Academics will be involved in course selection, focus area requirements and graduation planning, but this is primarily a decision related to how you will market yourself for the job search. In general, it is recommended that everyone complete a focus to clearly show your career interest in a particular field or functional area. However, if you have work experience or a prior degree in that functional area, a focus may not be necessary.

Work with the Career Resource Center. Begin by making some career decisions and take a systematic approach to selecting a focus. This involves several steps in the career development process. 

Self-assessment 
To understand your interests as well as your skills, we recommend you engage in self-assessment. The MBA program is going to help you develop business-related skills through both the core curriculum and electives.

• Identify your highest-match business career areas by reviewing the CareerLeader assessment results that you completed the summer before you entered the MBA program. Refer to the MBA Career Checklist for directions on accessing the CareerLeader assessment
• Review the results of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which gives you information about your personality and some work behaviors. You received the results during August MBA Advantage

Understand your focus interest area (s)

• Review the career interest area resources, which provides special career information for the major business functions
• Review the MBA curriculum, the focus areas available and course requirements
  • Read the MBA course descriptions in the current handbook
• Read the descriptions of your suggested career paths in your CareerLeader results
• Talk with faculty and other students about your interests and functional areas
  

Explore career options related to a specific focus

• Read job descriptions for various level positions
  • Start with general sites like Indeed or LinkedIn and search without location
• Conduct informational interviews with alumni and friends of the School of Management who work in your area of interest.
  • Identify alumni and mentors using the following resources:
    • Connect-A-Bull. Find alumni to talk to and filter by industry, location, hobbies, topics, job types, degrees and more.
      
    • LinkedIn or LinkedIn Alumni 
    • Staff, faculty, friends and family
• Meet with a CRC staff member to discuss your career goals and focus area. (First-year MBAs will accomplish this through their group CRC appointment during MBA Advantage or a one-on-one session in their first semester)
• Attend networking or educational events, including the Management Career and Internship Expo, employer recruiting sessions, Realistic Job Previews and alumni networking events like pop-up Power Lunches and Network New York
• Join School of Management clubs or national and local professional organizations to learn more about your areas of interest and network with those already working in those fields
• Plan to complete at least one MBA internship in your focus area

Work with the Graduate Programs Office. After you have narrowed down your area of interest and feel confident about your career goals, your next step is to formalize an academic plan. Use the MBA handbook, talk with faculty, current students and recent alumni to better understand what courses will align with your career goals. If you need additional assistance with your academic plan, schedule an appointment with Julia Braun through Navigate or by visiting the Graduate Programs Office in 203 Alfiero Center or calling 716-645-3204. Julia can assist you with your course selection, sequencing, academic plan and graduation success.