Manhattan Review Blog - Test Prep, Admissions Consulting and Career Training

According to a recent article in Business Week titled: “GMAT: The MBA Job Seeker’s Best Friend” – it appears that many schools are encouraging students to take the GMAT time and time again.  A very eye-opening article by Anne VanderMey, it seems the GMAT is not only important for MBA admittance, but also for job recruiting after graduation.

According to VanderMey, with companies being flooded with resumes due to the recent economic recession, it appears recruiters are using GMAT scores to weed out applicants.  This is unusual, as never before has the GMAT taken on such added weight, but it appears for some companies, your score could very well be the factor that gets you an actual interview.

Due to this, professors and career services directors are encouraging students to retake the GMAT time and time again thanks to the tough recruiting climate.  VanderMey profiles several schools that are taking this advice seriously and putting it into practice:

• University of Texas’s McCombs School of Business: Stacey Rudnick, director of MBA services is advising recent admits with mediocre GMAT scores to consider retaking the test if they think they can score higher.
• University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business: Mendoza sent a letter to its 2011 class reminding students of the importance of the GMAT when applying to prestigious firms.  The school has offered a four-day crash course for students who wish to retake the test.  Mendoza’s director of MBA career development claims: “We see a large number of consulting companies, some investment banks and a couple of corporations all looking at both GMAT and undergrad MBA GPAs.  These companies are looking for a sustained record of academic excellence.”
• Thunderbird School of Global Management: Kip Harrel, president of the MBA Career Services Council, claims that students’ average GMAT score is a primary factor in deciding where companies choose to recruit.
• Darden School of Business: Jack Oakes, director of career services, claims that he sometimes advises candidates with scores in the mid-600s to retake the test if they are looking to land top-shelf consulting or banking positions.
• Goizueta Business School: Wendy Tsung, executive director of MBA career services, states: “Because the economy is so bad, and there’s so many people applying for positions, companies are looking for different ways to reduce the number of resumes that they go through.  Of the reasons to throw out an application – GPA, undergraduate institution, years of work experience – the GMAT is an ‘easy one.’”

As suspected, a person’s quantitative GMAT score does seem to be linked to salary while some GMAT scores appear to be linked to managerial status. However, VanderMey informs us that not every company considers GMAT scores to be important when considering new hires.  At the University of Connecticut’s School of Business, for example, the executive director was never even asked for GMAT scores from its student body.

It appears, however, that a high GMAT score simply helps you get your foot in the door for the actual interview.  A high score, in general, won’t get you the job of your dreams, but it will get you into speaking with someone face-to-face.  VanderMey quotes Mareza Larizadeh, the founder of Doostang, a career networking site popular with MBA students: “The GMAT isn’t going to get you in.  But it’s something that can prevent you from getting in the door.”

While it seems the GMAT is becoming important for more than just MBA admittance, VanderMey concludes (along with the above schools) that ultimately, the personal elements of the job search – interviews and references, primarily, will always be more important than test scores.

Related posts:

• Older MBA Applicants
• From Seeking an MBA to Seeking Success (Part II)
• Beginning The MBA Application Process In October
• Younger MBA Applicants (II)
• Younger MBA Applicants (I)

Dr. Joern Meissner, Founder and Chairman of Manhattan Review, has written an opinion editorial for the MBA supplement of one of Germany’s leading daily newspapers, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ).

In particular, he discusses which characteristics a successful MBA student needs to have. He argues that good quantitative skills are essential for a manager, but alone are not enough. Social skills and teamwork are mandatory supplements for long-term success and have often been neglected in business school education. He proceeds then to discuss Lancaster University Management School’s leadership role in integrating these aspects into the current curriculum.

Dr. Meissner also mentions well-known academic Henry Mintzberg who is famous for his criticism of current MBA Programs. One of his arguments is that while case studies are in theory useful to get a feel for the daily life of a manager, they also undermine the importance of real-life work experience. The fact is that co-workers and subordinates aren’t just a set of data, but complex individuals who require more than analysis and strategies to be led effectively.

The founder of Manhattan Review already stressed the importance of a strong and impressive personality in addition to academic achievements in his previous FAZ Article from 2007. In his current article, he shows how this translates into the requirements for success in the business world. Quantitative skills are merely half the bet and social competence is a must for aspiring top managers.

An English translation, titled “It’s in the Mix: The Career Success Factors of MBA Graduates” is available in his blog.

Related posts:

• The Rising Importance of the GMAT Score for Job Recruiting at Business School
• Younger MBA Applicants (II)
• Younger MBA Applicants (I)
• Yale B-School – Latest Changes
• Wait Listed?!

Many TOEFL classes do not teach “the counter argument” (otherwise known as the “opposing argument”) for students tackling the independent speaking and writing section.  What is it?  How is it used?  If incorporated into responses effectively, the counter argument for independent speaking and writing sections of the TOEFL exam will strengthen your argument and help raise your score insurmountably.  Let’s look at this example of an independent speaking response with a brief counter argument:

Independent Speaking Sample Question: Some people prefer one long vacation once a year while others prefer short vacations spread throughout.  Which do you prefer and why?  Include details and examples to support your explanation.

Sample Response: “I prefer shorter vacations spread throughout the year more than one long vacation because shorter vacations are more rejuvenating.  During the year, I am able to take four to five short trips to smaller towns and beaches in the surrounding area of where I live and I feel so much more refreshed when returning to work after one of these short vacations.  Also, with short vacations I am able to sometimes go by myself or take friends, so there is always a sense of variety with each trip. Some people might think one long vacation a year is better because it gives you more time away from your life and allows you to really be on vacation, but I think one long vacation can be tiring and at times quite boring. Over all, I prefer shorter vacation over longer vacations because for the above reasons.”

The sentence in bold is the counter argument in this sample response.  Basically, is an argument stating the opposing view of your own and countering it with your own argument.  This strengthens your overall opinion by acknowledging an opposing view.

Is the counter argument always necessary?  No.  You can get a great score on your TOEFL writing and speaking sections without it if you have a strong opinion and supporting details.  However, if you are able to incorporate the counter argument into your response it will garner you more credibility as an English speaker, and give your response extra weight.  (Extra good weight!)

Tip: If you’re worried about time on the speaking section, combine your counter argument with your conclusion, making them both in the same sentence. You can even bypass a conclusion and end your response with a counter argument, so long as you’re clear to argue back around it, ultimately favoring your own opinion.

Related posts:

• Five Tips to Improve Your TOEFL Listening Score
• Why Me? Coping with the Waitlist
• TOEFL Writing Section: Outlining Your Independent Essay
• TOEFL Tips From ETS: Writing Advice
• TOEFL Tips From ETS: Reading Advice

Not getting your ideal score on your listening section and looking for concrete ways to improve it?  The listening section on the TOEFL exam can be overwhelming for many students with its complicated lectures and at times lengthy conversations.  Here are 5 proven tips to up your score – guaranteed!

(1)  Keep it simple. Remember: you don’t have to write everything down.  The TOEFL listening section does not want or expect you to write down every single detail – such a feat would be impossible, even for a native speaker.  When taking notes for conversations, differentiating by columns what the male speaker says versus the female is quite useful, as there will more than likely be questions regarding opinions and statements from each speaker. With lectures, make sure to write down key words and not get bogged down with too many details.  You don’t want to lose track of the lecture or conversation because you’re so concerned with specifics.

(2)  Organize your notes. It’s always a smart idea to number or letter your notes by section, particularly if the speaker gives examples. Be aware that when any sort of process is described in a lecture or conversation there will be questions later on in the test regarding what order the process comes in.  Organizing your notes as you hear them will save you time later and be invaluable when answering “rhetorical function” questions, which are very common on the listening section.

(3)  Listen to academic audio recordings. If you can, go to your library or search online for academic lectures; specifically, history, science, philosophy or the arts.  The lectures presented on the TOEFL exam are lectures that would be typically heard by freshmen or sophomore students at a university.  Challenge yourself by seeking these types of audio recordings out so you can be familiar with the structure and language.  If you can’t find academic recordings, then try listening to the news online, which is usually spoken in Standard American Dialect and uses advanced vocabulary words, all of which are applicable to the TOEFL.

(4)  Watch TV. Yes – believe it or not, you’re being given advice to watch TV to study for the listening section on the TOEFL.  Not just any type of TV program, either: sitcoms and hour-long dramas.  Why? These are useful to the conversations presented to you in the TOEFL listening section because they are spoken in dialogue and deal, ultimately, with problems and solutions.  When watching a sitcom or hour-long drama, take notes and make sure to identify the problem and the solution.Research any idioms or slang you might hear – this will also come in handy, as many rhetorical function questions deal directly with idiomatic expressions.

(5)  Listen to less music and more spoken words. Download news articles from the BBC or Business English from I-Tunes and try to listen to them instead of music for thirty minutes a day.  Pick topics that interest you – there are a wide variety of podcasts to choose from.  This will sharpen your listening skills and expand your vocabulary, not to mention make you more well-informed.

Remember, listening skills can be improved just as your reading, speaking and writing skills.  And keep in mind – the TOEFL does not expect you to have a preconceived knowledge of any of the material based in the lectures or conversations, so don’t feel overwhelmed when you are given a lecture on cellular division in plants or the geographical history of a particular nomadic tribe.

Related posts:

• TOEFL Independent Speaking and Writing: The Counter-Argument
• Put Your Ear to the Test
• Getting a US MBA (Part I)
• Why Me? Coping with the Waitlist
• TOEFL Writing Section: Outlining Your Independent Essay