The Secret To MBA Networking

If you're trying to build your MBA network while applying to business school, then you need to show appreciation through acts of kindness. In this networking video in disguise, Angela Guido talks about how to show gratitude and how to show you care about the help you’ve received from others. Not only is it a gracious thing to do, it’s the basis of your MBA network that you’ll rely on for the rest of your career!

But what’s the best way to say “Thank you” and what acts of kindness are suitable? Find out in this week’s MBA Monday!

Interesting in learning more about positive and compassionate networking? Check out Angela Guido’s book How To Network Without Feeling Like An A-Hole: https://mbas.co/network

#MBAMondays #ActsOfKindness

YouTube video

Prefer to read? Here’s the transcript:

It's one of your very most important tools in building support around your career and your success.

Hello, I'm Angela Guido, founder of Career Protocol and this is MBA Monday. Thanks so much for tuning in and also for subscribing, so you don't miss a single MBA Monday tip. Do you see what I did there? I said thank you. It wasn't a very authentic or enriching thanks. In fact, it was a little bit of a pushy like “go do it now, subscribe now!” kind of a thanks. but today we're talking about thank you notes.

The Lost Art of Thank You Notes

Most people have no idea how to send a concise, simple, direct but really touching thank you note, and that's what you want to do any time someone helps you en route to your MBA success. Why are thank you notes so important, you might ask? Well, as you're going through the MBA application process, you're not only seeking to get information about the school and to gain support for your candidacy among recommenders and potentially among members of the school community, but you're also seeking to build your MBA network. Your MBA network begins today. The people who write your recommendations, the people who answer questions for you in a presentation. The people who take time out of their day to help you get to know the school better are part of your MBA network. And the way you take those friendships from someone who answered a question once to someone who's a member of your network is a thank you note. The bridge is the thank you note. So here are some of the people that you might want to write thank you notes to. Your recommenders, anyone you connect with at the school, current students, alumni, members of the admissions committee, faculty members, members of career services, members of the financial aid program, people who once heard about the school, partners of students and alumni. Anyone you connect with during the program, who gives you any information or support on the journey, be sure to write a thank you note. And this means that you need a couple of different kinds of thank you notes.

How To Show Gratitude To Different People

  1. You need the really brief, no need to reply, thanks so much for your help, thank you note. This is one that you're going to send pretty quickly after an interview, after a networking conversation or after a coffee chat. You just say no need to reply to this email, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, answer my question, interview me and I really enjoyed X, Y, Z element of our interaction. Make it personal, make it specific to this interaction, but make it really brief and make sure that they know that they don't need to reply. The last thing you want to do is to get into an email chain of back and forth. When there's really no substance to the communication.
  2. Then you're going to need a longer, more involved thank you note for anyone who helps you in any kind of substantial way on your journey. So if someone gives you a really important piece of advice that you go and act on and that helps you on the journey. Someone who writes your recommendation, this is obviously a very important thank you note. Or an admissions committee member that you connected with during an event or during any kind of program. For these people, you're going to need a slightly more substantial thank you note. And what you're going to do here is you're going to thank them for whatever they did for you and then you're going to share with them the impact that it had on you and how meaningful it was that they contributed to your life, your career, your MBA success in some way. For your recommenders, this might actually be quite a long note, especially if you're successful in getting into the program. You might send them a few thank you notes, one for submitting it, one to let them know that you got an interview and then one when you finally got in and you're about to make your transition to business school, that might actually be a really long one.
  3. If you're sending a letter to someone who interviewed you, that is again going to be a slightly longer, more meaningful thank you note. And finally, when you're connecting with a member of the admissions committee, take the time to let them know how much you appreciate the investment they make in their own program and in sourcing really amazing students and getting to know you personally because they love their jobs and they love to know that they're doing it well. Feel free to make the thank you note brief. Feel free to do a handwritten note if you have their mailing address, but also feel free just to write a simple email, but never overlook an opportunity to say thank you. When you appreciate something, it grows. When you show people how much you appreciate what they've contributed to your success, the more and more success you're going to have.

So, love the thank you notes. Send the thank you notes. Send more. You can never overthink someone. Thanks for listening. This is #MBAMonday, I hope to see you next week.

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Angela Guido

Student of Human Nature| Founder and
Chief Education Officer of Career Protocol

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