Alumni Stories: Jonathan Kola, Stanford GSB

It’s important to be clear about your goals, and to try to position yourself, from the beginning, to meet those goals. The first recruiting cycle comes very quickly, within a few months of starting the program. While this shouldn't dominate your experience, it’s something to be aware of and plan for.

If you’re not accustomed to the style of interviewing in the US (lots of behavioral questions), definitely spend time practicing, and self-evaluate after every interview. Finally, be mindful of the immigration options and requirements early on (OPT, H1-B), and the operating constraints these visas provide, and align your short-term career plans appropriately.

When considering pursuing an MBA, Stanford certainly stood out because of its entrepreneurial reputation and associated programs. In addition to this, my background and interest were in technology – being at the heart of Silicon Valley, Stanford was a natural choice for me.

Having an MBA has certainly made a number of opportunities in the US job market available to me. Even before graduating, I was exposed to opportunities through Stanford's career activities. I received invitations to interview with various companies because Stanford gave my profile visibility to the recruiters.

The alumni network is similarly very helpful, and Stanford alums remain willing to assist to the extent they can. The ability to remain in contact with the school even after graduation is emblematic of one of the things I enjoyed most in my MBA experience—building relationships.

BusinessBecause presents a lot of content that is very relevant for MBA applicants. Depending on where you’re applying from, and what country or school you’re targeting, the application process can be somewhat of a lonely journey. It's definitely good to be able to access BusinessBecause and hear first-hand from those who have gone through a similar process or have a similar background.

The diversity aspect of a site like BusinessBecause is also important. There are so many different perspectives out there on the MBA journey, and it’s definitely beneficial to have visibility into these. Then, of course, there is also the practical guidance sites like these can offer. It’s sometimes difficult to know how to best prepare for your application, or how to position yourself, so hearing perspectives on these is also very valuable.