If you’re going into the second year of your MBA without a clear exit plan, you may be feeling apprehensive about what comes next. Maybe your internship didn’t convert to a full-time role; or you’re already in the midst of structured recruitment; or you need to pivot completely.
Whatever your circumstances, it’s easy to feel anxious about whether you’ll secure the kind of role you’re looking for coming out of the MBA—and unsure of what to prioritize when.
This article provides a series of essential tips for both the structured and unstructured phases of second-year MBA recruiting. Read on to learn what you can expect in each phase, and how you should approach every step in the process to maximize your outcomes.
Note: This is a guide to recruiting for full-time postgraduation roles in the second year of the MBA. We’ve also published a guide to MBA internship recruiting in the first year.
As you enter the second year of your MBA, we strongly advise you to engage in a preliminary self-reflection on where you stand, what you want, and how your experiences so far should inform your approach going forward.
If you got a return offer after your internship but aren’t yet certain whether you’ll sign it, bear in mind that B-schools often have explicit policies on how long such offers have to remain open before you’re forced to decide. These policies are designed to prevent firms from pressuring you into hasty decisions; they can give you some wiggle room if you want to take more time to weigh up your options.
But if you’re reading this, it’s likely you either didn’t get the internship you wanted or didn’t secure a return offer and need to re-recruit into a different firm or industry—in which case, it’s time to reflect on your position, your priorities, and your plan going forward.
In your reflection, be sure to consider …
All the above considerations should lead you toward developing a clear plan A and plan B for your approach to second-year recruiting:
Crucially, you may need to make some preliminary moves for plan B even while the outcome of plan A is still up in the air. This is why it’s important to consider multiple scenarios in advance.
For instance, say you gained experience as a strategy analyst at a big corporation pre-MBA. Your goal coming into the program was to secure an associate position at an MBB consulting firm.
Plan A is to pursue that goal through the structured recruiting process, engaging in intensive networking in the summer and ensuring you’re as prepared as possible for case interviews.
But knowing this is a highly competitive path and you don’t want to feel at a loss if it doesn’t work out, you also construct a plan B: pursuing a corporate strategy or LDP role at a tech firm. Knowing that recruitment for these roles plays out later in the year, you keep on top of opportunities here (e.g., networking, attending presentations) even as you work on plan A.
If consulting recruiting doesn’t work out for you, you are well positioned to pivot to a full focus on plan B—as you wouldn’t have been if you’d put all your eggs in one basket, gambling on the assumption that plan A would work out.
Careful reflection and planning at this stage will allow you to start off on the right foot, with a clear understanding of where you’re going, your strategy for getting there, and what you’ll do if plan A doesn’t pan out.
The term “structured recruiting” can give the misleading impression that this process doesn’t require you to take the initiative. You might imagine it’s just a matter of signing up as a candidate and going through the motions. You’d be wrong.
The structured recruitment process in second year holds your hand substantially less than the first-year internship recruitment process. There may still be company presentations, networking events, and career fairs taking place on campus, but they’ll be less comprehensive than the previous year.
As discussed above, structured recruiting for consulting and IB roles in particular starts before the semester even begins and therefore takes place largely off campus. You’ll miss the boat if you wait until you’re back on campus to start your recruiting efforts.
Additionally, although the process is structured, proactive networking efforts play a crucial role. Informational interviews and coffee chats are not optional; you need to engage in these preliminaries to get on the interview list and have a shot at the application process proper. Your own initiative plays a greater role here than in internship recruiting.
This means, for instance, that the summer is a time for aggressive networking to find out which investment banks have open roles and get your resume in front of the right people. At all times, make sure you’re using all the resources at your disposal—LinkedIn, relevant clubs at your school, your existing network—to stay on top of the opportunities coming up.
Moreover, if you’re pivoting from an internship in one industry to full-time recruiting in another, this entails reorienting your approach toward the recruiting practices of that industry. Your knowledge and experience from the internship recruiting process may not carry over.
Most MBAs (who didn’t already get a return offer during their internship) secure their postgraduation roles in one of the two main recruiting phases—structured recruiting in the fall, unstructured in the spring.
Between the two busy periods, there’s a lull in recruiting activity. But of course, it’s not that there is no recruiting going on in the winter; some industries or specific firms will inevitably recruit outside the usual peaks.
If you’re still looking for a role, it’s worth keeping on top of any opportunities that may arise in your target industries even in this period—rather than assume there will definitely be nothing until spring.
Additionally, even when nothing does come around in this period, it’s still time you can spend building up your network at any target companies, laying the groundwork for the real application in phase 2.
It’s easy to end up panicking in this period. Maybe you didn’t succeed with structured recruiting, and now you’re stuck in a long intermission—with the end of the degree in sight, no job to show for it yet, and none to apply for right now.
But try to keep things in perspective. Phase 2 is around the corner; there are still opportunities ahead. And many of your peers are likely in the same boat.
Stanford GSB’s latest employment report states that only 69% of the job-seeking graduating class had secured offers by graduation (while 88% had them three months later). Anecdotally, we know this number is not unusual; a larger proportion of MBAs than you might expect secure their postgraduation roles late in the cycle.
An essential tip for unstructured recruiting in the spring is to go narrow, not broad.
As you approach the end of your degree without an offer in hand, and as countless opportunities open up throughout the spring, there’s a strong temptation to take a “machine-gun” approach, firing off applications to a wide range of firms and roles and hoping that something will stick. This is a bad move!
Remember that most roles recruiting in this phase aren’t MBA-specific and might, for instance, go to an experienced hire instead, meaning you’re competing with a more diverse pool of candidates, not only your fellow MBAs.
Fire off applications to a variety of marketing, strategy, and supply chain roles, and you’ll likely be competing with experts with substantial experience in each of those fields. A generic “I have an MBA” pitch won’t cut it.
Instead of wasting your time on a large number of low-effort applications, specialize. Don’t apply to everything; take the time to hone your value proposition for the roles you really want and where you can really bring something to the table.
Recruiters in this phase will be asking “Why you?” You need a really clear, convincing answer to that question, and that requires focus and sincere interest in the jobs you’re applying for.
It may be obvious, but it’s worth emphasizing that networking is really important, especially in the context of unstructured recruiting. You need to get out there and explain your value proposition to people at your target companies.
This means more than just explicitly pitching yourself for open roles. It means laying the groundwork ahead of time so that you are on the firm’s radar when the time comes. And while everyone knows that this is ultimately about getting hired, you’ll make a better impression if you avoid coming across overly transactional in these conversations.
That means taking a more informational approach:
All this sends the right signals, that you’re genuinely interested in the work and the company culture, not purely out for the money.
In this context, it’s also a good idea to orient your networking toward people who also got in through unstructured recruiting. Having followed the same path, they are more able and motivated to help you and can more easily relate to your current situation.
There’s an important distinction to be made between companies that do structured recruiting but simply don’t target your school, and those that simply don’t follow an on-campus recruitment strategy.
At the former companies, you’ll have a hard time getting your foot in the door; you’re fighting against the inertia of the company’s normal hiring practices and will need a fairly exceptional profile to be considered at all.
At companies that don’t target any particular program (or even have no specific appetite for hiring MBAs in general), you have much better odds. You still need to make a case for the value of your MBA and your profile, but there’s no major barrier to entry.
When doing your due diligence on companies you might want to target, be careful not to jump to conclusions. Employment reports from different programs can tell you something, but a company that hires a lot from a specific program doesn’t necessarily have a special relationship with that school.
Look for any statements from the company itself about its target schools (if any), or do your own LinkedIn research or networking to find answers.
Understanding your prospects at different potential target firms will help you to focus your efforts on companies where you have a realistic chance of success.
In second-year MBA recruiting, there are three main types of interview you might encounter: technical interviews, case interviews, and behavioral or fit interviews.
Different industries will have different primary interview types. Expect all applications to involve a fit interview at some stage in the process even if it isn’t the primary means of assessment.
| Interview type | Tests … | Most prevalent in … | How to prep |
| Technical | The specific technical knowledge and skills you will need in the role (e.g., financial modeling) | Finance, including IB, PE, and VC | Intensively study the relevant concepts; consider taking courses (e.g., Wall Street Oasis or Training the Street). |
| Case | Your ability to analyze a novel business problem in real time | Consulting and sometimes tech | Study standard consulting frameworks (e.g., market entry); engage in mock case interviews with peers. |
| Fit / Behavioral | Generally desirable skills (e.g., leadership, teamwork) and cultural fit | Universal, but especially important in tech, corporate jobs, and LDPs | Research company culture and values (e.g., Amazon’s 14 leadership principles); craft and rehearse your stories using the STAR method; consider an interview prep service. |
More so than in first year, there can be a pretty short interval between an application and the interview invite, so practice proactively before you have any interviews in the book; you won’t necessarily have time once you have the interview secured.
In particular, make sure you study any relevant technical concepts and consulting frameworks well in advance. These are not things you can expect to cram at the last minute.
Don’t panic!
As previously mentioned, graduating without a job offer is more common than is widely reported. Recall the Stanford report we cited above indicating that 31% of job-seeking graduates were in this position—down to 12% three months later. (Here are similar numbers from Booth, Kellogg, and Sloan.)
There’s no correlation between being in this situation and later success or failure; our experience shows us that many who struggled with the MBA recruiting process have been very successful down the line, while others who excelled at this stage couldn’t maintain that momentum.
Intentionality is more important than timing; know what you want, what you can offer, and create that match with the right firm. Be active, not passive. Stay positive and resilient, even if finding a true fit takes longer than getting just any job.
All that is to say, don’t panic, but do look seriously at your situation and your options. It’s important to keep those general principles in mind, but when you’re in crisis mode, you may be looking for more concrete guidance. That of course requires engagement with the specifics of your experience and goals.
At any stage in your MBA recruitment journey, you might find yourself in need of help or advice. Where can you turn?
An obvious answer is your school’s career services team. They are there to provide guidance on your job search, and you should absolutely make full use of any services they offer, connecting you with relevant opportunities and advising you on your approach.
But do bear in mind that career services teams are typically understaffed relative to the number of students they’re meant to be helping, and they don’t necessarily have specialist knowledge of the industry or firms you’re interested in. Take full advantage of the resources they provide, yes, but don’t assume that they can do everything for you.
To supplement what the school itself can offer with more in-depth, specialized advice, it’s worth considering an MBA-focused career coaching service. We offer career coaching built on a foundation of deep expertise in the world of MBAs and a diverse range of post-MBA trajectories.
If you’re stuck or have any doubts about your MBA recruiting prospects, contact us for a free consultation to help you secure a stellar post-MBA job offer.
Mike Mascarenhas
Sr. MBA Admissions Consultant
Education: BS, MBA
With over 2,000 hours of experience coaching MBA prospectives and students, Mike knows everything about how to get into MBA programs—and how to land the best jobs coming out of them. Mike built the recruiting process at IESE Business School and subsequently handled MBA recruiting at BCG. He’s a passionate, energetic coach with a deep understanding of the consulting industry and substantial experience with nontraditional candidates.
Speak with an MBA career expert for an in-depth profile review and to start formulating a plan.