applicants

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Many MBA applicants are interested in entrepreneurship, but have trouble reconciling the cost of an MBA with their goal of starting a business. Darren invites 2 recent Wharton MBA graduates, Alex Kubo and Renata Arauz De Stefano, to discuss if an MBA helps you become a better entrepreneur. Alex currently works at Burrow.com, a Y Combinator backed startup in New York City, and Renata started Mwayi, a fashion social enterprise that brings customized, African-print apparel to US consumers.

How helpful is an MBA for starting your own business? For joining startups? How can you make the most of your MBA experience if you have entrepreneurship goals? Is it tough to go this route when your peers are getting high paying jobs? Can entrepreneurship be taught? Listen on to get the perspective of 2 students who started organizations during their MBA.

About Our Guests

Alex Kubo graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He then worked as a Project Manager and Project Engineer for ExxonMobil before attending Wharton, where he majored in Entrepreneurial Management and Marketing. After a summer internship and consulting role at Andela, Alex joined 2 of his Wharton classmates in the Fall of 2016 to help lead Burrow.

Renata Aráuz-DeStefano majored in International Relations and French at Tufts University and worked for 4 years at FINCA International in microfinance before heading to Wharton. In her second year, she started Mwayi, a fashion social enterprise. This summer, she will be investment banking for Bank of America - Merrill Lynch.

• Alex Kubo, Burrow (4:50)
• Renata Arauz DeStefano, Mwayi (39:15)

Episode summary, links and more at http://touchmba.com/mba-for-entrepreneurs-worth-it/

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Caroline Diarte Edwards and Darren cover best practices for securing great MBA letters of recommendation. Don’t miss this detailed and open-ended discussion between 2 former Admissions Directors so you can sidestep common mistakes and understand what top b-schools consider an excellent letter of recommendation.

Questions

• Why recommendations are important (3:16)
• Who to select as your recommender (6:06)
• How to prepare and what to give your recommenders (19:06)
• Last tips on to get great MBA recommendations (37:00)

About Our Guest

Caroline Diarte Edwards is Co-Founder and Director of Fortuna Admissions. Caroline was Director of Admissions for the Insead MBA from 2005 to 2012. Caroline got her MBA from Insead in 2003 and is a graduate of the University of Cambridge.

Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/great-mba-letters-of-recommendations

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