Three Things- October

Time continues to fly by in our busiest season, and it’s time to recap three things you need to know for October. There has been news across the board, as application deadlines have come and gone, interviews are beginning, rankings have come out, and as always, broader global economic trends are impacting the MBA education. Here are three things we found interesting this month:

Interviews, of course, are on everyone’s mind. October is peak time for interview preparation, and this year, applicants to some schools are facing more unusual interview formats. Schools like Yale and Kellogg, for example, are asking students to submit videos or to answer questions in a video interview. Other schools, such as Wharton, are placing prospective students in group interview situations, tasked with working together to solve a set problem. Each of these situations tests skills that are important to academic and professional success, such as the ability to think quickly, to present yourself well via digital technology, and to successfully collaborate with others. Even as interview formats change, though, basic keys to success remain similar- diligent preparation, honest knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses, and professionalism. (For more on rising interview trends, see this article on the future of interviewing.)

In other news, Chicago’s Booth School of Business has proved itself a back-to-back champion, topping The Economist’s full-time MBA rankings for the second year in a row. Other traditional powers, such as Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business slipped lower in the top 10 group, ranking sixth and eighth respectively. As this Poets and Quants article notes, the majority of the top ten schools were American universities, indicating that traditional powerhouses are still very much a force to be reckoned with.

Finally, October brought some encouraging statistics in the job market. A GMAC recruiter’s survey found that more companies are planning to hire recent MBA grads and that they expect to have more MBAs in their company, as they look to fill their talent pipelines. This is in sharp contrast to the last several years, in which many companies tightened their belt and made do with current resources. It is also encouraging for MBAs drawn to fields that are not strictly finance. Industries such as technology and healthcare also reported increases in MBA hiring and are in high demand.