The MBA Network at Work

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

I like my job and hope to stay with the same company upon graduation. When I started the MBA program, I didn’t realize that networking with my classmates could actually help me advance in my current role. Like most new students, I thought the purpose of networking was to find a new job at a new company.  Boy was I wrong!
 
Since beginning the MBA program, I have met over 20 other students who work in my same company and who I would not have met otherwise.  We get together periodically to talk about our jobs and classes, and to help connect each other with more people across the company.  I have learned a lot from my “colleague classmates” about how to be successful in the MBA program and about opportunities for MBA graduates in other business units.  
 
Now I encourage everyone to get to know other students who work in their same company or industry. With so many large organizations in the Twin Cities, it can be tough to remember who works in your company and who doesn’t. Colleague classmates can be tracked via LinkedIn tags to help you remember which classmates are also colleagues. So get to it! It’s amazing how much of the learning in the MBA program takes place outside the classroom!