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With MBA graduations right around the corner, many of you will be starting new jobs soon. Getting off on the right foot is critical for job satisfaction and long-term success within an organization (and beyond it).

Whether your new employer offers substantial onboarding and training programs or whether you are expected to take the reins yourself as you forge ahead in your new role, these six tips can help set you up for success:

1. Gain clarity on your responsibilities and your boss’s expectations.

Ask your manager what the metrics of success are for your new position and how your work fits into that of the overall team. Learn about the company’s culture and any unspoken norms; listen carefully to your manager’s directions, and ask colleagues for guidance. 

2. Be proactive. 

Keep your manager up-to-date on the status of your projects; be aware that some managers might have specific preferences on how they would like to be kept in the loop. If you are unsure about how to proceed on a project, consider asking for support with this language: “I am not clear on what my next steps should be, but here’s what I am thinking. Am I on the right track?” or “I am thinking about doing X next but wanted to confirm that with you first.”

3. Ask for and incorporate feedback. 

Get specifics using language like “This week, X happened. I’d love your thoughts on how I could have handled this situation better. Can we discuss it more?” Pay attention to nonverbal feedback; notice the changes/edits made to your work product, and ask why they were made. If you are struggling, request templates or samples of strong work product.

4. Get to know your team. 

Participate in office activities, ask colleagues to lunch, and consider joining affinity groups. Gather information on each person’s working style; ask questions like “What do you need from me to ensure that we’re doing our best work?” Show appreciation for your team’s support and guidance.

5. Maintain a positive mindset. 

Feeling overwhelmed (or even underqualified) when you start a new job is common, so do not worry. If you were an expert at your new job on Day 1, you would be bored by Day 30. Each day is a new opportunity to learn.  

6. Share your new job with your network. 

Add your new role to the experience section of your LinkedIn profile, and post an announcement of it, along with a note of appreciation to those who helped you land it. Send personalized thank-you emails to anyone who assisted you during your job search.

Finally, you worked hard to land your new position, so enjoy the journey! Be curious. Have fun. Build relationships. Learn new things. Find ways to make an impact.

Harvard Business School (HBS) offers an excellent MBA program. This is largely a given, and we are not questioning that. However, what we will call into question is whether HBS (or any other school, for that matter) is right for you. Every year, we get a few calls from confused MBA aspirants who say, “I visited HBS, and I am not sure if there is a fit,” as if that indicates some sort of problem. Indeed, and this may be shocking to some, HBS is not for everyone—particularly those who do not relate well to case-based learning, those who want a lot of flexibility in their first-year curriculum, and those who would prefer a small class size (HBS’s Class of 2026 has 930 students, while the same class at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, for example, has just 295).

MBA students at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business are known to work quite hard amid the rigors of the case method. Each day, they are expected to read a business case and perform their own analysis of the situation presented. Then, they must compare and reason through their analysis with a small, diverse group of fellow students—their Learning Team. Students can often spend two to four hours prepping on their own and then two to three more with their teammates to arrive at an answer (as opposed to the answer). And what might be the reward for all this work? The student may be selected for a “cold call” to start off the class.

Columbia Business School (CBS) requires all its applicants to submit a short-answer goal statement of just 50 characters. In addition, January-entry applicants must respond to a second short-answer question about why they have selected the alternative program start date, while August-entry applicants are asked to describe their plans for the summer between the first and second year of the program. Both of these responses are limited to 50 characters, as well. All candidates must also provide three somewhat concise essays. Like the goal statement, CBS’s first essay prompt is about candidates’ career aspirations but focuses on the long term, and the additional length (500 words versus 50 characters) demands much more depth. For their second essay, applicants must discuss their active role in an inclusive experience, and for the third, they are asked to describe their vision for their time in the CBS MBA program and the role they anticipate playing in creating this experience. Together, by balancing professional aspirations with more personal, values- and character-based topics, the school’s essays should provide candidates with sufficient opportunity to provide a well-rounded impression of themselves as aspiring CBS MBAs. Read on for our detailed analysis of the program’s 2025–2026 questions.

Columbia Business School Essay Analysis, 2025–2026

August-Entry and January-Entry Short Answer Question 1: What is your immediate post-MBA professional goal? (50 characters maximum)

CBS applicants accustomed to X’s (formerly Twitter’s) standard 280-character allowance might find the school’s 50-character limit here more than a little challenging—especially considering that it includes spaces! To get a sense of how brief your opportunity really is, note that the question is itself exactly 50 characters. With such limited space, this can hardly be considered a true essay, but you will need to approach it with the same level of thought and focus you give all your other written responses for CBS. 

This prompt is a no-nonsense request for information that is all about getting to the point and telling the admissions committee what it needs to know—that you have a clear and achievable goal. Conveying the requested information in such a tight space is definitely doable, and you do not need to worry too much about grammatical issues or crafting a complete sentence (in other words, you do not need to start your response with “I want to” or something similar). We like to offer the statement “Reveal true goals, not what you think CBS wants” as both our example of keeping things concise and our advice on how to approach and fulfill this request. 

So think about what you truly want to do with your career in the short term, and state this aspiration directly. Keep in mind that the rest of your application needs to provide evidence that your stated goal aligns with your existing skills and profound interests, especially once they have been augmented by an MBA education. This will show that your professed goal is achievable and lend credibility to your statement. If you can do this in 50 characters (not words!), you will have done what you need to do to answer the school’s question quite well.

Did you apply to business school in the 2025–2026 application season and were released from further consideration, otherwise known as “dinged”?

If so, we want to help you improve your chances of success in the coming application cycle.

Now through May 19, 2025, “dinged” applicants who plan to reapply have a chance to win an mbaMission “reapplicant strategy” service for a fraction of the typical cost. If selected as a winner, you will be able to sign on for our comprehensive (a $925 value) for just $100! And if you subsequently purchase one of our application packages, that $100 is applied to your costs—making the reapplicant strategy service totally free!

If you are selected, an mbaMission consultant will request a complete copy of your submitted application (including letters of recommendation, if available) and then thoroughly review it. Within two weeks of providing your application, you will have a phone call with that consultant, who will identify your application’s strengths and weaknesses, offer suggestions for improvements, and answer any questions you have about either the review or our recommended strategy for your reapplication.

But that is not all! As we noted earlier, if you then sign up for mbaMission’s Complete-Start-to-Finish Package, the $100 you paid will be credited toward the price of that package. 

If you would like to be considered for the $100 reapplication strategy review service opportunity, simply complete this form by May 19, 2025. Good luck!